Season Reports

Smith and Williamson British Championships

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:26Z

There were three Ulster players competing: IM Brian Kelly, James McDonnell and Timothy Douglas.

Defending champion Julian Hodgson retained his title.
Brian Kelly shared the British under-21 title with Nicholas Pert.

Final leading scores: 11 round Swiss: 68 players:
(1) Julian Hodgson 8.5,
(2) Chris Ward 8.0,
(3-6) Murray Chandler, Danny Gormally, Mark Hebden and Jon Speelman 7.5,
(7-13) Brian Kelly, Bogdan Lalic, Tony Miles, Nicholas Pert, Aaron Summerscale, Peter Wells and Alexander Wohl 7.0.
Timothy Douglas and James McDonnell both finished on 4.0.

Selected Games by Ulster players

After posting details of the Championship in the Chronicle I received this e-mail (edited for publication) from Paul McKeown.

"I note that in your Ulster Chess Chronicle News Digest you reported on the performances of three Ulster players in the Championship event. To my knowledge there were at least two other Ulster players competing in Street, Paul McKeown and Richard McMaster, both in the Major Open. I scored 6/11 and should have achieved a FIDE rating of 2084 in the Jan 2001 list from the 9 FIDE rated opponents that I played. Richard scored 5/11 and a partial FIDE rating of 2045 based on his 8 FIDE rated opponents.

In case no-one remembers me, I played for the Downpatrick Chess Club (and occasionally for Newcastle) as a junior, until I went to University in England in 1985. I last played chess in Ulster in the Ulster Championships in December 1985 and in the Belfast Civic Festival in May 1986, but I am planning to make my comeback this December, again in the Ulster Championships (having been unable to resist the blandishments of J.J. McDonnell!). During my years in the wilderness I studied for 3 years in England, worked in Germany for 18 months and then in the Netherlands for over 7 years before returning to England in January 1997. Somehow Belfast seems closer these days!"

UCU Summer Tournament 2000

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:26Z

To be eligible for a prize competitors had to play 10 games and to play on 2 of the last 3 nights of the event. There were 41 entries.

Winner Ian Woodfield with 7.5 out of 10 (75%).
Runner-up Nicholas Pilkiewicz with 8.5 out of 13 (65.3%).

Grading prizes:
Band A Brendan Jamison and Mark Newman both with 7.5 out of 12 (62.5%).
Band B John Orchin with 6.5 out of 10 (65%) Band C Francis Carrothers with 5.5 out of 10 (55%).

Target Recruitment in major sponsoship boost for Ulster chess

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:26Z

Target Recruitment is to sponsor the Ulster Chess Union. This will mean that a number of existing tournaments, including the Williamson Shield, Ulster Senior, Intermediate and Junior Championships will be able to offer larger prize-funds. One of the active tournaments planned for this season will also receive an injection of funds from Target Recruitment. For the first time ever there will be prize-money in the UCU Team Leagues. Last and by no means least, the major weekend tournament of the season will be the Target Recruitment Open Championship from 30 March-2 April 2001. 1st prize in the top section will be £500, it is hoped to attract IMs and GMs to the event and for it to be part of the year long Terence Chapman Grand Prix.

Williamson Shield and Henderson Cup 2000 Report

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:26Z

In recent years, a second tournament for Intermediate and Junior players has usually been run alongside it. For the first time, however, the winner of this subsidiary tournament was to receive a trophy - the Henderson Cup. First competed for in 1988, the Cup was awarded to the winner of the Intermediate section of the no-longer played City of Belfast Championships (which had 6 player all-play-all sections). The UCU Committee decided the Henderson Cup should be revived, to be played for alongside the Williamson Shield.

In the Williamson Shield, Nicholas Pilkiewicz won his first four games, but after losing in the fifth round to Timothy Douglas, he was only half a point clear going into the final round. The top two pairings in round 6 were
Pilkiewicz (4) - Michael Holmes (3)
Douglas (3.5) - Adrian Skelton (3.5).
Pilkiewicz managed to get a well-supported pawn to f6 against the defending champion Holmes, and despite the latter's efforts to wriggle free, managed to secure the win and first place. Douglas and Skelton had a hard-fought game which lasted right to the end of the session, with Skelton losing on time.

In the Henderson Cup two players, John Strawbridge and Stuart McConaghy entered the final round half a point ahead of their nearest pursuers. They were paired against each other, with McConaghy eventually getting the better of a rook and 5 pawns each endgame. In the battle for the minor placings there were a couple of late reverses. Ron Henderson allowed a perpetual check, when two pieces up. Meanwhile Tony Parker had a winning endgame against Norman McFarland, when he overlooked a mate in one.

Williamson Shield: 6 round Swiss: 12 players:
1. N.Pilkiewicz 5.0
2. T. Douglas 4.5
3-4. D. Mallaghan, A. Skelton 3.5
5-7. G. Annesley, M. Holmes, M. Newman 3
8. J. Nicholson 2.5
9-12. J. Bradley, S. Moore, D. Moreland, D. Robb 2.0

Michael Holmes - David Robb: Williamson Shield, Round 5

Henderson Cup: 6 round Swiss: 25 players:
1. S. McConaghy 5.0
2-3. N. McFarland, J. McLean 4.5
4-7. R. Henderson, S. McCann, P. McLaughlin, J. Strawbridge 4.0
8-9. A. Beckett, T. Parker 3.5
10-16. T. Beckett, C. Black, A. Burns, J. Cahoon, K. Marron, D. O'Donnell, J. Woodfield 3.0
17-19. J. Clarke, J. Douglas, D. Lavery 2.5
20-21. L. Elliott, W. Storey 2.0
22-23. M. Corrie (withdrew after 3 rounds), L. Holmes 1.5
24. B. Lappin 1.0 (withdrew after 4 rounds)
25. E. Walls (withdrew after 3 rounds) 0.5

Ulster Matchplay Championship for the Alex Beckett Trophy

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:26Z

The draw gave the white pieces in the first two rounds to Stephen Scannell against his two main rivals, Tom Clarke and David Houston. He took full advantage of this and won both those games. He then went on to win his next 3 games to lead at halfway by 1.5 points. In rounds 6 and 7 he drew with Clarke and Houston to virtually ensure victory. After another draw in Round 8 against Adrian Skelton, he finished off with wins against Mark Newman and Nicholas Pilkiewicz to record a very impressive final score of 8.5.

FIRST SERIES OF GAMES (ROUNDS 1-5)

PLAYER		RTG	1  2  3  4  5  6  PTS
S.SCANNELL	2171	X  1  1	 1  1  1  5.0
D.HOUSTON	2252	0  X  1	 1  1  =  3.5
A.SKELTON	2024	0  0  X	 1  =  0  1.5
N.PILKIEWICZ	1966	0  0  0  X  1  0  1.0
M.NEWMAN	1826	0  0  =  0  X  0  0.5
T.CLARKE	2191	0  =  1  1  1  X  3.5

SECOND SERIES OF GAMES (ROUNDS 6-10)

PLAYER		RTG	1  2  3  4  5  6  PTS
S.SCANNELL	2171	X  =  =  1  1  =  3.5
D.HOUSTON	2252	=  X  =  1  1  0  3.0
A.SKELTON	2024	=  =  X  =  0  0  1.5
N.PILKIEWICZ	1966	0  0  =  X  1  =  2.0
M.NEWMAN	1826	0  0  1  0  X  =  1.5
T.CLARKE	2191	=  1  1  =  =  X  3.5

PROGRESSIVE SCORES

PLAYER RTG 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 PLACE S.SCANNELL 2171 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.5 8.5 1st D.HOUSTON 2252 1.0 1.0 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.0 5.0 6.0 6.5 3rd A.SKELTON 2024 1.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.0 2.0 2.5 2.5 3.0 4th= N.PILKIEWICZ 1966 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4th= M.NEWMAN 1826 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.0 6th T.CLARKE 2191 0.0 1.0 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.0 2nd

UCU Active Tournament, Belfast, 29 October 2000

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:26Z

Final standings:

Major:
1st = Michael Holmes and Desmond Moreland 4.0 (the players shared the prize money but Moreland took the Certificate for first place - he had the better tie-break score after beating Holmes in the final round); 3rd Ian Woodfield 3.0; 4th = Fred MacDonald and Paul McLoughlin 2.0; 6th Stephen McCann 0.0.

Intermediate:
1st David Collins 5.0; 2nd David Barlow 3.0; 3rd David O'Donnell 2.5; 4th= Damien Cunningham and William Storey 2.0; 6th Damien Lavery 0.5.

Junior:
1st Chris Black 4.5; 2nd Jonathon Woodfield 4.0; 3rd Jonathon Clifford 3.5; 4th John Cahoon 2.0; 5th Geoff Hindley 1.0; 6th Louis Holmes 0.0.

Ulster Intermediate and Junior Championships

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:26Z

Last year Gareth Annesley won the Intermediate Championship with a score of 5.5 points out of 6 games. In this year's renewal the top seed produced a repeat performance.

Final placings in the Intermediate Championship:
Players rated 1900 or under:
6 Round Swiss: 14 players:

1. G. Annesley 5.5
2. J. Masterson 4.0
3=7. R. Henderson, F. MacDonald, S. McCann, D. Moreland and S. Strawbridge 3.5
8=10. J. Bradley, J. McLean and D. O'Donnell 3.0
11-12. S. McConaghy and P. McLoughlin 2.5
13. C. Marron 2.0
14. A. Burns 1.5

Michael Kane. winner of the 1999 Junior Championship, almost completed a double as well. He tied with two others for first place in this year's championship. However, it was William Storey who took the title on tie-break.

Finals placings in the Junior Championship:
Players rated 1500 or under:
6 Round Swiss: 9 players

1=3. W. Storey (winner of the championship on tie-break), M. Kane and S. Linton 4.5
4. D. Lavery 4.0
5. C. Black (winner of the under 1350 grading prize) 3.5
6=7. J. Cahoon and J. Clarke 3.0
8. G. Hindley 2.0
9. A. Peile 1.0

Target Recruitment Ulster Rapidplay Championship

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:26Z

This was probably the strongest Rapidplay tournament held in Ulster for some time. It attracted a sizeable contingent from Dublin, including former Irish champion Paul Delaney and Ander Gamez, a Spanish player resident in Dublin for the last 2 months, who has a FIDE rating of 2196.

In the Senior section, Paul Delaney was in the sole lead after three rounds after beating Nicholas Pilkiewicz, Stephen Scannell and Tom Clarke, the last of these being a particularly attractive attacking effort. However in Round 4 he over-pressed in a fairly level endgame against the Spaniard Gamez and lost. This meant Gamez was now in the sole lead with 3.5 points but he then lost his Round 5 game - eventually ground down in an endgame by Scannell, who just reached the finishing line before his time ran out. Also in Round 5 Delaney sacrificed a knight against Michael Holmes, followed it with a clever quiet move, forcing Holmes to counter-sacrifice. When the dust had cleared Delaney had rook and two pawns to knight and three pawns, but one of these was a passer. Delaney felt the position was winning for him, while Holmes thought he could hold out for a draw, but in the end Holmes' passed pawn surprisingly proved decisive. The top pairings for the last round were:

Tom Clarke (4.0) - Stephen Scannell (4.0)
Ander Gamez (3.5) - Nicholas Pilkiewicz (3.0)
Michael Holmes (3.5) - Danny Mallaghan (3.0)

Gamez and Holmes both won their games to finish on 4.5, and all eyes were now on the Board 1 game. This was a hard-fought struggle, with little in it either way until the last few minutes of the session, when Clarke's position suddenly collapsed, giving victory and the championship to Scannell.

Senior: 6 round Swiss: 15 competitors:
1. Stephen Scannell 5.0
2=3. Ander Gamez, Michael Holmes 4.5
4. Tom Clarke 4.0
5=8. Paul Delaney, Gerard MacElligott, Paul McLoughlin (under 1950 grading prize), Stephen Morgan 3.5
9=10. Danny Mallaghan, Nicholas Pilkiewicz 3.0
11=12. Gareth Annesley,John Masterson 2.5
13=14. Tony Beckett, Chris Kelly 2.0
15. Brendan Jamison 1.0

Paul Delaney - Tom Clarke, Ulster Rapidplay Championship, Belfast (Round 3)

In the Junior section, Sean Linton won his first five games. In the final round he was paired against David O'Donnell, the only person who could catch him. O'Donnell pressed hard the entire game, but Linton held firm under the pressure and eventually a draw was agreed; Alex Beckett, who had been in a winning position and with more time on the clock when losing to Linton in Round 4, beat Damien Cunningham to join O'Donnell in second place.

Junior: 6 round Swiss: 18 competitors:
1. Sean Linton 5.5
2=3. Alex Beckett, David O'Donnell 4.5
4=5. Killian Delaney (best schools entrant), Michael Kane (under 1400 grading prize) 4.0
6=8. Louis Holmes, Gerry Collins, Rory Delaney 3.5
9=11. Chris Black, Damien Cunningham, Damien Lavery 3.0
12=14. Adita Bhalla, Geoff Hindley, Jack McCann 2.5
15=16. Colin Fenton, William Storey 2.0
17. Phillip Morrison 1.0
18. Matthew McCaughey 0.0

Ulster Championship Report

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:26Z

Paul McKeown, was a member of the Downpatrick Chess Club in the mid-1980s before going to University in England. This was his first competition since then in Ulster. He has a FIDE rating of 2084 after a good performance in the Major Open at the 2000 British Championships. Michael Waters was a member of the Queen's University team in the early 1990s. He won the 1991 Williamson Shield and has a FIDE rating of 2125. However, by his own admission, he had hardly looked at a chess set for five years. Another former winner of the Williamson Shield, Fred MacDonald, was continuing his comeback after returning to action earlier this season after over 10 years away from competitive play. Eight of the top 10 from the 1999 championship, including the winner Stephen Scannell, were playing again, so this was probably a slightly stronger field than last year.

There were three surprises in the opening round. Defending champion Scannell was beaten by Gareth Annesley, number one seed Tom Clarke lost to Danny Mallaghan, and it started to snow very heavily. While the snow made the surroundings at Fortwilliam Golf Club very picturesque, it caused the players quite a few problems going to and from the venue.

After all the adjournments were cleared away at the end of Round 4, the leading scores were Clarke, James McDonnell, Adrian Skelton and Waters on 3.0, followed by Michael Holmes, McKeown and Scannell on 2.5. McDonnell beat Clarke in the top board clash in Round 5, but then lost to Scannell in Round 6. Meanwhile Holmes had won in Rounds 5 and 6 to be in the sole lead going into the last round.

The final round pairings on the top two boards were: Scannell (4.0) -v- Holmes (4.5) and James McDonnell (4.0) -v- Adrian Skelton (4.0). Only these four players were in a position to win the title. Scannell managed to beat Holmes and this gave him the championship outright as the other two in the hunt drew their game. Final round wins for Clarke, over Waters, and Timothy Douglas, over the previously unbeaten McKeown, brought them up to second equal. The only player to remain unbeaten over the seven rounds was Adrian Skelton.

Final scores and positions:
1. Stephen Scannell 5.0;
2=6. Tom Clarke, Tim Douglas, Michael Holmes, James McDonnell and Adrian Skelton 4.5;
7. Danny Mallaghan (winner of the grading prize) 4.0;
8=12. Fred MacDonald, Paul McKeown, Desmond Moreland, Brendan O'Neill and Michael Waters 3.5;
13=14. Gareth Annesley and Sam Moore 3.0;
15. Paul McLoughlin 1.0;
16. John Nicholson 0.0 (withdrew after 2 rounds).

Ulster Open Active

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:26Z

Senior (18 Player 5 Round Swiss)

1. Stephen Scannell 4.5
2. Michael Holmes 4.0
3=4. Tom Clarke, John Nicholson 3.5
5=8. Paul McLoughlin, Nicholas Pilkiewicz, John Strawbridge, Brendan Walshe (grading prize) 3.0
9=10. Mark Newman, David O'Donnell 2.5
11=15. Alan Burns, Danny Mallaghan, Stephen McCann, Desmond Moreland, Jim McLean 2.0
16. David Collins 1.5
17. Ron Henderson 1.0
18. Gerry Pollock 0.0

In Round 3 Tom Clarke beat Nicholas Pilkiewicz and Michael Holmes lost to Stephen Scannell. This put Clarke and Scannell in the joint lead with 3/3 and they met in Round 4. After a fluctuating struggle the game was drawn. Meanwhile Holmes and Pilkiewicz had got back on the winning trail and this produced final round pairings of Clarke (3.5) - Holmes (3.0) and Pilkiewicz (3.0) - Scannell (3.5). Both games were won by the player of the Black pieces and therefore Scannell notched up his 4th victory of the season in UCU tournaments.

Junior (15 player 5 Round Swiss)

1. Chris Black 5.0
2. Michael Kane 4.0
3=6. Alex Beckett, Damien Cuningham, Louis Holmes, Jack McCann (grading prize) 3.0
7=10. Colin Fenton, Geoff Hindley, Sam Lynn, Ed Morgan 2.5
11=13. John Cahoon, Damien Lavery, Philip Morrison 2.0
14. William Storey 1.5
15. A. Peile 1.0

Having both scored 3/3 Chris Black and Michael Kane met in the 4th Round and it was Black who won, thus assuring himself of at least a share of first prize. In the final round first prize went outright to Black when he won quickly against Dubliner Jack McCann. Thinking he was now out of the running for a prize, Jack was considering making an early start on his long journey home, until some of the other competitors persuaded him that he was still in with a chance of a grading prize. As you can see from the result above the wait proved worthwhile.

UCU Belfast & District Leagues 2000-2001

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:27Z

DIVISION 1
TEAM		  PLAYED  POINTS
NORTH BELFAST	  10	  63.0
RVH A		  11	  53.0
RVH B		  11	  37.0
CIVIL SERVICE	  12	  36.0
BANGOR CARNEGIE	   9	  31.5
BOMBARDIER	  10	  24.5
FISHERWICK A	   7	  19.5
MAGHERAFELT	   8	   8.5
                   
DIVISION 2
TEAM		  PLAYED  POINTS
SHORTS		  12	  53.0
CIYMS		  10	  47.5
QUB		   9	  47.0
RVH C		   8	  28.0
FISHERWICK B	  10	  28.5
FORTWILLIAM	  10	  28.0
RVH D		  12	  27.0
BANGOR GROOMSPORT  7	  26.0
BANGOR WINSTON	  10	  23.5

Queen's University Chess Club

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:27Z

Traditionally one of the strongest Ulster chess clubs, since the early 1990s Queen's University Chess Club had been in decline, not even entering teams in the Belfast and District Leagues. Fortunately that trend has now been reversed. The University players organised a one-day tournament last year and entered a team in the UCU Knockout Cup, reaching the final of the Plate competition. This year a QUB team is competing with considerable success in Division 2 of the League. Those involved in running the club are determined to return it to its previous heights. The club is also the first Ulster chess club to have a website.

QUB Chess Club website

UCU Belfast and District Leagues

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:27Z

Division 1
Team	Played	Points
North Belfast	14	85.5
RVH A	14	66.5
RVH B	14	51.5
Fisherwick A	14	47.5
Bangor Carnegie	14	44.0
Civil Service	14	42.5
Bombardier	14	38.0
Magherafelt	14	16.5
Division 2
Team	Played	Points
QUB	16	87.5
CIYMS	16	81.5
Fisherwick B	16	60.0
Shorts	16	57.5
Fortwilliam	15	42.0
Bangor Groomsport	16	38.0
RVH C	16	37.5
Bangor Winston	16	33.0
RVH D	16	32.0

Fisherwick Club Tournament

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:27Z

This go-as-you-please tournament was run on similar lines to the UCU Summer tournament at Civil Service. To be eligible for prizes players had to play at least 12 games, including 2 of the last 3 nights.

Prizewinners:
Winner:
Nicholas Pilkiewicz..P21..Pts.17.0..80.9%
Runner-up:
Paul McLoughlin......P21..Pts.15.0..71.4%
Grading Prizes:
Band A:
Bernard Jaffa........P12..Pts..7.5..62.5%
Ian Woodfield........P17..Pts..9.0..52.9%
Band B:
Fred Marlow..........P21..Pts..9.0..42.8%
Best scores by those not fulfilling tournament conditions:
Sam Ferris...........P16..Pts.12.0..75.0%
Kieran Greer.........P08..Pts..6.0..75.0%

Irish Tournament Round-Up

David McAlister — 2015-06-25T09:26:27Z

Irish Tournament Round-Up

Irish Open/Leinster Championships Dublin 14-16 April 2001

The Easter holiday weekend saw the revival of the Irish Open. The event was jointly organised by the Irish Chess Union and the Leinster Chess Union and incorporated the Leinster Championships. Five Ulster players made the trip to Dublin and three of them, most notably Desmond Moreland equal first in the Intermediate, featured among the prizewinners.

Leading final standings (all events 6 Round Swisses): Ulster players in bold:

Senior (14 competitors):
1=2. Daire McMahon, Colm Daly 4.5
3=4. Joe Ryan, Mark Quinn 4.0

Intermediate (28 competitors):
1=5. Alan McDonagh, Fernando Alvarez, Pat Twomey,
Desmond Moreland, Roland McDermott 4.5
6=7. Peter Hayes, Danny Mallaghan (Grading prize) 4.0
8=11. James Buchanan, Fred MacDonald, Bernard Boyle, Nicholas Pilkiewicz 3.5
Grading prize: Karl McPhillips

Junior (31 competitors):
1=2. Daniel Lynch, Luigi di Maggio 5.0
3=5. Paul McLoughlin, Eoin McNena, Niki Mullins 4.5
Grading prizes. Eamon Pitts, Damien McCabe, Shane Hall

Ladies prize: Michelle Cowley:
Under 18 grading prize: Peter Hayes

MALAHIDE MILLENNIUM TOURNAMENT 5-7 MAY 2001

A small contingent of Ulster players journeyed south for the richly endowed Malahide tournament. In the Open Danny Mallaghan and Nicholas Pilkiewicz both finished on 3.5 and won grading prizes, but Desmond Moreland, after his first place in the Irish Open Intermediate, found it tougher going in the top section here and only scored 1.0. In the Major Paul McLoughlin finished equal second.

Open (34 player 6-Round Swiss)
1-3 Jorg Weidemann, Stephen Brady, Joe Ryan 5.0;
4-5 Colm Daly, Pablo Garcia 4.5;
6-7 John Joyce, Daire McMahon 4.0

Major (34 player 6-Round Swiss)
1 Joseph Reid; 5.5;
2-3 Paul McLoughlin, Shannon Clements 5.0;
4 Roderick O'Mahoney 4.5

PHIBSBORO TOURNAMENT 18-20 MAY 2001

The fifth major tournament to be held in Ireland in the last two months saw two Ulster competitors travelling south. Both Danny Mallaghan in the Open and Desmond Moreland in the Intermediate turned in excellent performances.

Open (20 player 6 Round Swiss)
1. Colm Daly 5.5;
2. Stephen Brady 4.5;
3=6. Daire McMahon, Mel O'Cinneide, Jorg Weidemann, Gordon Freeman 4.0;
7=8. Danny Mallaghan, Michael Dooley 3.5.

Intermediate (25 player 6 Round Swiss)
1. Dean O'Neill 5.5;
2. Desmond Moreland 5.0;
3=5. Roland McDermott, Sean Loftus, Mark McGovern 4.5.

Junior (26 player 6 Round Swiss)
1. David Chin-Shong 5.5: 2. Jack McCann 5.0; 3. Gerard Healy 4.5.