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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
January 2025 FIDE Rating Report January 2025 FIDE NI Rating Report By Brendan Jamison Congratulations to 14 more players making a FIDE rating debut Jan 01, 2025
The Ulster Blitz Champions are crowned for 2024/25 at Bangor City Chess Club. To celebrate a fantastic year of Chess and so many brilliant events. Bangor City Chess Club hosted and ran the Ulster Bl... Dec 31, 2024
The Williamson Shield 2025 The Williamson Shield Returns in 2025.On the 17th - 19th January 2025 Friday Evening to Sunday. The long running William... Dec 29, 2024
Record-breaking numbers at this year's Ulster Blitz 2024/25 Record-breaking numbers of around 60 players are expected at this year's Ulster Blitz as Bangor Chess Club hosts the 18 ... Dec 22, 2024
Top Young players compete to be Ulster Champion at Methodist College On the stormy morning of 7th December 2024 top young players gathered. Six rounds of chess to get age group Ulster Champ... Dec 08, 2024
More news…
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Upcoming Events
The Williamson Shield The Williamson Shield at the Maynard Sinclair Pavilion, Stormont Estate Jan 17, 2025 - Jan 19, 2025 — The Maynard Sinclair Pavilion
FIDE RATED City of Bangor New Year Rapid 2025 [rounds 6-10] January 23, 2026 from 07:30 PM to 10:00 PM Jan 23, 2025 07:30 PM - 10:00 PM — City of Bangor Chess Club, Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street Groomsport
FIDE RATED City of Bangor Sam Lynn Memorial Classic: Round 2 Jan 30, 2025 07:30 PM - 10:30 PM — Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street, Groomsport, County Down, BT19 6JR, Northern Ireland
The Sligo Tournament Jan 31, 2025 - Feb 02, 2025 — Diamond Coast Hotel, Enniscrone
FIDE RATED City of Bangor February Blitz 2025 [event 6 of 8 in Gold Coast Blitz Grand Prix 2024/2025] February 06, 2025, from 07:30 PM to 10:00 PM, Bangor Chess Club Feb 06, 2025 07:30 PM - 10:00 PM — Bangor Chess Club, Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street Groomsport
Upcoming events…