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Chess Notes by Rookie

Between 1983 and 1990, a weekly column was published in the Irish News with the byline of Rookie
Chess Notes by Rookie

Rookie in 1984

Rookie, in real life the irrepressible Martin Kelly, published over 300 of his chess columns in the Irish Press. Fortunately for us, we have been able to gather cuttings of his column and add them to our archive including the regular game posted along with each issue. Usually these games were from local competitions giving us a unique insight into Ulster chess of the 80's.

During these years, Martin honed his Extreme Punning skills to grandmaster level; these days his weekly reports of Belfast South's League Results - some of which have crept on to this site - often have a pun-count in double-figures.

Additional material appeared sporadically in various local papers over the same period and some of these - usually with photos - have also been recovered and will be appearing here soon. These include Ireland's Saturday Night (the Pink), Belfast Newsletter, Belfast Telegraph, The Down Recorder, Andersonstown News and the County Down Spectator.

Indexes

Reports are listed in each seasons archive but you can access Rookie specific items from the following lists:

News
2026 UK Open Blitz Championships: Belfast qualifier We were delighted to host the qualifier for the UK Open Blitz in Loanends, with FM Bodhana Sivanandan among the entrants Sep 27, 2026
The Summer School 2026 takes place at Ormeau Park Bowling Club. August 5th,6th,7th. The Ulster Chess Union annual summer school saw 18 young chess enthusiasts enjoy studing chess for 3 days. That included... Sep 12, 2026
The Civil Service Summer Tournament 2026 has 3 rounds remaining. What are the standings? The tournament will finish as in previous years with an Award Ceremony and fun Rapidplay. Sep 06, 2026
An opportunity to qualify for the UK Open Blitz final - Belfast Qualifier Sat 12th Sept. One of the most pretigious tournaments of the Calender for fast chess. The 2026 UK Open Blitz Championships: Belfast qua... Sep 06, 2026
2026 Ulster Championship Crosstables The 2006 Ulster Championship were held at Blackmountain Shared Space, Belfast over the Bank Holiday weekend, 29th to 31s... Sep 04, 2026
More news…
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