One week left the league is coming to a finish. The Summer Tournament will begin in May.

Easter is coming and the chess continues. With FIDE rated tournaments organised by Brendan Jamison. The League is coming to an end. Soon we will have our annual AGM and an opportunity to celebrate the years chess. What a brilliant year.

With the ending of the League and the Summer recess for some clubs. The Summer Tournament at the Civil Service Pavilion provides an opportunity to play rated chess from the beginning of May to the end of September. Details are :

The UCU Summer Tournament is open to all chess players and provides regular competitive chess during the summer months when many chess clubs are closed.

Venue Civil Service Social Club , Maynard Sinclair Pavilion

Starting Wednesday 7th May 2025 and every Wednesday.

Ending Wednesday 24th September 2025. Prize Giving and mini tournament.

Start Time for each round 7:45pm.

Format The tournament is flexible – players play whichever nights suit them with pairings being made on the evening. Players are usually paired with opponents within their own grading band but late comers may get a difficult draw – so please be prompt.

Time limit Each player gets 1 hour 30 minutes for the complete game.

Please email me by 3:00pm on the evening of the tournament. to let the controller know to be included in the draw: mark.chris.newman@googlemail.com

Time limit Each player gets 1 hour 30 minutes for the complete game. (unless we need to vacate the room early).

Prizes will depend on number of entrants.There will be grading bands, again depending on entrants.

Entry Fee £20.

Controller: Mark Newman Telephone 07872544868. email: mark.chris.newman@googlemail.com

Rules
1. Players must complete 10 games to be considered for prizes.
2. If a player does not play in two of the last three rounds they will be assumed to have played and lost 2 games. If they play only one then they will forfeit one game.
3. However if a player has played 14 or more games then they are exempt from rule 2.
4. Scores will be calculated on a percentage basis.

Controller Mark Newman

Division One Standings

The League has only 1 match per team left. How are the standings.....

League one standings - With one match to play. There is a fight at the top between Strand First Team, The A Team (Belfast South) and Bangor 1. All brilliant teams worthy of the Silver King. Who is still to play who?

07 04 2025		Bangor 1		v		Strand First Team

07 04 2025		The A team		v		Civil Service A (NICS)

So going into the final match there is all to play for with 5 points separating the teams. - A fantastic end to the season. Many thanks to all Team captains, players and the brilliant League Controller Michael Devine.

Standings and full results can be found on the front page of this website on the left panel. For both leagues and all tournaments.

rank	Team	played	wins	draws	losses	adjust	points	%
1	Strand First Team (Strand)	14	10	2	2		68	69
2	The A team (Belfast South)	14	9	2	3		66.5	68
3	Bangor 1 (Bangor)	14	9	2	3		63	64
4	NICS Stormont (NICS)	14	6	3	5		52	53
5	Lisburn (Lisburn)	14	2	1	11		25	26
6	QUB 1 (QUB)	14	1	0	13	2	17.5	20

Division Two Standings

League two standings. Fruithill 1 has lead the league with a top team. But they are chased by Bangor 2.

07 04 2025		Citi Knights		v		Fruithill 1

They play Citi Knights next week.

Whilst Bangor 2 plays Kellys Heroes.

07 04 2025		Bangor 2		v		Kellys Heroes

Who it appears Kellys Heroes also have a game in hand. Where they will face Fruithill 1.

rank	Team	played	wins	draws	losses	adjust	points	%
1	Fruithill 1 (Fruithill)	12	10	1	1	2	65	80
2	Bangor 2 (Bangor)	13	10	1	2		64.5	71
3	Kellys Heroes (Belfast South)	12	9	1	2		61.5	73
4	View player (Downpatrick)	13	6	3	4		49.5	54
5	Citi Knights (Citi)	13	4	2	7		39	43
6	QUB 2 (QUB)	13	2	3	8		31.5	35
7	Fruithill 2 (Fruithill)	13	2	1	10		23.5	26
8	NICS 2 Pavilion (NICS)	13	1	2	10		20.5	23

Please note we are not aware of all the local chess events ( we can only advertise those we are aware of ) - there are many run by Lisburn chess club / Roaming Knights and other clubs - please check facebook for these.

FIDE RATED City of Bangor Sam Lynn Memorial Classic: Round 3 : April 10th 7:30pm

Thurs April 10th 7:30pm : Venue : Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street, Groomsport, County Down, BT19 6JR

Time control: 90+0

All FIDE rules apply. Mobile phones must be switched. No food allowed in playing hall. Drinks permitted.

Entry fee: £10 Free entry for paid-up members of Bangor Chess Club

Please note, ICU membership is required for playing in any FIDE events at Bangor Chess Club.

All FIDE events in Northern Ireland are done through the ICU. So pay your union fees and your games will get rated!

So far, 80 Bangor Chess Club members are paid-up with the ICU for the 2024/2025 season. At total of 120 are paid-up throughout entire Northern Ireland. If you’re visiting from another club, please ensure your ICU membership is paid before emailing to enter this tournament (it can be paid online at www.icu.ie/shop or it can be paid with the tournament entry fee at Bangor Chess Club). The Chief Arbiter has admin access to the ICU database of paid-up members and this updates every 24 hours (early each morning).

Players will be added to the entry list after £10 payment is received.

fidechessni@gmail.com

April 12th 2025 Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00

Chess Events 2024/2025

April 12th Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00

May 10th UK Chess Challenge 9:45 – 5:00

June GrandPrix prize giving

August Chess Summer School

Newman Hindley Series: Childrens Chess

April 12th

12:30 pm to 5:00pm

The Methodist College, Belfast

All children

The afternoon will consist of

a tournament,

a problem solving competition,

(packed lunch advisable - no Nuts please)

Entry Fee £5.00

you must register in advance

Email: mark.chris.newman@googlemail,com

Name/Form/School/contact no.

Organised by

Ulster Chess Union

FIDE RATED King Charles iii Rapid Championship 2025

Thurs 24 April 2025 7:30pm to 10:30pm

Venue: City of Bangor International Chess Club, Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street, Groomsport, County Down, BT19 6JR, Northern Ireland

Format: Swiss pairings

Number of Rounds: 6

Time Control: 10+5

Date: Thurs 24 April 2025

Round times:

7:30pm - Round 1

8:00pm - Round 2

8:30pm - Round 3

9:00pm - Round 4

9:30pm - Round 5

10:00pm - Round 6

10:30pm - Prize-giving

https://www.ulsterchess.org/membership/Clubs/bangor/events/fide-rated-king-charles-iii-rapid-championship-2025

Delancey Schools UK Chess Challenge Belfast Megafinal May 10th

Delancey Schools UK Chess Challenge Belfast Megafinal is an opportunity to represent Northern Ireland in the GigaFinals in England.

Saturday May 10^th

UK Chess Challenge Belfast Megafinal

Registration 9:45am

Round 1 10:00am

6 rounds

Prize giving 4:30pm

Entrance £20

Please register and pay entry on the website:

https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/product/2025-belfast-megafinal/

https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com

packed lunch advisable

please note due to allergies we are a nut free event

Opportunity to represent Northern Ireland in the GigaFinals in England.

School Children All age groups

U8, U10, U12, U14 or U18

Methodist College

Belfast

Mark Newman 07872544868

e-mail: mark.chris.newman@googlemail.com

(web-site: www.ulsterchess.org)

GM Simul with Alex Baburin

The Ulster Chess Union is delighted to announce this year’s simultaneous guest will be none other than Ireland’s only Grand Master, Alex Baburin!

We feel fortunate to welcome Alex, who has been a steady presence on the Irish National Chess Team, playing in numerous Olympiads, but also local competitions around Ireland and is the author of the acclaimed book ‘Winning Pawn Structures’.

This year’s simul will take place on Friday 23rd May, on the eve of the City of Belfast weekend tournament. Tickets for the event are extremely limited (4 remaining at £30per ticket) given the below list of winners! Should more become available, we will let you know!

https://www.ulsterchess.org/Members/ucu02505/2024-2025-season/events/gm-simul-a-baburin/ucu-simul-2025-to-host-gm-alex-baburin

Contact Karina Campbell : social@ulsterchess.net