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Citi's Annual Charity Rapidplay took place in their offices on thursday july 30th 2026.

This has become part of the Ulster Chess FIDE calendar. All funds raised go to Belfast Citi's charity of the year. This year it is USPCA. A brilliant evening of chess and all for a great cause. We have raised £430 - many thanks to all.
Citi's Annual Charity Rapidplay took place in their offices on thursday july 30th 2026.

I wish to thank Citi Belfast, Micheal Devine for organising the event. Special thanks to Security, facilities and to the Canteen.

We had 39 players gather to play rapidplay chess - with 5 rounds and a time control of 12 minutes each. Players include - Ulster Champion Mandar Tahmankar who played in the recent British Championships 2026 : https://www.chess.com/events/2026-british-chess-championships-championship Young top players, Alwin Michael and Andrew Campbell. An excellent group of players of all ages and skills.

The tournament was FIDE rated and run in one section. With the final standings being split into Top 3, Top 3 under 1700 and Top 3 under 1500.

As well as an opportunity to play some good chess we were raising money for USPAC https://uspca.co.uk/

USPCA: Mission Statement:

At USPCA, we envision a society where all animals are respected, valued, and free from unnecessary suffering.Our mission remains rooted in the founding principles of the USPCA:

To prevent cruelty to animals
To alleviate suffering in animals
To advance animal welfare through compassion and action

 

I give the results of each round with photos and the final standings at the bottom of the page.

With all players arrived. We checked our registered list and did the 1st round draw. This was placed on the wall, players found their boards. Mark Newman welcomed everyone and briefed about the competition before asking players to shake hands and start the clocks. Hush fell and we were off.

Pairings round 1 (Thursday, 30 July 2026)

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1 Tahmankar,Mandar 0.0 2077 Devine,Michael 0.0 1573 1-0
2 Hill,Daniel 0.0 1565 MICHEAL,ALWIN 0.0 1995 0-1
3 Campbell,Andrew 0.0 1961 Neill,Chris 0.0 1553 1-0
4 Eagleson,Trevor 0.0 1531 * Edens,Jack 0.0 1933 0-1
5 Barbals,Gatis 0.0 1855 McKeown,Alex 0.0 1510 1-0
6 Ganja,Abhiram 0.0 1507 * McIlroy,Gerard 0.0 1844 0-1
7 Kher,Aashey 0.0 1825 MICHEAL,AARIN 0.0 1498 * 1-0
8 Wilson,Michael 0.0 1477 Lavery,Robert 0.0 1817 0-1
9 Sandrey,Jade 0.0 1765 Caughey,Conal 0.0 1471 1-0
10 O'Connor,Paul 0.0 1457 Karpagavinayagam,Karthikey 0.0 1759 * 0-1
11 Hill,David 0.0 1744 Alcazar,Andrei 0.0 1400 * 1-0
12 Aspell,Conor 0.0 1400 * Neill,John 0.0 1744 0-1
13 Jackson,David 0.0 1733 Devlin,Corey 0.0 1400 * 1-0
14 Donnelly,Shay 0.0 1400 * Corr,David 0.0 1706 1-0
15 Davey,Finn 0.0 1663 Maske,Poorva Ganesh 0.0 1400 * 1-0
16 McCann ,Evan 0.0 1400 * Marsh,Darragh 0.0 1648 0-1
17 Sawant,Sanket 0.0 1647 O’Neill,Connor 0.0 1400 * 1-0
18 Venugopal,Avanthikha 0.0 1400 * Gunning,Joe 0.0 1595 0-1
19 Stinson,James 0.0 1590 * Vijayakumar,Praveen 0.0 1400 * 1-0

 

Bye Campbell,Peter; McLean,Jim
Pair.Alloc.Bye Ward,Peter

Generated by Swiss Master for Windows 5.7 build 8 on 16-08-2026 at 16:46

The top boards down to board 14 where Shay Donnelly got a good win against David Corr.

rd1-1rd1-2
rd1-3 rd1-4
rd1-5 rd1-6
rd1-7 rd1-8

Pairings round 2 (Thursday, 30 July 2026)

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1 Hill,David 1.0 1744 Tahmankar,Mandar 1.0 2077 0-1
2 MICHEAL,ALWIN 1.0 1995 Jackson,David 1.0 1733 1-0
3 Neill,John 1.0 1744 Campbell,Andrew 1.0 1961 0-1
4 Edens,Jack 1.0 1933 Davey,Finn 1.0 1663 1-0
5 Marsh,Darragh 1.0 1648 Barbals,Gatis 1.0 1855 0-1
6 McIlroy,Gerard 1.0 1844 Sawant,Sanket 1.0 1647 1-0
7 Gunning,Joe 1.0 1595 Kher,Aashey 1.0 1825 0-1
8 Lavery,Robert 1.0 1817 Stinson,James 1.0 1590 * 1-0
9 Ward,Peter 1.0 1400 * Sandrey,Jade 1.0 1765 0-1
10 Karpagavinayagam,Karthikey 1.0 1759 * Donnelly,Shay 1.0 1400 * ½-½
11 Corr,David 0.0 1706 Caughey,Conal 0.0 1471 1-0
12 Devine,Michael 0.0 1573 O'Connor,Paul 0.0 1457 1-0
13 Alcazar,Andrei 0.0 1400 * Hill,Daniel 0.0 1565 ½-½
14 Neill,Chris 0.0 1553 Aspell,Conor 0.0 1400 * 1-0
15 Devlin,Corey 0.0 1400 * Eagleson,Trevor 0.0 1531 * 1-0
16 McKeown,Alex 0.0 1510 McCann ,Evan 0.0 1400 * 1-0
17 Maske,Poorva Ganesh 0.0 1400 * Ganja,Abhiram 0.0 1507 * 0-1
18 MICHEAL,AARIN 0.0 1498 * Venugopal,Avanthikha 0.0 1400 * 1-0
19 O’Neill,Connor 0.0 1400 * Wilson,Michael 0.0 1477 0-1
Bye Campbell,Peter; McLean,Jim
Pair.Alloc.Bye Vijayakumar,Praveen

Shay Donnelly continues with a good draw against Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam.

 

rd2-1rd2-2
rd2-3 rd2-4
rd2-5 rd2-6
rd2-7 rd2-8

 

 

 

Pairings round 3 (Thursday, 30 July 2026)

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1 Tahmankar,Mandar 2.0 2077 McIlroy,Gerard 2.0 1844 1-0
2 Barbals,Gatis 2.0 1855 MICHEAL,ALWIN 2.0 1995 1-0
3 Campbell,Andrew 2.0 1961 Lavery,Robert 2.0 1817 1-0
4 Kher,Aashey 2.0 1825 Edens,Jack 2.0 1933 0-1
5 Sandrey,Jade 2.0 1765 Karpagavinayagam,Karthikey 1.5 1759 * 1-0
6 Donnelly,Shay 1.5 1400 * Hill,David 1.0 1744 1-0
7 Devine,Michael 1.0 1573 Neill,John 1.0 1744 0-1
8 Jackson,David 1.0 1733 Neill,Chris 1.0 1553 0-1
9 Ganja,Abhiram 1.0 1507 * Corr,David 1.0 1706 0-1
10 Davey,Finn 1.0 1663 McKeown,Alex 1.0 1510 1-0
11 Wilson,Michael 1.0 1477 Marsh,Darragh 1.0 1648 1-0
12 Sawant,Sanket 1.0 1647 MICHEAL,AARIN 1.0 1498 * 1-0
13 Vijayakumar,Praveen 1.0 1400 * Gunning,Joe 1.0 1595 0-1
14 Stinson,James 1.0 1590 * Ward,Peter 1.0 1400 * 1-0
15 Hill,Daniel 0.5 1565 Devlin,Corey 1.0 1400 * 1-0
16 Campbell,Peter 0.5 1669 Alcazar,Andrei 0.5 1400 * 1-0
17 Eagleson,Trevor 0.0 1531 * Maske,Poorva Ganesh 0.0 1400 * 1-0
18 Caughey,Conal 0.0 1471 McCann ,Evan 0.0 1400 * 1-0
19 O'Connor,Paul 0.0 1457 O’Neill,Connor 0.0 1400 * 1-0
20 Aspell,Conor 0.0 1400 * Venugopal,Avanthikha 0.0 1400 * 1-0

Gatis Barbals upsets on board 2 beating the second cede Alwin Michael. Whilst Shay Donnelly continues to do well winning against David Hill. Also doing well are Chris Neill beating David Jackson and Michael Wilson winning against the young Darragh Marsh.

 

rd3-1rd3-2
rd3-3 rd3-4
rd3-5 rd3-6
rd3-7 rd3-8

Pairings round 4 (Thursday, 30 July 2026)

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1 Edens,Jack 3.0 1933 Tahmankar,Mandar 3.0 2077 0-1
2 Sandrey,Jade 3.0 1765 Campbell,Andrew 3.0 1961 0-1
3 Donnelly,Shay 2.5 1400 * Barbals,Gatis 3.0 1855 0-1
4 MICHEAL,ALWIN 2.0 1995 Davey,Finn 2.0 1663 1-0
5 McIlroy,Gerard 2.0 1844 Gunning,Joe 2.0 1595 1-0
6 Neill,Chris 2.0 1553 Kher,Aashey 2.0 1825 0-1
7 Lavery,Robert 2.0 1817 Sawant,Sanket 2.0 1647 ½-½
8 Neill,John 2.0 1744 Stinson,James 2.0 1590 * 1-0
9 Corr,David 2.0 1706 Wilson,Michael 2.0 1477 1-0
10 Karpagavinayagam,Karthikey 1.5 1759 * Campbell,Peter 1.5 1669 0-1
11 Marsh,Darragh 1.0 1648 Hill,Daniel 1.5 1565 1-0
12 MICHEAL,AARIN 1.0 1498 * Hill,David 1.0 1744 0-1
13 Caughey,Conal 1.0 1471 Jackson,David 1.0 1733 0-1
14 Devlin,Corey 1.0 1400 * Devine,Michael 1.0 1573 0-1
15 Vijayakumar,Praveen 1.0 1400 * Eagleson,Trevor 1.0 1531 * 0-1
16 McKeown,Alex 1.0 1510 O'Connor,Paul 1.0 1457 0-1
17 Ward,Peter 1.0 1400 * Ganja,Abhiram 1.0 1507 * 1-0
18 Alcazar,Andrei 0.5 1400 * Aspell,Conor 1.0 1400 * 0-1
19 Venugopal,Avanthikha 0.0 1400 * Maske,Poorva Ganesh 0.0 1400 * 0-1
20 McCann ,Evan 0.0 1400 * O’Neill,Connor 0.0 1400 * 0-1

Mandar Tahmankar ( the defending Champion), Gatis Barbals and Andrew Campbell continue winning going into the next round on full points. Shay Donnelly finally meets his match and looses to top player Gatis Barbals, but playing on board 3 on the fourth round is a brilliant result in its self.

rd4-1rd4-2
rd4-3 rd4-4
rd4-5 rd4-6
rd4-7 rd4-8

 

Pairings round 5 (Thursday, 30 July 2026)

TableWhiteScoreRatingBlackScoreRatingResult
1 Tahmankar,Mandar 4.0 2077 Barbals,Gatis 4.0 1855 1-0
2 Campbell,Andrew 4.0 1961 MICHEAL,ALWIN 3.0 1995 ½-½
3 Edens,Jack 3.0 1933 Sandrey,Jade 3.0 1765 1-0
4 Neill,John 3.0 1744 McIlroy,Gerard 3.0 1844 0-1
5 Kher,Aashey 3.0 1825 Corr,David 3.0 1706 1-0
6 Campbell,Peter 2.5 1669 Lavery,Robert 2.5 1817 ½-½
7 Sawant,Sanket 2.5 1647 Donnelly,Shay 2.5 1400 * 1-0
8 Hill,David 2.0 1744 Devine,Michael 2.0 1573 1-0
9 Jackson,David 2.0 1733 Eagleson,Trevor 2.0 1531 * ½-½
10 Davey,Finn 2.0 1663 Neill,Chris 2.0 1553 1-0
11 O'Connor,Paul 2.0 1457 Marsh,Darragh 2.0 1648 0-1
12 Gunning,Joe 2.0 1595 Ward,Peter 2.0 1400 * 1-0
13 Stinson,James 2.0 1590 * Aspell,Conor 2.0 1400 * 0-1
14 Wilson,Michael 2.0 1477 Karpagavinayagam,Karthikey 1.5 1759 * 0-1
15 Hill,Daniel 1.5 1565 McKeown,Alex 1.0 1510 0-1
16 Ganja,Abhiram 1.0 1507 * Devlin,Corey 1.0 1400 * 1-0
17 Maske,Poorva Ganesh 1.0 1400 * MICHEAL,AARIN 1.0 1498 * 0-1
18 O’Neill,Connor 1.0 1400 * Caughey,Conal 1.0 1471 1-0
19 Alcazar,Andrei 0.5 1400 * Vijayakumar,Praveen 1.0 1400 * 1-0
20 Venugopal,Avanthikha 0.0 1400 * McCann ,Evan 0.0 1400 * 1-0

With 3 players on full points. Its an exciting finish. Mandar wins against Gatis and successfully defends the title - winning with 5 out of 5. Andrew draws against Alwin and gains an unbeaten 4.5 out of five and second place.

rd5-1rd5-2
rd5-3 rd5-4
rd5-5 rd5-6
rd5-7 rd5-8

 

Final

RankNameScoreM/FRatingTPRW-WeBHPSTPR Mixed12345
1 Tahmankar,Mandar 5.0 M 2077 2611 +0.94 17.0 15.0 2590 1 1 1 1 1
2 Campbell,Andrew 4.5 M 1961 2142 +0.91 14.5 14.5 2141 1 1 1 1 ½
3 Edens,Jack 4.0 M 1933 2026 +0.49 17.5 13.0 2012 1 1 1 0 1
4 McIlroy,Gerard 4.0 M 1844 1959 +0.59 16.5 12.0 1954 1 1 0 1 1
5 Barbals,Gatis 4.0 M 1855 2001 +0.81 16.0 14.0 1966 1 1 1 1 0
6 Kher,Aashey 4.0 M 1825 1890 +0.37 14.0 12.0 1897 1 1 0 1 1
7 MICHEAL,ALWIN 3.5 M 1995 1910 -0.36 15.5 11.5 1904 1 1 0 1 ½
8 Sawant,Sanket 3.5 M 1647 1638 -0.03 13.5 10.0 1741 1 0 1 ½ 1
9 Lavery,Robert 3.0 M 1817 1689 -0.61 15.5 10.5 1741 1 1 0 ½ ½
10 Neill,John 3.0 M 1744 1668 -0.31 15.5 10.0 1746 1 0 1 1 0
11 Sandrey,Jade 3.0 F 1765 1663 -0.38 13.5 12.0 1777 1 1 1 0 0
12 Hill,David 3.0 M 1744 1825 +0.15 13.0 8.0 1662 1 0 0 1 1
13 Davey,Finn 3.0 M 1663 1748 +0.36 12.5 9.0 1750 1 0 1 0 1
14 Campbell,Peter 3.0 M 1669 1817 +0.20 12.5 8.0 1932 = - 1 1 ½
15 Corr,David 3.0 M 1706 1716 +0.08 11.5 9.0 1608 0 1 1 1 0
16 Gunning,Joe 3.0 M 1595 1035 -0.40 11.0 9.0 1646 1 0 1 0 1
17 Marsh,Darragh 3.0 M 1648 1589 -0.32 9.5 8.0 1623 1 0 0 1 1
18 Aspell,Conor 3.0 M 1400 * 849 0 9.5 6.0 1609 0 0 1 1 1
19 Donnelly,Shay 2.5 M 1400 * 1738 1738 16.0 10.0 1742 1 ½ 1 0 0
20 Karpagavinayagam,Karthikey 2.5 M 1759 * 1592 1592 13.0 8.0 1554 1 ½ 0 0 1
21 Jackson,David 2.5 M 1733 1548 -0.74 10.0 7.5 1590 1 0 0 1 ½
22 Eagleson,Trevor 2.5 M 1531 * 1640 0 9.0 5.5 1573 0 0 1 1 ½
23 Neill,Chris 2.0 M 1553 1601 +0.14 17.0 7.0 1644 0 1 1 0 0
24 Devine,Michael 2.0 M 1573 1537 -0.28 14.0 6.0 1612 0 1 0 1 0
25 Wilson,Michael 2.0 M 1477 1599 +0.40 13.5 7.0 1594 0 1 1 0 0
26 MICHEAL,AARIN 2.0 M 1498 * 939 939 12.5 5.0 1531 0 1 0 0 1
27 Ward,Peter 2.0 M 1400 * 880 0 12.0 7.0 1421 + 0 0 1 0
28 O'Connor,Paul 2.0 M 1457 1452 -0.02 11.5 5.0 1506 0 0 1 1 0
29 Stinson,James 2.0 M 1590 * 981 0 11.0 8.0 1480 1 0 1 0 0
30 McKeown,Alex 2.0 M 1510 1442 -0.40 10.5 5.0 1516 0 1 0 0 1
31 Ganja,Abhiram 2.0 M 1507 * 975 0 10.5 5.0 1478 0 1 0 0 1
32 O’Neill,Connor 2.0 M 1400 * 1320 1320 8.5 3.0 1418 0 0 0 1 1
33 Alcazar,Andrei 1.5 M 1400 * 1386 1386 11.5 3.0 1407 0 ½ 0 0 1
34 Hill,Daniel 1.5 M 1565 908 -1.05 11.0 5.0 1442 0 ½ 1 0 0
35 Devlin,Corey 1.0 M 1400 * 824 824 10.5 4.0 1342 0 1 0 0 0
36 Vijayakumar,Praveen 1.0 M 1400 * 795 0 10.5 4.0 729 0 + 0 0 0
37 Caughey,Conal 1.0 M 1471 935 -0.54 10.5 3.0 1361 0 0 1 0 0
38 Maske,Poorva Ganesh 1.0 F 1400 * 863 0 10.5 2.0 1280 0 0 0 1 0
39 Venugopal,Avanthikha 1.0 F 1400 * 795 0 9.0 1.0 1219 0 0 0 0 1
40 McLean,Jim 0.5 M 1400 * 0 0 11.5 2.5 0 = - - - -
41 McCann ,Evan 0.0 M 1400 * 743 743 9.0 0.0 686 0 0 0 0 0

Tournament Champion : Mandar Tahmankar

Tournament 2nd : Andrew Campbell

Tournament 3rd : Jack Edens

Under 1700 1st : Sanket Sawant

Under 1700 2nd : Finn Davey

Under 1700 3rd : Peter Campbell

Under 1500 1st : Conor Aspell

Under 1500 2nd : Shay Donnelly

Under 1500 3rd : Michael Wilson

Many thanks to all the players and the organisers - a brilliant evening of chess and £430 raised for USPCA. See you next year.

winners