Ulster Masters - report by Brendan Jamison

55 players competed in the Ulster Masters 2024. With prizes worth £1020, everyone raised the bar to deliver a very high standard of chess. We also had chess royalty present, the Chair of the Irish Chess Union Desmond Beatty, delivering new chess equipment to some of our clubs.

Massive congratulations to the 10 prize-winners:

Ulster Masters Champion: CM Jacob Flynn 5/5 [Malahide Chess Club]

2nd Place: Mandar Tahmankar 4/5 [NI Civil Service Chess Club]

3rd Place: Steve Scannell 4/5 [Lisburn Chess Club]

U1875 Grading Award: Ayaansh Mulukutla 3/5 [Rathmines Chess Club]

U1775 Grading Award: Mark Robinson 3/5 [Lisburn Chess Club]

Ulster Intermediate Masters Champion: Jade Sandrey 4.5/5 [Queen’s University Belfast]

Intermediate 2nd: Aashay Kher 4/5 [Bangor Chess Club]

Intermediate 3rd: Chris Armstrong 4/5 [Belfast South + City of Derry Chess Club]

U1600 Grading Award: Amol Thoke 4/5 [NI Civil Service Chess Club]

U1500 Grading Award: Aharshi Banerjee 3/5 [Lisburn Chess Club]

Bangor Chess Club has invited this year’s Ulster Masters Champion Jacob Flynn (TPR of 2663) to do some coaching during the first week of December (Thursday 5th and Friday 6th). Jacob is a FIDE Candidate Master (rated 2161) and charges €35 (£30) for one hour sessions (so some slots will be available for any members who would like a one-on-one masterclass with Jacob). This is a one-off over-the-board opportunity for special insight from a chess master but he can continue online lessons for anyone wishing to have a regular coach.

Jacob has extensive opening knowledge so can help explain key themes in openings that players may be struggling with, help with endgame techniques and he can play through one of your annotated games to analyse with you, helping to identify any bad habits and fine-tune your thinking. Bangor Chess Club will be covering Jacob’s travel costs from Malahide. If any players would like to book a 1 hour slot, Brendan Jamison is taking a list of names. Venue for coaching is TBC.