Events

Ulster Fischer Random Rapidplay Championship 2026

Mark Newman — 2026-05-22T21:56:16Z

The Ulster Fischer Random Rapidplay Championship 2026

Venue: Loanends Presbyterian Church Hall, Loanends Rd, Loanends, Crumlin BT29 4YR

7 round Swiss starting at 11:00am. 20+5 on the clock reckoning the last round should finish before 6.00pm

Entrance fee payable on the day: £10

10:30 registration

11:00 Rd1

11:50 Rd2

12:40 Rd3

13:30 Lunch

14:10 Rd4

15:00 Rd5

15:50 Rd6

16:40 Rd7

17:30 Prize giving

Please register in advance by emailing Mark.chris.newman@googlemail.com

We have limited seats.

FIDE rules apply

Format: Open Swiss

Tie-breaks will be determined by Swiss Master 5.7 Build 8 in the following order: Buchholz, Progressive Score, TPR Mixed.

If a mobile phone rings - you will be warned and 2mins will be awarded to your opponent. A second time and you will loose the game.

Quick Rules for Fischerandom Chess

Fischerandom Chess is played with a normal chess board and pieces. All rules of Orthodox Chess apply except as otherwise noted.
The initial configuration of the chess pieces is determined randomly for White, and the black pieces are placed equal and opposite the white pieces. The piece placement is subject to the constraints:
1. the king is placed somewhere between the two rooks, and
2. the bishops are on opposite colors.
3. pawns are placed on each player's second rank as in Orthodox Chess.
There are 960 such configurations.
Castling, as in Orthodox chess, is an exceptional move involving both the King and Rook. Castling is a valid move under these circumstances:
1. Neither King nor Rook has moved.
2. The King is not in check before or after castling.
3. All squares between the castling King's initial and final squares (including the final square), and all of the squares between the castling Rook's initial and final squares (including the final square), must be vacant except for the King and Rook.
4. No square through which the King moves is under enemy attack.
The movement of the King and Rook during castling should be easily understood by players of Orthodox Chess:
1. When castling on the h-side (White's right side), the King ends on g1 (g8), and the rook on f1 (f8), just like the O-O move in Orthodox chess.
2. When castling on the a-side (White's left side), the King ends on c1 (c8), and the rook on d1 (d8), just like the O-O-O move in Orthodox chess.
3. Sometimes the King will not need to move; sometimes the Rook will not need to move. That's OK.
The object is to checkmate the opponent's King. Have fun!

Annual General Meeting 2026

Karina Campbell — 2026-05-21T19:52:42Z

Lisburn Bullet Championships

Karina Campbell — 2026-04-10T19:45:12Z

Trophies for:

CHAMPION

2ND

3RD

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION

JUNIOR CHAMPION

18 rounds of 1+1 bullet

- Leave 6 mins for each round - results to be put in etc.

- 50 min break after round 10

- 30 min break after round 18

Illegal move: Instant forfeit

Touch move also applies

Knockout after round 18

3 1+1 matches played

Top 8

Champion, 2nd and 3rd chosen from this

Top Junior + Top Intermediate chosen from Swiss stage

£5 entry if more than one week in advance

£10, if there is space, entry after this

Registration: 10:45 to 11:00

Rd 1: Start on time at 11:00

Rd 2: 11:06

Rd 3: 11:12

Rd 4: 11:18

Rd 5: 11:24

Rd 6: 11:30

Rd 7: 11:36

Rd 8: 11:42

Rd 9: 11:48

Rd 10: 11:54

Break: 12:00 to 12:50

Rd 11: 12:50

Rd 12: 12:56

Rd 13: 13:02

Rd 14: 13:08

Rd 15: 13:14

Rd 16: 13:20

Rd 17: 13:26

Rd 18: 13:32

Break from 13:40 to 14:10

Knockout Stage 1

14:10 to 14:40 (incase of tiebreaks)

Knockout stage 2

14:50 to 15:20

Final and 3rd place match

15:30 to 16:00

Provisional ratings determined by:

Fide blitz
Fide rapid
Fide classical
Any UCU Rating

If unable to provide one of these, up to the arbiter's discretion, you'll be awarded a rating suitable (maybe via chess.com or lichess.org rating)

Please allow 24 hrs for a response & confirmation from Aharshi.

The UCU is happy to support young Aharshi in running his first event. Please show your support.

FIDE Rated Ulster Championships 2026

Karina Campbell — 2026-05-28T00:00:00Z

Dates & Times:

3 day bank holiday weekend event

Saturday August 29

Sunday August 30

Monday August 31

Check-in / Entry fee payments:

9:15am to 9:45am

Round 1: 10am

Round 2: 3pm

Round 3: 10am

Round 4: 3pm

Round 5: 10am

Round 6: 3pm

Sections: subject to change and to be confirmed at the start of the tournament.

Senior (Over 1800)

Intermediate (1800>)

90 minutes + 30 second increment. Recording of moves is compulsory for entire duration of game.

Rules:

Mobile phones must be switched off and placed beside you on the table in the playing hall. If a phone makes a noise you will lose the game.

Default time for absent players is 30 minutes. For each round, all players should be seated 5 minutes before start time to listen to announcements.

Tie Break order: Buchholz, Progressive, TPR Mixed.

To win a perpetual cup in any of the sections, the player must have lived in one of the 9 counties of Ulster for at least 12 months.

Entry Fees:

Late entry fee is £30 on the day + annual UCU fee for the 2026/2027 season

The combined entry fees for early entrants:

£55 for adults

(30 tournament fee + 25 UCU membership)

£45 for adults with ICU membership

(30 tournament fee + 15 UCU membership)

£40 for Under 18s

(30 tournament fee + 10 UCU membership)

The UCU fees that each player pays at check-in will cover players to 31 August 2027.

Please note all players living in Northern Ireland must pay their UCU fee on top of entry fee on the morning of the tournament. The option to defer UCU annual payment (to be collected by the local clubs later in the season) is no longer permissible.

Fees can be payable in advance or in cash on the day.

Organiser and Arbiter: Chris Dorrian

Registration deadline:

12 noon on Wednesday 26 August 2026

FIDE RATED Aughamullan Rapid 2026 : Tuesday 15 September 2026

Mark Newman — 2026-05-02T09:31:17Z

FIDE RATED Aughamullan Rapid 2026

Tuesday 15 September 2026

Check-in opens at 19:00 and closes 19:20

Please take seats at 19:25

The 5 rounds will be played back-to-back from 19:30 to 21:45. Prize-giving at 21:50 to 21:55.

IMPORTANT

If travelling from Republic of Ireland, postcodes in Northern Ireland are different from Eircodes. A postcode covers an entire road and this is a very rural location. To get to venue, you must copy and paste this entire address into SatNav:

Washingbay Centre, 92 Ballybeg Road, Aughamullan, Coalisland, County Tyrone, BT71 5DX

Type: Swiss pairings

Number of Rounds: 5

Time Control: 12+0

FIDE rules will apply. Remember mobile phones must be switched off and no food allowed in playing hall.

Tournament entry fees:

20 GBP for anyone paying cash on the night (if space is still available).

cdo10 GBP for players paying in advance by bank transfer, Revolut, PayPal or by cash at a prior event.

Reduced to 5 GBP for Washingbay Chess Club members if paid in advance by bank transfer, Revolut, PayPal or by cash at a prior event.

Max capacity = 40 players.

Book and prepay to secure a place.

8 trophies will be awarded as prizes:

CHAMPION

2nd PLACE

3rd PLACE

U1700 INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION

U1700 INTERMEDIATE 2nd

U1700 INTERMEDIATE 3rd

WASHINGBAY CLUB CHAMPION

U18 WASHINGBAY CLUB CHAMPION

The tournament file will appear on FIDE website here: https://ratings.fide.com/tournament_information.phtml?event=478043 .

Chief Arbiter: Brendan Jamison (FIDE licenced)

Deputy Arbiter: Paul O'Connor (FIDE licenced)

Chief Organizer: Jelmer Hania (Director of Washingbay Chess Club)

Tie Break order: Buchholz, Progressive, TPR Mixed

Pairing Software: Swiss Master 5.7

Entry list is available to view in ICU website here:

Event | FIDE RATED Aughamullan Rapid 2026

Registration deadline: 21:00 on Saturday 12 September 2026 to fidechessni@gmail.com

County Tyrone Junior Championships 2026 : Saturday 10 October 2026

Mark Newman — 2026-05-02T09:24:16Z

FIDE RATED County Tyrone Junior Championships 2026

Saturday 10 October 2026

Format: Open swiss tournament with top 3 in each age band awarded engraved trophies

Tournament details:

Check-in opens at 10:30 and closes 10:45

Please take seats at 10:55

Rounds 1-4 will be played back-to-back from 11:00 to 13:00

Lunch break: 13:00 to 14:00

Round 5-9 will be played back-to-back from 14:00 to 16:30

Prize-giving at 16:45

Type: Swiss pairings

Number of Rounds: 9

Time Control: 10+5

IMPORTANT

Washingbay Centre, 92 Ballybeg Road, Aughamullan, Coalisland, County Tyrone, BT71 5DX

FIDE rules will apply. Remember mobile phones must be switched off and no food allowed in playing hall.

Tournament entry fees:

24 GBP for anyone paying cash on the day (if space is still available).

12 GBP for players paying in advance by bank transfer, Revolut, PayPal.

Reduced to 6 GBP for members of the host chess club: Washingbay Chess Club if paid in advance by bank transfer, Revolut, PayPal or by cash at a prior event.

Max capacity = 40 players.

Book and prepay to secure a place.

15 trophies will be awarded as prizes:

U18 CHAMPION

U18 Second Place

U18 Third Place

U16 CHAMPION

U16 Second Place

U16 Third Place

U14 CHAMPION

U14 Second Place

U14 Third Place

U12 CHAMPION

U12 Second Place

U12 Third Place

U10 CHAMPION

U10 Second Place

U10 Third Place

Chief Arbiter: Brendan Jamison (FIDE licenced)

Chief Organizer: Jelmer Hania (Director of Washingbay Chess Club)

Tie Break order: Buchholz, Progressive, TPR Mixed

Pairing Software: Swiss Master 5.7

Registration deadline: 21:00 on Saturday 3 October 2026. Email:

1. Child's full name

2. Child's FIDE ID (if they have one)

3. Child's DOB

to Chief Arbiter Brendan Jamison fidechessni@gmail.com