The inaugural Rebel Rapid Junior Chess Tournament was held in Ballincollig, Co. Cork on Sunday the 6th of April.

The venue was the wonderful Carraig Centre operated by the Carraigrohane Union of Parishes.

The family members of the players were able to avail of the onsite playgrounds and ball courts while battle took place inside. Indeed many of the players took the opportunity between rounds to enjoy the sunshine on the day.

There were 107 Juniors from age 6 to 18 participating across 2 categories:

• FIDE Rated Junior Open (47 players) https://chess-results.com/tnr1136731.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=7
• An unrated section (60 players) https://chess-results.com/tnr1136735.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=7

Hosted by Cork Chess Club with Zsolt Kardkovacs of Kinsale Chess Mates as Chief Arbiter, the event was a great success in particular for the amount of juniors having their first experience of 'over the board' competition.

Both sections consisted of 7 rounds of 12 plus 0 time control.

PRIZE WINNERS

The standard in the Open Section was incredibly high with the decisive game happening in Round 5 between 2 of the rising stars of Irish Chess, Maryna Petrenko (WFM) and Cork Chess Club's own Nitish Arun with Nitish gaining the upper hand with the White pieces on his way to a perfect 7 out of 7. Maryna finished with 6/7 with another Cork Chess Club member Niko Cogelja rounding out the top 3 with 5.5 points.

In the unrated section Oscar Walsh went into the last round needing only a draw to secure top spot which he duly accomplished to finish with 6.5/7 followed by Hassan Syed and Fergal Fitzpatrick.

Given the time of year and in the spirit of the Late Late Show there was "one for everyone in the audience" with an Easter Egg for all participants and spot prizes galore.

Cork Chess Club

Cork Chess Club Juniors meeting in the City Centre every Friday evening from 19:00. https://www.corkchess.ie/index.html

Kinsale Chess Mates

Our friends in Kinsale Chess Mates have lessons from 16:00 to 18:00 on Fridays, followed by their regular Junior Club Session from 18:00 to 20:00. https://www.kinsalechessmates.ie/sessions/

CHESS COACHING IN CORK

Our Chief Arbiter, Zsolt runs a coaching group in Ballyphehane, Cork City every Saturday morning from 10:00 to 13:00 and new members are always welcome. Zsolt is a CM level player who is dedicated to the promotion and advancement of Junior Chess in Cork and beyond. https://www.pieceofchess.com/

Please reach out to corkchess@gmail.com for any information on Chess in Cork and we will be delighted to help.