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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
Saturday 14th Feb 2026 and another brilliant monthly Childrens Chess Tournament. Youngsters from all over Ulster gathered at Methodist College to compete in an afternoon of Chess, a swiss tournament an... Feb 21, 2026
UCU Events Update – Remainder of the Season This has been a challenging year for UCU events; however, we have been fortunate to secure arbiters for events held so f... Feb 21, 2026
Standings of the Childrens Chess Grandprix after January 2026. The Ulster Chess Union runs monthly tournaments at Methodist College. All pupils are welcome to play. Five of these tour... Feb 07, 2026
The new year and the chess league continues.... Playing chess in a team is one of those joys of chess. You have the beautiful game and the team spirit. Each player focu... Feb 01, 2026
Williamson Shield 2026: Storms, Strategy, and a New Champion A report by Chris Dorrian Jan 28, 2026
More news…
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Upcoming Events
FIDE rated Ulster Rapidplay Championship 2026 Feb 28, 2026 09:30 AM - 04:30 PM — Fruithill Chess Club, Falls Bowling Club, 63 Andersonstown Rd, Belfast, BT11 9AH
Women's Chess Day with special guest - WGM Trisha Kanyamarala Mar 08, 2026 12:00 PM - 04:00 PM — Lisburn Chess Club, 60-62 Longstone Street
FIDE RATED Coalisland Blitz Championship 2026 Tuesday 10 March 2026. Check-in at 19:50 The 10 rounds will be played back-to-back from 20:00 to 22:30 Time-control 3-... Mar 10, 2026 07:50 PM - 10:30 PM — Washingbay Centre, 92 Ballybeg Road, Aughamullan, Coalisland, County Tyrone, BT71 5DX
Third Executive Board Meeting Agenda TBC Mar 10, 2026 08:00 PM - 09:30 PM — Lisburn Chess Club
March 14th 2026 Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00 UCU Monthly Schools Chess Tournaments Continues at Methodist College. Mar 14, 2026 12:30 PM - 05:00 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
Upcoming events…