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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
Annual General Meeting Announcement This year's AGM will be hosted by Fruithill Chess Club, Monday 19th June, time 7:30pm. May 18, 2023
The final Childrens Chess afternoon took place on April 1st 2023 Methodist College hosted the 5th Childrens Chess this School year. With top young chess players having an afternoon of c... May 08, 2023
We had one of our largest Childrens Chess tournaments in March 2023 With some 45 youngsters we had a fantastic afternoon of chess at Methodist College on Saturday 11th March. With 6 rounds... May 07, 2023
The first Ulster Fischer Random Championship took place on Sunday 26th March 2023 18 players fought to see who would be crowned Ulster Fischer Random Champion at The Pavilion, Civil Service. The second ... May 07, 2023
City of Belfast 2023 - Results May 03, 2023
More news…
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Upcoming Events
Week 5 : The Annual Summer Tournament at Civil Service Social Club: Weds 31st May The Summer Tournament is at Civil Service Social Club starting Wednesday 3rd May 2023 at the Maynard Sinclair Pavilion a... May 31, 2023 07:30 PM - 10:45 PM — NICS,Maynard Sinclair Pavilion, Stormont, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast, BT4 3TA
AGM 2022/2023 This year's event has been confirmed to be hosted by Fruithill Chess Club Monday 19th June (time TBC). You must be a ful... Jun 19, 2023 07:30 PM - 09:30 PM — Falls Bowling Club, 63 Andersonstown Road
FIDE Rated Ulster Championships 2023 Aug 26, 2023 - Aug 28, 2023 — Elmwood Hall, Queen’s University Belfast, Elmwood Mews, Belfast BT9 6BD
FIDE Rated City of Bangor Autumn Blitz Championship 2023 Sep 14, 2023 07:30 PM - 10:15 PM — Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street, Groomsport, County Down, BT19 6JR, Northern Ireland
FIDE Rated City of Bangor Congress 2023 Sep 23, 2023 10:00 AM - 05:00 PM — Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street, Groomsport, County Down, BT19 6JR, Northern Ireland
Upcoming events…