A new Ulster Schools Champion 2023/24
With the last 2 champions present, Calvin Patterson ( Ulster Schools Champion 2022/23) and Ethan Cole ( Ulster Schools Champion 2021/2022) and other top young chess players we were in for a treat of chess games. Amongst the top players we had relative new comers Ben McIlroy, Jyuan Bendo and Simon Murphy and regulars Caleb McClean, Andrew Campbell, Anjali Singh and Peter Murphy.
One of my favourite parts of these tournaments is the puzzle solving. We handout sheets covered in some 22 problems including mates in 1, 2 and 3 moves and a few puzzles to find the best move. These provide excellent challenges for players to work on between rounds. They also are an opportunity to chat about chess. We give hints on some of the harder problems. This tournament provided the Ulster Schools Puzzle Solving Champions.
Ulster Primary School Puzzle Solving Champion: Ethan Cole,
| Name | Points | Cert. | |
| 1 | Ethan Cole | 16 | Gold |
| 2 | Alex McKeown | 12.5 | Silver |
| 3 | Alexander Davis | 10.5 | Silver |
| 4 | Riley Cash | 10 | Silver |
| 5 | Luke Spence | 7 | Bronze |
| 6 | Joe Gelston | 7 | Bronze |
| 7 | Ayush.Shambharkar | 6.5 | Bronze |
| 8 | Jackson Coakley | 4 | Bronze |
Ulster Secondary School Puzzle Solving Champion : Jyuan Miguel G. Bendo
| Name | Points | Cert. | |
| 1 | Jyuan Miguel G. Bendo | 17 | Gold |
| 2 | Anjali Singh | 16.5 | Gold |
| 3 | Alessandro Serafino Grande | 12.5 | Silver |
| 4 | Peter Murphy | 12.5 | Silver |
| 5 | Toby Crothers | 11 | Silver |
| 6 | Benjamin Rainey | 9 | Silver |
| 7 | Alexandru Hulpea | 8 | Silver |
| 8 | Aidan Spence | 7 | Bronze |
| 9 | George McClelland | 7 | Bronze |
| 10 | Tom Busby | 6.5 | Bronze |
| 11 | Andrew Campbell | 6 | Bronze |
| 12 | Alexander Hunt | 7 | Bronze |
Some examples from the Puzzle Sheets. Try some - the solutions are at the end of this page - goodluck.
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Geoff Hindley assisted by Caleb McClean put up the Arrows to the Chess Room and then helped me setup the rooms.
As players arrived we registered them and handed out puzzles, explaining the timetable for the day. We had one section and will crown each age group with an Ulster Champion. The trophies today were kindley sponsored by The Lisburn Chess Club - this club provides many opportunities during the week to play chess - they can be found on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisburnchessclub/
With everyone registered we started the first round and focused silence fell across the two playing rooms.
Round 1
Results
No Name Feder Total Result Name Feder Total 1 Ethan Cole U12 [0] 1:0 George McClelland U14 [0] 2 Alessandro Serafino Grande U14 [0] 0:1 Andrew Campbell U19 [0] 3 Jyuan Miguel G. Bendo U19 [0] 1:0 Alex McKeown U10 [0] 4 Alexandru Hulpea U14 [0] 0:1 Caleb McClean U16 [0] 5 Calvin Patterson U19 [0] 1:0 Benjamin Rainey U14 [0] 6 Aidan Spence U12 [0] 0:1 Ben Mcilroy U19 [0] 7 Simon Murphy U14 [0] 1:0 Riley Cash U12 [0] 8 Jake Collins U12 [0] 0:1 Peter Murphy U16 [0] 9 Anjali Singh U19 [0] 1:0 Joe Gelston U12 [0] 10 Alexander Hunt U12 [0] 0:1 Ryan Anderson U19 [0] 11 Ben Guerrero U14 [0] 1:0 Ayush Shambharkar U12 [0] 12 Matteo Grande U10 [0] 0:1 Toby Crothers U16 [0] 13 Nicky Cummings U16 [0] 1:0 Jackson Coakley U10 [0] 14 Malachy Yao Duffin U12 [0] 0:1 Odhran Doody U16 [0] 15 Tom Busby U14 [0] 1:0 Alexander Davis U8 [0] 16 Luke Spence U8 [0] 1:0 BYE
by Swiss Perfect (TM) www.swissperfect.com
We had allocated players an approx rating. The games results reflected this. Top rated players winning - Ethan Cole, Andrew Campbell, Jyuan Bendo, Caleb McClean, Calvin Patterson, Ben McIlroy and Simon Murphy.
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Round 2
Results
No Name Feder Total Result Name Feder Total 1 Ryan Anderson U19 [1] 0:1 Ethan Cole U12 [1] 2 Andrew Campbell U19 [1] 1:0 Anjali Singh U19 [1] 3 Toby Crothers U16 [1] 0:1 Jyuan Miguel G. Bendo U19 [1] 4 Caleb McClean U16 [1] 1:0 Ben Guerrero U14 [1] 5 Odhran Doody U16 [1] 0:1 Calvin Patterson U19 [1] 6 Ben Mcilroy U19 [1] 1:0 Nicky Cummings U16 [1] 7 Luke Spence U8 [1] 0:1 Simon Murphy U14 [1] 8 Peter Murphy U16 [1] 1:0 Tom Busby U14 [1] 9 George McClelland U14 [0] 1:0 Jake Collins U12 [0] 10 Joe Gelston U12 [0] 1:0 Alessandro Serafino Grande U14 [0] 11 Alex McKeown U10 [0] 1:0 Alexander Hunt U12 [0] 12 Ayush Shambharkar U12 [0] 0:1 Alexandru Hulpea U14 [0] 13 Benjamin Rainey U14 [0] 1:0 Matteo Grande U10 [0] 14 Jackson Coakley U10 [0] 0:1 Aidan Spence U12 [0] 15 Riley Cash U12 [0] 0:1 Malachy Yao Duffin U12 [0] 16 Alexander Davis U8 [0] 1:0 BYE
Round 2 and again the top tables go to rating. The middle and lower boards have a few upsets, for instance Alex McKeon wins against Alexander Hunt.
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Round 3
Results
No Name Feder Total Result Name Feder Total 1 Ethan Cole U12 [2] .5:.5 Ben Mcilroy U19 [2] 2 Calvin Patterson U19 [2] 1:0 Andrew Campbell U19 [2] 3 Jyuan Miguel G. Bendo U19 [2] 1:0 Peter Murphy U16 [2] 4 Simon Murphy U14 [2] 0:1 Caleb McClean U16 [2] 5 Anjali Singh U19 [1] 1:0 Alex McKeown U10 [1] 6 Alexandru Hulpea U14 [1] 0:1 Ryan Anderson U19 [1] 7 Ben Guerrero U14 [1] 0:1 Benjamin Rainey U14 [1] 8 Aidan Spence U12 [1] 0:1 Toby Crothers U16 [1] 9 Nicky Cummings U16 [1] 1:0 Joe Gelston U12 [1] 10 Alexander Davis U8 [1] 0:1 Odhran Doody U16 [1] 11 Tom Busby U14 [1] 1:0 Luke Spence U8 [1] 12 Malachy Yao Duffin U12 [1] 0:1 George McClelland U14 [1] 13 Alessandro Serafino Grande U14 [0] 1:0 Ayush Shambharkar U12 [0] 14 Matteo Grande U10 [0] 1:0 Riley Cash U12 [0] 15 Alexander Hunt U12 [0] 1:0 Jackson Coakley U10 [0]
Some of the top players meet. Ben McIlroy draws against Ethan Cole, two of the top seeds and this means the championship is more open. Calvin has a close game against Andrew and wins. Jyuan beats Peter Murphy and Caleb wins against Simon Murphy. Alex McKeown the highest youngster looses against Anjali Singh.
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Round 4
Results
No Name Feder Total Result Name Feder Total 1 Caleb McClean U16 [3] 1:0 Jyuan Miguel G. Bendo U19 [3] 2 Ben Mcilroy U19 [2.5] 1:0 Calvin Patterson U19 [3] 3 Andrew Campbell U19 [2] 1:0 Ethan Cole U12 [2.5] 4 Toby Crothers U16 [2] 0:1 Simon Murphy U14 [2] 5 Peter Murphy U16 [2] 0:1 Odhran Doody U16 [2] 6 George McClelland U14 [2] 0:1 Anjali Singh U19 [2] 7 Ryan Anderson U19 [2] 1:0 Tom Busby U14 [2] 8 Benjamin Rainey U14 [2] 0:1 Alessandro Serafino Grande U14 [1] 9 Joe Gelston U12 [1] 0:1 Ben Guerrero U14 [1] 10 Alex McKeown U10 [1] 1:0 Malachy Yao Duffin U12 [1] 11 Alexander Hunt U12 [1] 1:0 Alexandru Hulpea U14 [1] 12 Luke Spence U8 [1] 0:1 Aidan Spence U12 [1] 13 Riley Cash U12 [0] 0:1 Alexander Davis U8 [1] 14 Ayush Shambharkar U12 [0] 1:0 Matteo Grande U10 [1] 15 Jackson Coakley U10 [0] 1:0 BYE
Round 4 is played after a lunch break. Some tough matches and Andrew Campbell wins against Ethan Cole. Whilst Caleb goes into the lead with an undefeated 4 out of 4 beating jyuan in a tough endgame.. Ben McIlroy wins against Calvin Patterson last years winner. Alex McKeown wins against Malachy Duffin. We collect the puzzles sheets just prior to round 5 to give us time to mark the sheets and work out the cerificates - Bronze, Silver and Gold with a trophy for the top Primary Pupil and Secondary Pupil
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Round 5
Results
No Name Feder Total Result Name Feder Total 1 Ben Mcilroy U19 [3.5] 1:0 Caleb McClean U16 [4] 2 Simon Murphy U14 [3] 0:1 Andrew Campbell U19 [3] 3 Jyuan Miguel G. Bendo U19 [3] .5:.5 Anjali Singh U19 [3] 4 Calvin Patterson U19 [3] 0:1 Ryan Anderson U19 [3] 5 Odhran Doody U16 [3] 0:1 Ethan Cole U12 [2.5] 6 Alessandro Serafino Grande U14 [2] 0:1 Peter Murphy U16 [2] 7 Ben Guerrero U14 [2] 0:1 Alex McKeown U10 [2] 8 Alexander Davis U8 [2] 0:1 Toby Crothers U16 [2] 9 Tom Busby U14 [2] 1:0 Benjamin Rainey U14 [2] 10 Aidan Spence U12 [2] 0:1 George McClelland U14 [2] 11 Matteo Grande U10 [1] 0:1 Alexander Hunt U12 [2] 12 Alexandru Hulpea U14 [1] 1:0 Luke Spence U8 [1] 13 Jackson Coakley U10 [1] 1:0 Joe Gelston U12 [1] 14 Malachy Yao Duffin U12 [1] 1:0 Ayush Shambharkar U12 [1] 15 Riley Cash U12 [0] 1:0 BYE
The two leaders play each other. Ben McIlroy wins against Caleb McClean and leads by 1/2 point. A group are chasing on 4 points, Andrew Campbell having beaten Simon Murphy and Ryan Anderson who has beaten Calvin Patterson. Anjali draws against Jyuan.
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Round 6
Results
No Name Feder Total Result Name Feder Total 1 Andrew Campbell U19 [4] 0:1 Ben Mcilroy U19 [4.5] 2 Caleb McClean U16 [4] 1:0 Ryan Anderson U19 [4] 3 Ethan Cole U12 [3.5] 1:0 Jyuan Miguel G. Bendo U19 [3.5] 4 Anjali Singh U19 [3.5] 0:1 Calvin Patterson U19 [3] 5 George McClelland U14 [3] 0:1 Simon Murphy U14 [3] 6 Peter Murphy U16 [3] 1:0 Alex McKeown U10 [3] 7 Toby Crothers U16 [3] 1:0 Tom Busby U14 [3] 8 Odhran Doody U16 [3] 1:0 Alexander Hunt U12 [3] 9 Aidan Spence U12 [2] 0:1 Ben Guerrero U14 [2] 10 Jackson Coakley U10 [2] 0:1 Alessandro Serafino Grande U14 [2] 11 Malachy Yao Duffin U12 [2] 0:1 Alexandru Hulpea U14 [2] 12 Benjamin Rainey U14 [2] 1:0 Alexander Davis U8 [2] 13 Ayush Shambharkar U12 [1] 1:0 Riley Cash U12 [1] 14 Joe Gelston U12 [1] .5:.5 Luke Spence U8 [1] 15 Matteo Grande U10 [1] 1:0 BYE
The Championship is decided with Ben McIlroy beating Andrew Campbell to win the Championship without a defeat. Caleb claims second place with 5 out of 6 whilst Ethan comes clear 3rd on 4.5.
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Standings
Place Name Feder Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.
1 Mcilroy, Ben U19 5.5 16.0 23.0 19.0
2 McClean, Caleb U16 5 14.5 23.0 19.0
3 Cole, Ethan U12 4.5 15.5 24.0 16.0
4-10 Campbell, Andrew U19 4 16.0 24.5 16.0
Patterson, Calvin U19 4 15.5 24.0 16.0
Anderson, Ryan U19 4 14.5 22.5 15.0
Doody, Odhran U16 4 13.0 19.0 14.0
Murphy, Peter U16 4 12.5 18.5 14.0
Murphy, Simon U14 4 12.0 17.5 15.0
Crothers, Toby U16 4 10.0 15.5 13.0
11-12 Bendo, Jyuan Miguel G. U19 3.5 16.0 24.0 16.0
Singh, Anjali U19 3.5 13.5 19.0 14.0
13-20 McKeown, Alex U10 3 13.0 19.0 10.0
Busby, Tom U14 3 12.5 17.5 12.0
McClelland, George U14 3 11.5 18.0 11.0
Hunt, Alexander U12 3 11.5 17.0 9.0
Hulpea, Alexandru U14 3 11.0 17.0 8.0
Rainey, Benjamin U14 3 10.5 16.0 10.0
Grande, Alessandro Serafino U14 3 10.5 16.0 8.0
Guerrero, Ben U14 3 10.0 16.5 10.0
21-27 Davis, Alexander U8 2 13.0 17.5 8.0
Spence, Aidan U12 2 11.5 18.0 8.0
Coakley, Jackson U10 2 11.0 16.0 5.0
Duffin, Malachy Yao U12 2 11.0 15.5 7.0
Grande, Matteo U10 2 11.0 15.5 5.0
Shambharkar, Ayush U12 2 9.5 13.0 4.0
Cummings, Nicky U16 2 1.5 8.5 4.0
28-29 Spence , Luke U8 1.5 11.0 16.5 6.5
Gelston, Joe U12 1.5 11.0 15.5 5.5
30 Cash, Riley U12 1 8.5 14.0 2.0
31-32 Collins, Jake U12 0 7.0 7.0 0.0
The 2023/24 Champions.
Ulster Schools Champion : Ben McIlroy
Ulster Schools Girls Champion : Anjali Singh
Ulster Schools U8 Champion : Alexander Davis
2nd Luke Spence
Ulster Schools U10 Champion : Alex McKeown
2nd Jackson Coakley
3rd Matteo Grande
Ulster Schools U12 Champion : Ethan Cole
2nd Alexander Hunt
3rd Aidan Spence
Ulster Schools U14 Champion : Simon Murphy
2nd Tom Busby
3rd George McClelland
Ulster Schools U16 Champion : Caleb McClean
2nd Odhran Doody
3rd Peter Murphy
Ulster Schools U19 Champion : Ben McIlroy
2nd Andrew Campbell
3rd Calvin Patterson
A big thankyou to all the players for such a wonderful show of chess. Also to Methodist College for the venue and Lisburn Chess Club for sponsoring the Trophies.
Also a thankyou to the volunteers - to Geoff Hindley and Ranjit Singh.
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13. White to move (1001W-766) 1. Qg8+ Kd6 2. Ba3+ Kc6 3. Qa8+ winning Queen |
14. White move. (1001W-767) 1. Qxf8+ Kxf8 2. Rxe8+ Kf7 3. Rf8+ Kg6 4. Rxf4 or 1. …. Qxf8 2. Rxe8 and White is a Rook up |
15. White to move (1001W-768) 1. c5 threatens : 2 a3 Ba5 3. b4 winning the Bishop 1. … bxc5 2. a3 Ba5 3. dxc5 c6 4. Bd6 winning exchange |
16. White to move (1001W-769) 1. Rxh7+ Kxh7 2. Qe7+ Kg6 3. Rg8+ Kf5 4. Rxg5+ Kxg5 5. Qg7+ Kf5 6. Qd7+ winning the Queen |
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17. White to move (1001W-770) 1. Rc7 Qxc7 2. Qh7+ winning the Queen |
18. White to move (1001W-771) 1. Rxc6 bxc6 2. Bxc6 Qxd4 3. Qxd4 Rxd4 4. Bxe8 White is pawn up. |
19. White to move (1001W-772) 1. Qg7+ Kxh4 2. Qxh6+ Kg4 3. h3+ Kf5 4. Qh7+ winning Queen |
20. White to move (1000CC-322) 1. Qh6+ Nxh6 2. Bxh6+ Kg8 3. f7# |
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21. White to move after Bd6 (1000CC-323) 1. Nd5! Qa5 2. Qa3! Black resigned |
22 White to move (1000CC-324) 1. Rxf5! gxf5 2. Qxh5+ Rxh5 3. Bf7# |
