The senior section consisted of plenty of top players with 6 over 2000. With previous Ulster Champions and last years young defender Thomas Donaldson who returned from play in the British Championships in July with a good score of 2 points including a draw against an FM of rating 2247.(see full game click here).

A big thankyou goes to the team that allowed this event to take place - the Controllers Brendan Jamison, Ross Harris. the brilliant venue The Europa Hotel.

Behind the scenes our tech expert Adrian Dornford-Smith who setup and kept working the live boards and video feed.

Also thanks to all the players for some fantastic chess.

And what a brilliant result - Daniil Zelenchuk won the Ulster Championship - at 16 Daniil must be one of the youngest Champions.

The intermediate and junior Championships were well fought.

Intermediate Champion: Conor Spackman

Junior Champion:  Colm Hawkins

To find the live games click here

Results and photos tell the story ....

Junior Section

Pairings round 1 (Saturday, 24 August 2019)

Generated by Swiss Master for Windows on 26-08-2019 at 19:03

Intermediate Section

Pairings round 1 (Saturday, 24 August 2019)

Senior Section

Pairings round 1 (Saturday, 24 August 2019)

Junior Section

Pairings round 2 (Saturday, 24 August 2019)

Intermediate Section

Pairings round 2 (Saturday, 24 August 2019)

Senior Section

Pairings round 2 (Saturday, 24 August 2019)

Junior Section

Pairings round 3 (Saturday, 24 August 2019)

Intermediate Section

Pairings round 3 (Sunday, 25 August 2019)

Senior Section

Pairings round 3 (Saturday, 24 August 2019)

Junior Section

Pairings round 4 (Sunday, 25 August 2019)

Intermediate Section

Pairings round 4 (Sunday, 25 August 2019)

Senior Section

Pairings round 4 (Sunday, 25 August 2019)

Junior Section

Pairings round 5 (Sunday, 25 August 2019)

Intermediate Section

Pairings round 5 (Sunday, 25 August 2019)

Senior Section

Pairings round 5 (Sunday, 25 August 2019)

Junior Section

Pairings round 6 (Monday, 26 August 2019)

Intermediate Section

Pairings round 6 (Monday, 26 August 2019)

Senior Section

Pairings round 6 (Monday, 26 August 2019)

Junior Section Standings

Intermediate Section Standings

Senior Section Standings

The Winners:

16 year old chess genius Daniil Zelenchuk was crowned the 2019 Ulster Champion, while the talented Dublin teenager Jacob Flynn took second place, Candidate Master Gabor Horvath finished third and Gareth Annesley scooped the Under 1900 Grading Prize. There was also a particular buzz in the air as Keith Allen (2207) returned to the tournament, a 6-time Ulster Champion who moved to the Isle of Man many years ago.

In the Intermediate section, after a 20 year absence from the local chess scene, Conor Spackman made a triumphant return as he walked away as the Ulster Intermediate Champion, with Gatis Barbals in second place and Chris Kelly won the Under 1550 Grading Prize. 18 year old bright spark Colm Hawkins became the Ulster Junior Champion, with Adrian Dornford-Smith closely behind in second place on tie-breaks, schoolboy Adam Rushe took the Under 1200 Grading Prize and Michael Wong won the Under 1050 Grading Prize. (text from: http://www.chessni.co.uk/ ).

Many thanks go to Brendan Jamison and Ross Harris who controlled the tournament and made this brilliant event possible.

Many thanks go to the Europa Hotel for the brilliant venue.

Last Thursday, Brendan Jamison  (far right) of the Ulster Chess Union delivered 7 new chess sets to Bangor Academy and pupils are looking forward to playing with them in the weeks ahead.

Brendan said “the Ulster Chess Union (UCU) is delighted to donate equipment to Bangor Academy.  Mr Magee is a former Ulster Junior Chess Champion which makes him the ideal teacher to run the club. The UCU is committed to youth development and actively encourages all schools to create a lunch-time club or after-school club.”

The UCU runs monthly youth chess tournaments in Belfast which attracts school pupils from all across Northern Ireland. Bangor in particular has seen a recent rise in school children playing chess, with many now attending Bangor Chess Club after starting out in a school chess club.  New players of all abilities are always welcome at Bangor Chess Club which meets every Thursday at Groomsport Parish Halls from 7:30 to 11pm. It costs £5 a year for Under 18s and there are many tournaments and coaching sessions held throughout the year.

reporter: Brendan Jamison

Our monthly series of Chess tournaments kicks off with the London Junior Chess Qualifier - have fun playing chess or qualifier for top tournament or both.Age groups start from under8. up to Under19.The tournament consists of 6 round of 25mins clock time each. and a break for lunch - recommended packed lunch.- day includes fun puzzle solving competition.Here are a couple of reports from previous tournaments

https://www.ulsterchess.org/archives/chronicles/2017-2018-season/ucu-web-2017/childrens-chess-2017-18/ljcc-2018/london-junior-chess-championship-qualifier-belfast-2017
https://www.ulsterchess.org/Members/ucu00450/childrens-chess-2018-19/ljcc-2018-19/top-young-chess-players-compete-in-belfast-ljcc-qualifier

Chess Events 2019/2020

London Junior Chess Championships Belfast Qualifier

October 5^th

Methodist College, Belfast

9:30am – 5:00pm

Packed Lunch Recommended

U8, U10, U12, U14, U19

Entry £5.00 Register on day

www.ulsterchess.org

Jointly Organised by

Ulster Schools Chess Council

Ulster Chess Union

Further details: Mark.chris.newman@googlemail.com mobile: 07872 544868

As part of this wonderful event  Ulster Chess is assisting in running a Cafe Chess event at our usual Caffe Nero , 19 Lombard St

We will have people playing chess. Some brilliant chess puzzles to solve. The aim is to encourage passers-by to experience the fun of chess and hopefully have a quick game.

A Cafe table is waiting for a Chess game.....waiting for you!

A beautiful day - the sun out and a blue sky. The large set is setup - a couple of gusts of light wind almost blow it down. Adrian Dornford-Smith buys some bluetak to keep the outside chess boards stuck to the tables and some water bottles to place on the large chess matt to stop it from lifting - a clever man.

With everything setup we wait and soon enough the tables start filling with chess players.

The large set starts getting use and with Adrian looking after it and giving a humerous running commentary we get quite a crowd watching the games.

The large set allows people to talk chess - what if this happens and then that .... with arms gesticulating and minds wizzing.

People passing sit and play. Children, families, strangers all enjoying a chat and a game.

The best way to enjoy the atmosphere is to have a coffee and enjoy the following photos - of course apart from actually being there - so see you next year!

We handed out fliers with Club details and Schools Chess Dates for this Year and some brilliant chess puzzles; Solutions at the end of this article.

What a brilliant night and day and brilliant celebration of the game of chess, of Belfast and Culture, of the beauty of people.

Many thanks to Cafe Nero and its staff. The Ulster Chess Union Chess players and all those who enjoyed playing Chess at this wonderful event.

The calender of Childrens Chess Events for the year: All at Methodist College. For details see our events section.

and now the photos

Saturday and I meet Adrian at the Cafe Nero. He again does a brilliant job of looking after the large set. The boards get busy and again we have a wonderful afternoon.

Slap. Bang. Swing. Click. Over 50 speed chess players exercised their lightning-fast reflexes, duelling at the Bangor Chess Congress on Saturday 5 October.

Kindly sponsored by Mellons Hyundai, it was the hotly anticipated return of the event after a 14 year break. Held in the magnificent venue of Groomsport Parish Halls, players came in their droves from all across Northern Ireland, even as far away as Dublin. Testimony to the warm reception at Bangor Chess Club.

The event was officially launched by Alderman Bill Keery, Mayor of Ards and North Down, who delivered an excellent speech. Players then took their seats and tried to calm their nerves before battle commenced. 6 rounds flew by as several multi-award winning champions fought hard to secure the Sam Lynn Memorial Shield.

Tournament organiser and arbiter, Brendan Jamison, congratulated the ten prize-winners as one-by-one they came up to collect their awards:

Fruithill’s John Cairns was crowned the much-deserved champion with an undefeated record of four wins and two draws. The following 4 players all ended on 4.5/6 and tie-breaks had to determine the prize they walked home with. Hungarian powerhouse Gabor Horvath took 2nd, while decorated chess supremo Michael Waters of Bray Chess Club came 3rd, the Under 1800 Grading Prize was won by Dublin teenage chess prodigy  Alex Goss of Elm Mount and the Under 1500 Grading Prize was won by Walter Wilson from Newtownards, punching far above his rating in a super tough field of players.

Christopher Dorrian from Carrickfergus was crowned the Junior Champion with the excellent score of 5/6. Fruithill Chess Club then delivered two more junior prize-winners as 2nd went to John Monaghan on 5/6 and 3rd to Evan Elwood on 4.5/6. The Under 1200 Grading Prize was won by Tyrone Winter, finishing on 4/6. The Under 850 Grading Prize was scooped by 14 year old Daniel Hill from Larne, a promising young player from Strand Chess Club.

Bangor Chess Club Chairman Alan McConnell also presented a much-deserved ‘Life-time Honorary Membership’ to Martin Rodgers, one of the founding members of the club and its devoted treasurer for 50 years! Martin expressed his heartfelt thanks for the award.

Bangor Chess Club always invites new players to come along to visit the club to get a taste of the marvellous fun that can be shared over the board. Players of all ages and abilities are welcome. The club runs on Thursday nights from 7:30pm to 10:45pm at Groomsport Parish Halls on the Main Street of the village.

This year although numbers werent great we had some of the top young players in Ulster including the current Schools Ulster Champion Kamal Taufik.

With six rounds and 30 minutes  each on the clock we had some great play with some close endgames. Just occasionally a quick move will lead to a blunder - our challenge is to get the students to slow down and consider more options and threats.

Many thanks to the volunteers James Fairley, Geoff Hindley, Ross Harris who give of their time to allow these tournaments to be run. Also a big thankyou to the players who support our competitions and create such a brilliant friendly atmosphere. Also to the teachers who advertise them at their schools.

We will follow the qualifiers to see how they do at the London Junior Chess Championships in December so watch this space. This tournament is one of the most prestigious competitions for young players and they will be facing the top players in the UK - what a brilliant opportunity - more details see : http://www.ljcc.co.uk/

As usual we had our brilliant puzzle competition. With 24 challenging problems. Heres some of the harder ones - see if you can solve them.... (solutions if I can work them out are at the bottom of this page.....

Primary School Puzzle Solving: Champion Dexter Harris.

Secondary School Puzzle Solving champion : Kamal Taufik

With only 6 players - we still played a swiss - half hoping that some late players would arrive. The risk was how many rounds could we get before we got an impossible round and we would have to do a manual draw and play players against each other more than once. The rules of the qualifiers stipulate that we must play 6 rounds.

Round 1

Results

No Name                          Feder Total  Result   Name                        Feder Total

 1 Taufik Kamal                  U12   [0]      1:0    Blake Harris                U10   [0]  
 2 Umaiorubagam Karpagavinayagam U14   [0]      0:1    Dexter Harris               U12   [0]  
 3 Ethan Cole                    U8    [0]      1:0    Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam U10   [0]  

by Swiss Perfect (TM)  www.swissperfect.com

Ethan Cole is definitely a player to watch - at a young age and cable of focusing and playing winning chess. The two Karpagavinayagam brothers are set for some challenging games as they are in a group of very talented and competition prepared regular players. I mentioned this to their father who responded most wisely that its the journey thats important. Loosing is the way to develop and eventually win. Chess is one of those games where loosing is a way of learning. I played at School every lunch time and was fortunate to play a top player who beat me every game - I never beat him but was enthusiastic to play him... my chess improved very quickly. So players my advice is find a person who can beat you and play, play, play regardless of the result.....

Round 2

Results

No Name                        Feder Total  Result   Name                          Feder Total

 1 Dexter Harris               U12   [1]      0:1    Taufik Kamal                  U12   [1]  
 2 Blake Harris                U10   [0]      1:0    Ethan Cole                    U8    [1]  
 3 Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam U10   [0]      1:0    Umaiorubagam Karpagavinayagam U14   [0]  

A close game between Blake and Ethan. Blake wins. Brothers Karthikeya and Umaiorubagam play and the younger brother wins. Its brilliant to see chess played in families. An educational study of the impact of Chess at Schools in Aberdeen noticed that an inadvertent result of encouraging Chess at schools had families playing  - parents, grandparents and siblings. Chess is a brilliant family game enjoyed by all ages.

Round 3

Results

No Name                          Feder Total  Result   Name                        Feder Total

 1 Taufik Kamal                  U12   [2]      1:0    Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam U10   [1]  
 2 Ethan Cole                    U8    [1]      0:1    Dexter Harris               U12   [1]  
 3 Umaiorubagam Karpagavinayagam U14   [0]      0:1    Blake Harris                U10   [1]  

Kamal leads the tournament unbeaten with 3 out of 3.

Round 4

Results

No Name          Feder Total  Result   Name                          Feder Total

 1 Ethan Cole    U8    [1]      0:1    Taufik Kamal                  U12   [3]  
 2 Dexter Harris U12   [2]      1:0    Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam   U10   [1]  
 3 Blake Harris  U10   [2]      1:0    Umaiorubagam Karpagavinayagam U14   [0]  

At round 4 we had a problem we had reached an impasse we couldnt do a legal draw. Much discussion then ensued between myself and James and Geoff. We printed off the cross table and organised a manual pairing. Looking at ensuring we could have everyone playing each other but allowing some pairings to repeat.

Round 5

Results

No Name                        Feder Total  Result   Name                          Feder Total

 1 Taufik Kamal                U12   [4]      1:0    Umaiorubagam Karpagavinayagam U14   [0]  
 2 Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam U10   [1]      0:1    Ethan Cole                    U8    [1]  
 3 Dexter Harris               U12   [3]      1:0    Blake Harris                  U10   [3]

Kamal proves unbeatable. The quality of the games is excellent - we enjoy just watching and calculating and seeing some very accurate play. Also the problems this month at seriously difficult - you have tried the ones in this page you will know and myself and Ross have some challenges working out the solutions!! But hey thats part of the brilliancy of the game.

Round 6

Results

No Name         Feder Total  Result   Name                          Feder Total

 1 Ethan Cole   U8    [2]      1:0    Umaiorubagam Karpagavinayagam U14   [0]  
 2 Taufik Kamal U12   [5]      0:1    Dexter Harris                 U12   [4]  
 3 Blake Harris U10   [3]      1:0    Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam   U10   [1]  

Kamal and Dexter the top players meet for the second time. Kamal makes a mistake and one mistake is all it takes for Dexter to get in and win the game. So we end with two winners on 5 points.

Standings

Place Name                          Feder Score 

 1-2  Taufik Kamal                  U12   5       
      Dexter Harris                 U12   5        
  3   Blake Harris                  U10   4        
  4   Ethan Cole                    U8    3        
  5   Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam   U10   1       
  6   Umaiorubagam Karpagavinayagam U14   0        

A brilliant days chess. Rather than keep to our timetable of 1 round every hour. We continued each round shortly after the previous round. The players tended to end their games before the time control. So we finished early - this was in agreement with the parents who stayed to the end.

Our Qualifiers (players in the sections above U12 do not need to qualify) and Champions:

The Problem Solutions - elegent and beautiful - improve your game - solve problems everyday.

I do the 5 puzzles on Chess.com. as a free member.

Tournament Report by Assistant Arbiter Martin Johnston

Lisburn Chess Club hosted its second Speed Chess Championship on Saturday 12 October 2019. As per last season, it was very well attended with players from all over the province. 34 competed and many more watched on.

The format was Blitz and Bullet with seven rounds of ten-minute Blitz followed, after lunch, with six rounds of Bullet. There was quite a bustle about the tournament and it proved exciting for all involved. There was a huge upset in the very first round when young Adam Fitzsimons defeated Steve Scannell, sealing his win of the Giant Killer prize.

The club along with Neil Gardiner (Director) offered three prizes in each of three-graded section these consisted of Soviet era chess lapel pins, which proved an interesting and innovative idea for prizes.

A new trophy was presented to the club “LISBURN CHESS CLUB PERPETUAL BRILLIANCY PRIZE” This was awarded as a Giant Killer prize on this occasion, and awarded to whomever beat a higher rated player with the greatest rating difference.

The club would like to express its gratitude to Brendan Jamison for his expertise and help as our Chief Arbiter on the day and the work involved beforehand. Also Libraries NI for their continued hospitality during the tournament and every Saturday.

BLITZ RESULTS

7 ROUNDS OF 10+0

Champion: Steve Scannell (6/7)

2nd: Danny Roberts (5.5/7)

3rd: Michael Sheerin (5.5/7)

Intermediate Champion: Taufik Kamal (5/7)

Intermediate 2nd: Dexter Harris (4.5/7)

Intermediate 3rd: Adam Fitzsimons (4/7)

Junior Champion: Aaditya Singh (4/7)

Junior 2nd: Brian Fitzsimons (3/7)

Junior 3rd: Patrick Maguire (3/7)

The first recipient of the new Lisburn Chess Club Brilliancy Prize

Was Adam Fitzsimons (1159) for his round 1 victory over an opponent 695 rating points higher.

BULLET TOURNAMENT

SIX ROUNDS OF 1+0

Champion: Michael Sheerin (5.5/6)

2nd Place: Steve Scannell (5/6)

3rd Place: Neil Gardner (5/6)

Groomsport Blitz 2019 - FIDE RATED Thursday 28th November 7:45pm to 10:45pm

Tonights event was the FIDE RATED Halloween Blitz 2019

Bangor Chess Club, Groomsport Parish Halls

Chief Arbiter: Brendan Jamison

23 entrants. 1 open section. 7 rounds. Time control: 10+0

Champion: Danny Roberts (5.5/7)

2nd Place: Brendan Jamison (5/7)

3rd Place: Michael Sheerin (5/7)

Intermediate Champion: Alan McConnell

Intermediate 2nd: James O'Fee

Intermediate 3rd: Richard ProctorRichard Proctor

Junior Champion: Geoff Sterrett

Junior 2nd: Alwyn Pollock

Junior 3rd: Owen Wilson

The final scoreboard.

For full results click here: https://www.ulsterchess.org/competitions/competitions/comp-3244/cvt_event/standings/597#tabhead

Some photos of the event:

The day started with a sun light morning and we gathered outside the beautiful Bowling Green of Ormeau Park. The aim was to set up we were faced with the challenge of getting into the Venue. Everyone was patient and eventually the Bowling Hall was opened.

The room was setup in double time and all was ready. A blitz game is quick and over - each player had 3mins on the clock and on each move gets an extra 2 seconds added - no chance to correct mistakes and very little time to think. But the play of the top players is still incredibly accurate.

Stephen Rush lead the tournament most of the rounds, beating our visitor from England Jonathan Pein in round 4 but then loosing in round 11 to our current Ulster Champion the teenage Daniil Zelenchuk and then loosing in round 14 to WFM Diana Mirza. Both Stephen and Jonathan ending on 13 out of 15.

The qualifiers will be entered into final to be held in Solihull on Saturday, November 16th. We will be watching their progress with excitement:

Qualifiers: Open: Stephen Rush; Jonathan Pein; Women: WFM Diana Mirza

More details on the Championship: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship-2019-qualifying-events/

A full day of brilliant chess thanks to Ross Harris and Brendan Jamison.

The cross table of results

The Final standings

Let the photos tell the story ......

To me apart from the friendly atmosphere the Puzzle solving is the best bit of the day. We had 24 problems with varying levels of difficulty. During the tournament I solve these to create a solution sheet and today was a challenge to get this done for the end of the tournament.

A big thankyou to volunteers Brendan Jamison and Geoff Hindley who made this event possible.

See you all at the Ulster Championships on Saturday 7th December.

Primary Puzzle Solver Champion - Aaditya Singh.

Secondary Puzzle Solver Champion: James Huang.

Here are some of the puzzles see if you can solve them...... solutions at the bottom of the page - good luck

The sets in position the clocks set. Names in the computer the draw was done and silence fell with the beginning of the first round.

Round 1

Results

No Name                 Feder Rtg  Total  Result   Name                 Feder Rtg  Total

 1 Kamal Taufik         F1    1342 [0]      1:0    Patrick Maguire      F2    707  [0]  
 2 Joseph Boyd          F2    700  [0]      0:1    Ben Toogood          F3    1152 [0]  
 3 Calvin Patterson     F1    1034 [0]      1:0    Ethan Cole           P3    700  [0]  
 4 Lucas Dowling        P7    700  [0]      0:1    Aaditya Singh        P6    924  [0]  
 5 Aayush Sunil Bhars   F4    875  [0]      1:0    Luca O'Kane          P4    700  [0]  
 6 Ashwanth Subramanian F4    700  [0]      1:0    William Zhang        F4    830  [0]  
 7 Cian Suitor          P6    828  [0]      1:0    Holly Hawkins        P7    650  [0]  
 8 Edison Wang          F1    550  [0]      0:1    Mohammed Rakeeb      F3    825  [0]  
 9 Daniel Toogood       P7    800  [0]      1:0    Aakanksh Sunil Bhars P3    525  [0]  
10 Cillian Suitor       P4    391  [0]      0:1    James Huang          F1    750  [0]  
11 Alannah Cole         P2    300  [0]      1:0    BYE                                  
12 Adam Rushe           U6    1324 [0]     .5:.5   BYE                                  

by Swiss Perfect (TM)  www.swissperfect.com

Each player has a rating and one is allocated if none has been set. The players are paired according to their rating and their points. As everyone starts with zero points - the top players play the lower half of the rating list. This way of pairing means the top players will only play each other in the latter part of the tournament.  The first round went to rating apart from Ashwanth Subramanian beating William Zhang - Ashwanth having an estimated rating.

As each match completed the players reported their results and continued to look at the Chess puzzles or played a friendly game.

As soon as all games were completed the results were put into the computer and the next round was drawn and then started - so an afternoon of continous chess ensued. We encouraged the players to take their time over their moves as most played too fast and made mistakes by missing obvious moves and threats.

Round 2

Results

No Name                 Feder Rtg  Total  Result   Name                 Feder Rtg  Total

 1 Mohammed Rakeeb      F3    825  [1]      0:1    Kamal Taufik         F1    1342 [1]  
 2 Ben Toogood          F3    1152 [1]      1:0    Cian Suitor          P6    828  [1]  
 3 James Huang          F1    750  [1]     .5:.5   Calvin Patterson     F1    1034 [1]  
 4 Aaditya Singh        P6    924  [1]      1:0    Daniel Toogood       P7    800  [1]  
 5 Alannah Cole         P2    300  [1]     .5:.5   Aayush Sunil Bhars   F4    875  [1]  
 6 Patrick Maguire      F2    707  [0]      0:1    Ashwanth Subramanian F4    700  [1]  
 7 Luca O'Kane          P4    700  [0]      0:1    Adam Rushe           U6    1324 [.5] 
 8 William Zhang        F4    830  [0]      1:0    Edison Wang          F1    550  [0]  
 9 Holly Hawkins        P7    650  [0]      0:1    Joseph Boyd          F2    700  [0]  
10 Ethan Cole           P3    700  [0]      1:0    Cillian Suitor       P4    391  [0]  
11 Aakanksh Sunil Bhars P3    525  [0]      1:0    Lucas Dowling        P7    700  [0]  

James Huang gets a good draw against Calvin Patterson and the very young Alannah Cole gets a draw against a draw against Aayush Sunil Bhars. The favourite and current Ulster Champion Kamal Taufik leads with two points.

Round 3

Results

No Name                 Feder Rtg  Total  Result   Name                 Feder Rtg  Total

 1 Kamal Taufik         F1    1342 [2]      1:0    Aaditya Singh        P6    924  [2]  
 2 Ashwanth Subramanian F4    700  [2]      0:1    Ben Toogood          F3    1152 [2]  
 3 Adam Rushe           U6    1324 [1.5]   .5:.5   James Huang          F1    750  [1.5]
 4 Calvin Patterson     F1    1034 [1.5]    1:0    Alannah Cole         P2    300  [1.5]
 5 Aayush Sunil Bhars   F4    875  [1.5]    0:1    William Zhang        F4    830  [1]  
 6 Cian Suitor          P6    828  [1]      1:0    Aakanksh Sunil Bhars P3    525  [1]  
 7 Joseph Boyd          F2    700  [1]     .5:.5   Mohammed Rakeeb      F3    825  [1]  
 8 Daniel Toogood       P7    800  [1]      1:0    Ethan Cole           P3    700  [1]  
 9 Edison Wang          F1    550  [0]      0:1    Patrick Maguire      F2    707  [0]  
10 Lucas Dowling        P7    700  [0]      1:0    Holly Hawkins        P7    650  [0]  
11 Cillian Suitor       P4    391  [0]     .5:.5   Luca O'Kane          P4    700  [0]  

Kamal Taufik and Ben Toogood lead with 3 full points. Followed by Calvin Patterson on 2.5 and a group on 2 points. Brilliant to see the P2 Alannah Cole on the top tables with 1.5 points.

Round 4

Results

No Name            Feder Rtg  Total  Result   Name                 Feder Rtg  Total

 1 Ben Toogood     F3    1152 [3]      0:1    Kamal Taufik         F1    1342 [3]  
 2 Adam Rushe      U6    1324 [2]      1:0    Calvin Patterson     F1    1034 [2.5]
 3 Aaditya Singh   P6    924  [2]      0:1    Ashwanth Subramanian F4    700  [2]  
 4 William Zhang   F4    830  [2]      1:0    Daniel Toogood       P7    800  [2]  
 5 James Huang     F1    750  [2]      1:0    Cian Suitor          P6    828  [2]  
 6 Mohammed Rakeeb F3    825  [1.5]    0:1    Aayush Sunil Bhars   F4    875  [1.5]
 7 Alannah Cole    P2    300  [1.5]    0:1    Joseph Boyd          F2    700  [1.5]
 8 Patrick Maguire F2    707  [1]      1:0    Lucas Dowling        P7    700  [1]  
 9 Ethan Cole      P3    700  [1]      1:0    Aakanksh Sunil Bhars P3    525  [1]  
10 Luca O'Kane     P4    700  [.5]    .5:.5   Zoe Fitzsimons       P5    321  [0]  
11 Holly Hawkins   P7    650  [0]      1:0    Cillian Suitor       P4    391  [.5] 
12 Edison Wang     F1    550  [0]      1:0    BYE     

Adam Rushe climbs to Second place with a win over the very able Calvin Patterson. Whilst the two leaders knock heads and Kamal wins to lead the tournament by beating Ben Toogood.

Round 5

Results

No Name                 Feder Rtg  Total  Result   Name               Feder Rtg  Total

 1 Kamal Taufik         F1    1342 [4]      1:0    James Huang        F1    750  [3]  
 2 Ashwanth Subramanian F4    700  [3]      0:1    Adam Rushe         U6    1324 [3]  
 3 William Zhang        F4    830  [3]      0:1    Ben Toogood        F3    1152 [3]  
 4 Calvin Patterson     F1    1034 [2.5]    1:0    Aayush Sunil Bhars F4    875  [2.5]
 5 Joseph Boyd          F2    700  [2.5]    0:1    Aaditya Singh      P6    924  [2]  
 6 Cian Suitor          P6    828  [2]     .5:.5   Ethan Cole         P3    700  [2]  
 7 Daniel Toogood       P7    800  [2]      1:0    Patrick Maguire    F2    707  [2]  
 8 Mohammed Rakeeb      F3    825  [1.5]    1:0    Alannah Cole       P2    300  [1.5]
 9 Lucas Dowling        P7    700  [1]     .5:.5   Edison Wang        F1    550  [1]  
10 Aakanksh Sunil Bhars P3    525  [1]      0:1    Luca O'Kane        P4    700  [1]  
11 Zoe Fitzsimons       P5    321  [.5]     1:0    Holly Hawkins      P7    650  [1]  
12 Cillian Suitor       P4    391  [.5]     1:0    BYE            

Kamal maintains his lead. Chased by Adam Rushe and Ben Toogood. Ethand Cole draws against Cian Suitor. The younger Daniel Toogood beats Patrick Maguire.

Round 6

Results

No Name                 Feder Rtg  Total  Result   Name                 Feder Rtg  Total

 1 Adam Rushe           U6    1324 [4]      0:1    Kamal Taufik         F1    1342 [5]  
 2 Ben Toogood          F3    1152 [4]      0:1    Calvin Patterson     F1    1034 [3.5]
 3 Aaditya Singh        P6    924  [3]      1:0    William Zhang        F4    830  [3]  
 4 James Huang          F1    750  [3]      1:0    Daniel Toogood       P7    800  [3]  
 5 Aayush Sunil Bhars   F4    875  [2.5]    0:1    Ashwanth Subramanian F4    700  [3]  
 6 Joseph Boyd          F2    700  [2.5]    0:1    Cian Suitor          P6    828  [2.5]
 7 Ethan Cole           P3    700  [2.5]    1:0    Mohammed Rakeeb      F3    825  [2.5]
 8 Patrick Maguire      F2    707  [2]      1:0    Luca O'Kane          P4    700  [2]  
 9 Cillian Suitor       P4    391  [1.5]    0:1    Lucas Dowling        P7    700  [1.5]
10 Edison Wang          F1    550  [1.5]    1:0    Zoe Fitzsimons       P5    321  [1.5]
11 Holly Hawkins        P7    650  [1]      1:0    Alannah Cole         P2    300  [1.5]
12 Aakanksh Sunil Bhars P3    525  [1]      1:0    BYE        

Round 6 and finally the two top rated players meet. Kamal wins and increases his lead. The top tables are very competitive - Calvin Patterson beats Ben Toogood and overtakes him going into 2nd place with 4.5 points.

Its always difficult to judge the number of rounds to play - we decide to play one extra and to play 7 rounds.

Round 7

Results

No Name                 Feder Rtg  Total  Result   Name                 Feder Rtg  Total

 1 Kamal Taufik         F1    1342 [6]      1:0    Calvin Patterson     F1    1034 [4.5]
 2 Aaditya Singh        P6    924  [4]      1:0    Adam Rushe           U6    1324 [4]  
 3 Daniel Toogood       P7    800  [3]      0:1    Ben Toogood          F3    1152 [4]  
 4 Ashwanth Subramanian F4    700  [4]      1:0    Ethan Cole           P3    700  [3.5]
 5 Cian Suitor          P6    828  [3.5]    0:1    Patrick Maguire      F2    707  [3]  
 6 William Zhang        F4    830  [3]      0:1    James Huang          F1    750  [4]  
 7 Aayush Sunil Bhars   F4    875  [2.5]    0:1    Joseph Boyd          F2    700  [2.5]
 8 Lucas Dowling        P7    700  [2.5]    0:1    Mohammed Rakeeb      F3    825  [2.5]
 9 Luca O'Kane          P4    700  [2]      0:1    Holly Hawkins        P7    650  [2]  
10 Alannah Cole         P2    300  [1.5]   .5:.5   Aakanksh Sunil Bhars P3    525  [2]  
11 Zoe Fitzsimons       P5    321  [1.5]   .5:.5   Cillian Suitor       P4    391  [1.5]

The final round Kamal reaches the final round and cant be caught - he wins against a tough opponent Calvin Patterson and ends with full 7 points.

Standing

Place Name                 Feder Rtg  Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   Kamal Taufik         F1    1342 7        22.5  31.0   28.0
 2-5  Ben Toogood          F3    1152 5        19.5  29.5   22.0
      Ashwanth Subramanian F4    700  5        19.5  27.0   20.0
      Aaditya Singh        P6    924  5        18.5  28.0   19.0
      James Huang          F1    750  5        18.0  26.5   19.5
  6   Calvin Patterson     F1    1034 4.5      20.0  28.5   20.0
 7-8  Adam Rushe           U6    1324 4        23.0  32.0   19.0
      Patrick Maguire      F2    707  4        16.5  25.5   12.0
9-12  Cian Suitor          P6    828  3.5      19.0  26.0   15.5
      Joseph Boyd          F2    700  3.5      17.5  24.0   13.5
      Ethan Cole           P3    700  3.5      16.5  23.0   13.5
      Mohammed Rakeeb      F3    825  3.5      14.5  23.0   13.5
13-15 William Zhang        F4    830  3        20.5  28.0   15.0
      Daniel Toogood       P7    800  3        20.5  27.5   15.0
      Holly Hawkins        P7    650  3        11.5  16.5    7.0
16-19 Aayush Sunil Bhars   F4    875  2.5      16.5  23.0   14.0
      Lucas Dowling        P7    700  2.5      15.0  21.5    8.5
      Aakanksh Sunil Bhars P3    525  2.5      14.5  19.5    8.5
      Edison Wang          F1    550  2.5      12.0  18.0    5.0
20-23 Alannah Cole         P2    300  2        16.0  22.5   10.5
      Cillian Suitor       P4    391  2        14.5  21.5    6.0
      Zoe Fitzsimons       P5    321  2        14.5  19.5    5.5
      Luca O'Kane          P4    700  2        13.5  19.0    7.5

The final standings - we give out trophies for each year combining the top secondary years Form 4 and above and the lower years, P5 and below.

Here are the prize winners:

Photos of the award ceremony.

The puzzle solutions:

After setting the room up, Geoff Hindley places the direction arrows to let players know the location of the room. Registration takes place and the round 1 draw is done. To allow any age group to win the title of Ulster Champion we play one section.

The players are paired by the resonant and authoritative voice of volunteer James Fairley.

We were lucky to have 7 players from Ballymena Academy brought by their excellent teacher Patrick Scullion.

This years Ulster Champion is James Wong being presented with the trophy by last years Champion Kamal Taufik.

The Ulster Girls Champion : Anjali Singh

Our brilliant Chair of the Ulster Chess Union Ross Harris was at hand to present the trophies. Ross runs the Childrens Chess Club at The Strand Cinema on Sundays, the Strand Primary School Chess Club and the Strand Chess team that has done such a fantastic job of introducing School Children to the world of League Chess.

So how did they get to be the champions - the full results and more photos are shown below.

One of the key things that happens during all our tournaments is the problem solving competition. Its been  a long tradition to calculate the solutions on the day of the tournament - this is easier as more time when the tournament is a full day. Both myself and Ross Harris worked through the sheets. We both scratched our heads and discussed the solutions - one of the parents humorously compared us to two school boys doing their homework late...

And we collected the sheets in at 3:00pm and Ross marked them. One interesting solution from Winner Ciaran Rowan actually put our solution to shame...

	We had the solution 1. ... Rd2+ 2. Kc1 Rc2+ 3. Kb1 Rh2+ 4. Kc1 Qe3+ 5.Kd1 Rxh1# Ciaran came up with the much simpler - 1. ... Bc2+ 2. Kc1 Qe3+ 3. Kb2 Be4# We were rightly humbled...

Ulster Primary Puzzle Champion: Aaditya Singh

Ulster Secondary Puzzle Champion : Rowan Ciaran.

Again we had a tough puzzle competition. Here are some of the puzzles for you to solve - find the solutions at the bottom of the page.

Round 1

Results

No Name              Feder Total  Result   Name                 Feder Total

 1 James Wong        U19   [0]      1:0    Thomas Arthur        U19   [0]  
 2 Alex Buchanan     U16   [0]      0:1    Kamal Taufik         U14   [0]  
 3 Ciaran Rowan      U19   [0]      1:0    Niall Douglas        U19   [0]  
 4 David Gordon      U16   [0]      0:1    Dexter Harris        U12   [0]  
 5 Ben Toogood       U14   [0]      1:0    William McCartney    U16   [0]  
 6 Rebecca McCartney U12   [0]      0:1    Calvin Patterson     U14   [0]  
 7 Eoin Boyle        U14   [0]      1:0    Mohammed Rakeeb      U16   [0]  
 8 Daniel Toogood    U10   [0]      0:1    Aaditya Singh        U10   [0]  
 9 Patrick Maguire   U14   [0]      1:0    Blake Harris         U10   [0]  
10 Ethan Cole        U8    [0]      0:1    Anjali Singh         U14   [0]  
11 Ryan Anderson     U14   [0]      1:0    Aakanksh Sunil Bhari U8    [0]  
12 James Huang       U12   [0]      1:0    Peter Wong           U8    [0]  

by Swiss Perfect (TM)  www.swissperfect.com

The pairing system aims to keep the top players apart for a long as possible. No upsets on the first round. The favourites are James Wong with a rating of 1397, Kamal Taufik (the defending Ulster Champion) with rating of 1342, Ciaran Rowan rating of 1293 closely followed by Dexter Harris 1221 and Ben Toogood 1152. So it will be a tough competition.

Round 2

Results

No Name                 Feder Total  Result   Name              Feder Total

 1 Eoin Boyle           U14   [1]      0:1    James Wong        U19   [1]  
 2 Kamal Taufik         U14   [1]      1:0    Patrick Maguire   U14   [1]  
 3 Aaditya Singh        U10   [1]      0:1    Ciaran Rowan      U19   [1]  
 4 Dexter Harris        U12   [1]      1:0    Ryan Anderson     U14   [1]  
 5 Anjali Singh         U14   [1]     .5:.5   Ben Toogood       U14   [1]  
 6 Calvin Patterson     U14   [1]      0:1    James Huang       U12   [1]  
 7 Thomas Arthur        U19   [0]      1:0    Mohammed Rakeeb   U16   [0]  
 8 Blake Harris         U10   [0]      0:1    Alex Buchanan     U16   [0]  
 9 Niall Douglas        U19   [0]      0:1    Daniel Toogood    U10   [0]  
10 Aakanksh Sunil Bhari U8    [0]      0:1    David Gordon      U16   [0]  
11 William McCartney    U16   [0]      0:1    Ethan Cole        U8    [0]  
12 Peter Wong           U8    [0]      1:0    Rebecca McCartney U12   [0]  

Anjali Singh gets a good draw against Ben Toogood. James Huang gets a good win against tough opponent Calvin Patterson. Some of the younger players get points off the older pupils.The advice given at the beginning of the tournament was not to under-estimate the younger players and to not to rush your moves as you will make a mistake and miss something. Ethan Cole beats William McCartney and Peter Wong gets a point off Rebecca McCartney.

Round 3

Results

No Name              Feder Total  Result   Name                 Feder Total

 1 James Wong        U19   [2]     .5:.5   Dexter Harris        U12   [2]  
 2 Ciaran Rowan      U19   [2]      1:0    Kamal Taufik         U14   [2]  
 3 James Huang       U12   [2]      0:1    Anjali Singh         U14   [1.5]
 4 Ben Toogood       U14   [1.5]    1:0    Calvin Patterson     U14   [1]  
 5 Alex Buchanan     U16   [1]      0:1    Eoin Boyle           U14   [1]  
 6 David Gordon      U16   [1]      0:1    Aaditya Singh        U10   [1]  
 7 Patrick Maguire   U14   [1]      0:1    Daniel Toogood       U10   [1]  
 8 Ryan Anderson     U14   [1]      1:0    Peter Wong           U8    [1]  
 9 Ethan Cole        U8    [1]      1:0    Thomas Arthur        U19   [1]  
10 Mohammed Rakeeb   U16   [0]      0:1    Niall Douglas        U19   [0]  
11 Blake Harris      U10   [0]      0:1    William McCartney    U16   [0]  
12 Rebecca McCartney U12   [0]     .5:.5   Aakanksh Sunil Bhari U8    [0]  

Dexter Harris gets a draw against James Wong allowing Ciaran Rowan to lead the tournament with 3 out of 3. The pressure is now on Ciaran. Anjali Singh holds joint second with James and Dexter and Ben Toogood. Ethan Cole gets a good win off Thomas Arthur.

After round 3 we stopped for a lunch break. With packed lunches and friendly games of chess. Some of the students were taught battle chess - a game with 4 Pawns and a King each and you play to a finish - a brilliant way of practicing your endgame.

Round 4

Results

No Name                 Feder Total  Result   Name              Feder Total

 1 Dexter Harris        U12   [2.5]    0:1    Ciaran Rowan      U19   [3]  
 2 Anjali Singh         U14   [2.5]    0:1    James Wong        U19   [2.5]
 3 Kamal Taufik         U14   [2]      1:0    Ben Toogood       U14   [2.5]
 4 Eoin Boyle           U14   [2]     .5:.5   James Huang       U12   [2]  
 5 Aaditya Singh        U10   [2]      0:1    Ethan Cole        U8    [2]  
 6 Daniel Toogood       U10   [2]     .5:.5   Ryan Anderson     U14   [2]  
 7 Calvin Patterson     U14   [1]      1:0    Niall Douglas     U19   [1]  
 8 William McCartney    U16   [1]      1:0    Patrick Maguire   U14   [1]  
 9 Thomas Arthur        U19   [1]      1:0    David Gordon      U16   [1]  
10 Peter Wong           U8    [1]      0:1    Alex Buchanan     U16   [1]  
11 Mohammed Rakeeb      U16   [0]      1:0    Rebecca McCartney U12   [.5] 
12 Aakanksh Sunil Bhari U8    [.5]     0:1    Calum McGuiness   U16   [0]  
13 Blake Harris         U10   [0]      1:0    BYE                          

Talking to volunteers James, Geoff and Ross the games being played showed some fantastic examples of chess play with sacrifices, threats, defending moves and some very accurate endgame play - its a joy to watch.

Ciaran Rowan continues the lead. James Wong is chasing just 1/2 point behind on 3 1/2 points.

Round 5

Results

No Name                 Feder Total  Result   Name              Feder Total

 1 Ciaran Rowan         U19   [4]     .5:.5   James Wong        U19   [3.5]
 2 Ethan Cole           U8    [3]      0:1    Kamal Taufik      U14   [3]  
 3 James Huang          U12   [2.5]   .5:.5   Dexter Harris     U12   [2.5]
 4 Ben Toogood          U14   [2.5]    1:0    Daniel Toogood    U10   [2.5]
 5 Ryan Anderson        U14   [2.5]   .5:.5   Eoin Boyle        U14   [2.5]
 6 Aaditya Singh        U10   [2]     .5:.5   Anjali Singh      U14   [2.5]
 7 Alex Buchanan        U16   [2]      0:1    Calvin Patterson  U14   [2]  
 8 William McCartney    U16   [2]      1:0    Thomas Arthur     U19   [2]  
 9 Patrick Maguire      U14   [1]     .5:.5   Peter Wong        U8    [1]  
10 Niall Douglas        U19   [1]      0:1    Blake Harris      U10   [1]  
11 Calum McGuiness      U16   [1]      0:1    Mohammed Rakeeb   U16   [1]  
12 David Gordon         U16   [1]      1:0    Rebecca McCartney U12   [.5] 
13 Aakanksh Sunil Bhari U8    [.5]     1:0    BYE                       

Brilliant to see the young Ethan Cole on board 2. The top players draw and the competition becomes more open. Going into the last round Ciaran Rowan leads with 4.5 followed by James Wong and Kamal Taufik on 4 points. This round also sees a couple of family matches - Anjali beats brother Aaditya Singh whilst Ben Toogood wins against Daniel. The last round will be exciting.

Round 6

Results

No Name              Feder Total  Result   Name                 Feder Total

 1 Ben Toogood       U14   [3.5]    1:0    Ciaran Rowan         U19   [4.5]
 2 James Wong        U19   [4]      1:0    Kamal Taufik         U14   [4]  
 3 Dexter Harris     U12   [3]      0:1    William McCartney    U16   [3]  
 4 Calvin Patterson  U14   [3]      1:0    Ethan Cole           U8    [3]  
 5 Anjali Singh      U14   [3]      1:0    Eoin Boyle           U14   [3]  
 6 James Huang       U12   [3]      1:0    Ryan Anderson        U14   [3]  
 7 Thomas Arthur     U19   [2]      0:1    Aaditya Singh        U10   [2.5]
 8 Daniel Toogood    U10   [2.5]    1:0    Alex Buchanan        U16   [2]  
 9 Blake Harris      U10   [2]      0:1    David Gordon         U16   [2]  
10 Mohammed Rakeeb   U16   [2]      0:1    Patrick Maguire      U14   [1.5]
11 Peter Wong        U8    [1.5]    1:0    Aakanksh Sunil Bhari U8    [1.5]
12 Niall Douglas     U19   [1]      1:0    Calum McGuiness      U16   [1]  
13 Rebecca McCartney U12   [.5]     1:0    BYE      

Ben Toogood and Ciaran Rowan have a very exciting endgame and are the last to finish - Ciaran has a Rook and Bishop against Bens Queen - a tough endgame and well played by both players. With Ben winning he's on the same points as Ciaran on 4.5 points. James Wong wins against Kamal Taufik and becomes this years Champion. Such a tough battle. Anjali wins against Eoin Boyle and ends on 4 points and the position of Girls Ulster Champion.

An absolutely brilliant day of chess. Thanks to the brilliant players.

Standings

Place Name                 Feder Loc  Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   James Wong           U19   1397 5        14.0  20.5   18.0
 2-3  Ben Toogood          U14   1152 4.5      16.0  24.0   15.5
      Ciaran Rowan         U19   1293 4.5      15.0  22.0   19.0
 4-8  Anjali Singh         U14   877  4        15.0  23.0   14.5
      Kamal Taufik         U14   1342 4        14.5  21.5   16.0
      James Huang          U12   700  4        13.0  19.5   14.5
      Calvin Patterson     U14   1034 4        11.0  16.5   12.0
      William McCartney    U16   700  4        10.5  16.5   10.0
9-10  Aaditya Singh        U10   924  3.5      13.5  20.0   12.0
      Daniel Toogood       U10   700  3.5      11.0  17.5   11.5
11-15 Dexter Harris        U12   1221 3        15.5  23.5   14.0
      Ethan Cole           U8    650  3        15.5  21.5   12.0
      Eoin Boyle           U14   975  3        13.0  20.0   12.5
      Ryan Anderson        U14   700  3        12.0  17.0   12.5
      David Gordon         U16   700  3         7.5  12.0    8.0
16-17 Patrick Maguire      U14   900  2.5      12.0  17.5    8.0
      Peter Wong           U8    554  2.5       8.5  13.5    7.0
18-22 Thomas Arthur        U19   700  2        13.5  20.5    8.0
      Alex Buchanan        U16   700  2        13.0  18.5    8.0
      Niall Douglas        U19   700  2        11.0  16.5    5.0
      Blake Harris         U10   658  2        10.5  16.5    5.0
      Mohammed Rakeeb      U16   700  2         7.5  11.5    5.0
23-24 Rebecca McCartney    U12   700  1.5      10.5  15.5    3.0
      Aakanksh Sunil Bhari U8    600  1.5       9.5  13.5    4.0
 25   Calum McGuiness      U16   700  1        10.0  14.0    3.0

Ross Harris the Current Ulster Chess Union President gives out the awards.

Thanks to all the Volunteers - Ross Harris, Geoff Hindley, James Fairley.

Thanks to the Venue Methodist College, Belfast.

and thanks to the Players for making the event so enjoyable.

We end the day with our new Ulster Champions - James Wong and Anjali Singh.

Under 19 Champion James Wong

Under 16 Champion William McCartney

Under 14 Champion Ben Toogood

Under 12 Champion James Huang

Under 10 Champion Aaditya Singh

Under 8 Champion Ethan Cole

Primary Champion Puzzle Solver Aaditya Singh

Secondary Champion Puzzle Solver Ciaran Rowan

The puzzle awards

Primary Schools

Secondary Schools Puzzle awards

The Under 8 Prizes

The Under 10 Awards

Under 12 Awards

Under 14 Awards

Under 16 Awards

Under 19 Awards

The current Ulster Champion Kamal Taufik passing on the title to the new Ulster Champion James Wong.

The Girls Ulster Champion Anjali Singh

All the Winners

See you at our next Childrens Chess Tournament on 11th January - have a good Christmas and Happy New Year.

The puzzle solutions