You are here: Home Archives The Time Traveller

The Time Traveller

The original series of articles by the Time Traveller appeared in David McAlister's web magazine "Ulster Chess History." They were the fruit of his researches into contemporaneous newspaper reports plus various Irish and Ulster archives and covered the period up to the early 1980s. Those articles will now be presented here at the official UCU website and David will add new articles as well.

2nd Irish Chess Association Congress 1886

The short-lived Irish Chess Association organised three Congresses in 1885, 1886 and 1889. The second of these was held in Belfast and featured a Masters' Tournament won by W.H.K. Pollock, an Handicap (odds) Tournament won by Amos Burn and a blindfold simultaneous exhibition by J.H. Blackburne.

2nd Irish Chess Association Congress 1886 - Read More…

The Silver King

The UCU's oldest piece of silverware is the Ulster Trophy, more commonly known as the Silver King. It is awarded to the team winning Division One of the Belfast and District League.

The Silver King - Read More…

Simultaneous exhibitions

This section will document simultaneous play against local chess players by strong masters, including three World Champions.

Simultaneous exhibitions - Read More…

Inter City Matches 1926-1936

Between 1926 and 1936 an annual match was played between the chess-players of the cities of Belfast and Dublin. There were only 9 encounters in those years - no match being played in either 1930 or 1933. Honours were even over the 9 matches, with 4 wins to Belfast, 4 wins to Dublin and 1 draw.

Inter City Matches 1926-1936 - Read More…

News
Exciting changes to the Sligo event in 2026. Now a multi-tournament chess festival. Save the dates in your calender Jan 30th to Feb 8th. The Sligo event is undergoing a major transformation in 2026 from a weekender to a multi-tournament festival. The Sligo ... Oct 16, 2025
The Monthly Childrens Chess Kicks off Oct 25th at Methodist College ** New date ** The LJCC Belfast Qualifier a one day 6 round tournament starts our annual series of monthly tournaments a... Oct 09, 2025
The 2025 Summer tournament ends with a fun tournament and award ceremony Weds 24th September 2025 saw 24 players gather to celebrate the end of the UCU Summer Tournament. Who won? we have the f... Sep 27, 2025
Belfast Qualifier for the British Open Blitz 2025/26 Belfast runs one of 16 tournaments that allow players to qualify for the British Open Blitz tournament. The top player a... Sep 27, 2025
The Annual UCU Summer School at Ormeau Park We had 18 young chess players for 3 days of brilliant chess activities over Weds/Thurs/Fri 6th, 7th, 8th August 2025. At... Sep 14, 2025
More news…
« October 2025 »
October
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031
Upcoming Events
FIDE RATED Bangor Chess Club 60th Anniversary Classic Round 2 Oct 23, 2025 07:30 PM - 10:30 PM — City of Bangor International Chess Club, Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street, Groomsport, County Down, Northern Ireland, BT19 6JR
LJCC - Belfast Qualifier 2025: 25th October - re-organised An opportunity for Primary Students to Qualify for the London Junior Chess Championships and for Secondary pupils to enj... Oct 25, 2025 09:30 AM - 05:00 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
FIDE RATED City of Bangor 10 Round Halloween Blitz at 3+2 Celebrate Halloween with 10 rounds of Chess Blitz at City of Bangor Chess Club. Thursday 30th October. Oct 30, 2025 07:15 PM - 10:00 PM — City of Bangor Chess Club, Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street Groomsport
November 1st Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00 The monthly schools chess tournaments continues at Methodist College. Nov 01, 2025 12:30 PM - 05:00 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
FIDE rated Ulster Masters 2025 Please note due to venue capacity, entries will be capped at 44. Nov 14, 2025 - Nov 16, 2025 — Lisburn Chess Club
Upcoming events…