You are here: Home Membership Clubs Bangor Chess Club (UCU affiliated) Club News Players from USA and Poland flock to Groomsport for speed chess competition

Players from USA and Poland flock to Groomsport for speed chess competition

Last Thursday (21st February) saw a special gathering of players arriving for the Groomsport Rapidplay Chess Championships. With 15 minutes each on the clock, it was an exciting 5 rounds of super-fast mental gymnastics - report by Arbiter Brendan Jamison

Players from USA and Poland flock to Groomsport for speed chess competition


Tournament report by Arbiter Brendan Jamison


Last Thursday (21st February) saw a special gathering of players arriving for the Groomsport Rapidplay Chess Championships. With 15 minutes each on the clock, it was an exciting 5 rounds of super-fast mental gymnastics.


During his introduction, the arbiter extended a special welcome to two Polish guest players, 11 year old Adam Gawroński who won 2nd place in the Junior section and his 9 year old brother Grzegorz who scooped the certificate for ‘Top Visiting Player’. The brothers had registered for the tournament while still in Poland, before travelling to Northern Ireland for a week’s vacation.


The international flavour of local chess events always creates an extra buzz and the club was delighted to also host two players from Michigan, USA. Abraham Lorber won 2nd place in the Intermediate and his 8 year old son Zev brought lots of positive energy to the Junior section as he competed in his first ever tournament.


Another key goal of the club is to keep it family-orientated and this drive was reflected in 3 awards won by the Eachus family. Father Steven scooped 2nd place in the Senior Section while his 18 year old daughter Rachel was awarded ‘Top Bangor Newcomer’ and 16 year old Ellen won the certificate for ‘Top Female’.


Two other brothers won prizes, 9 year old chess prodigy Daniel Toogood finished on 3.5/5 to win 3rd place in the Junior while 12 year old Ben Toogood won 3rd in the Intermediate, putting many of the adult players under a lot of pressure. Ben is the Ulster Under 14 Champion and no doubt should take credit for helping Daniel to blossom into a great young player.


Two gentlemen from Lisburn Chess Club delivered excellent performances with rapidplay supremo Stephen Cullen winning 3rd place in the Senior section with 4/5 and Neil Gardner was crowned Intermediate Champion in a very competitive category.


Meanwhile, all the way from Newry, Pat Coleman was the star of the night, delivering a perfect score of 5/5 and an outstanding tournament performance rating (TPR) of 2353.


Bangor player Sam Bowman won the Junior Championship with an excellent score of 4/5, the culmination of great improvement over the past two months.


Two promising up-and-coming young talents at the club also shinned on the night, both playing games with brilliant chess tactics, 13 year old Callum Magennis won ‘Best Teenager’ while Zach Williamson was awarded ‘Top Child Player’. Of the 14 prizes awarded, 8 went to youth chess players aged 9-18 and this bodes well for the future of chess in the region.


Players of all ages and all abilities are welcome at Bangor Chess Club and all chess events across Northern Ireland. For further information on upcoming tournaments please visit www.chessni.co.uk


News
NI FIDE Rating Report: 1st April 2025 By FIDE National Arbiter Brendan Jamison Apr 01, 2025
UCU Simul 2025 to host GM Alex Baburin The Ulster Chess Union is delighted to announce this year’s simultaneous guest will be none other than Ireland’s onl... Mar 19, 2025
Schools Chess at continues at Methodist College March 8th. The monthly schools tournaments run by Ulster Chess Union. Continued on Sat March 8th at Methodist College. We had almos... Mar 17, 2025
Chess Masters: The Endgame - Episode 1 10th March 2025 The BBC brings chess back to television with a new series starting Monday 10th March 2025 at 8:00pm BBC2. Mar 07, 2025
Results: Ulster Rapid Championship - 1 March 2025 The City of Bangor Chess Club hosted the Ulster Rapidplay Chess Championships at Groomsport on Sat. 1st March 2025. Orga... Mar 02, 2025
More news…
« April 2025 »
April
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930
Upcoming Events
FIDE Rated City of Bangor April Blitz 2025 [event 8 of 8 in 2024/2025 NI Gold Coast Blitz Grand Prix] City of Bangor's popular FIDE rated Blitz tournaments continues April 3rd Apr 03, 2025 07:20 PM - 10:00 PM — City of Bangor Chess Club, Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street Groomsport, BT19 6JR
FIDE RATED City of Bangor Sam Lynn Memorial Classic: Round 3 Apr 10, 2025 07:30 PM - 10:30 PM — Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street, Groomsport, County Down, BT19 6JR, Northern Ireland
April 12th 2025 Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00 Monthly Chess Tournaments Continues at Methodist College. Apr 12, 2025 12:30 PM - 05:00 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
FIDE RATED King Charles iii Rapid Championship 2025 An end of season special event run and hosted by City of Bangor International Chess Club. Thurs 24 April 2025 7:30pm to ... Apr 24, 2025 07:15 PM - 10:30 PM — City of Bangor International Chess Club, Church of Ireland Parish Hall, 30 Main Street, Groomsport, County Down, BT19 6JR
GM Simul with Alex Baburin May 23, 2025 06:30 PM - 11:00 PM — Maynard Sinclair Pavilion, Belfast
Upcoming events…