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Report

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Total - 166 players. Age range: 7 - 86.

Masters Section

by Daniil Nikolaev and John Loughran

A strong field competed for the generous prizes in the Masters section, including some of our best young talent who have made great strides in recent events. This was despite the late withdrawal of GM Matthew Turner, last year’s winner of the tournament, who was unable to attend at the last minute. This left the field wide open to the other titled players (1 WGM, 1 WFM, 1 CM and 4 FMs) and up and coming stars, including some strong female players.

1st , Oleg Artemenko , 4.5 /5 , €650
=2nd-4th , Oisín Ó Cuilleanáin , 4.0 /5 , €183
=2nd-4th , Shane Melaugh , 4.0 /5 , €183
=2nd-4th , Darun Govindaraju , 4.0 /5 , €183

Grading U 2000 , Gordon Feeman , 3.0 /5 , €80

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Masters winners: L to R: Oleg, Shane, Oisín, two Gonzaga organisers, Jason Liu (organiser), Darun, Eoin Tully (organiser), John, Daniil (arbiters)

Championship Section

by Kieran Barry

The Championship section attracted 45 competitors.

1st-2nd , Vivaan Verlekar , 5.0 /6 , €275
1st-2nd , David Kiszkiel , 5.0 /6 , €275
3rd-6th , Aiden Thomas Boby , 4.5 /6 , €30
3rd-6th , Shaurya Dash , 4.5 /6 , €30
3rd-6th , Brendan Cooney , 4.5 /6 , €30
3rd-6th , Darragh Greenan , 4.5 /6 , €30
Grading U 1725 , Thomas Syms , 4.0 /6 , €30

Major Section

by Ronan Barrett and Henry Williams

38 players competed in the major section for the top three places. There was strong competition within this section and ultimately it had to come down to the last round for a decisive winner. Shane Corry, who was in first place heading into the last round had the opportunity to finish the tournament with a clean sweep with 6 wins out of 6.

1st , Shane Corry , 5.5 /6 , €240
2nd-6th , Krzysztof Nowak , 4.5 /6 , €56
2nd-6th , Daoin Burns , 4.5 /6 , €56
2nd-6th , Ayaan Prabhith , 4.5 /6 , €56
2nd-6th , Alexandros Sykaras , 4.5 /6 , €56
2nd-6th , Charlie Ryan Smith , 4.5 /6 , €56

Grading U 1580 , James A. Cahill , 4.0 /6 , €60

Challengers Section

by Fiachra Scallan

The Challengers section was for those rated under 1450 and had 55 entrants, many of whom were playing their first tournament. It was very tightly contested with as many of 8 players still having a chance of coming 1st going into the last round. Ultimately, talented junior Aarvi Bharadwaj came clear first on 5.5 with a win vs Oscar Malone on board 1 in the final round.

1st , Aarvi Bharadwaj , 5.5 /6 , €200
=2nd-4th , Pritesh Kumar , 5.0 /6 , €60
=2nd-4th , Adam El Baradie , 5.0 /6 , €60
=2nd-4th , Theo Scanlan Gleeson , 5.0 /6 , €60

Grading U 1300 , Kevin Deme , 4.5 /6 , €50
Grading Unrated, =2nd-7th , Beatrix M.S. Howison , 2.5 /6 , €50

An interesting position

by Kieran Barry

The following position occurred with white to move in the Challengers section.

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White missed a tactical opportunity to reach a theoretically drawn position in the following way:

1. hxg5 Bxg5 (Rxg5 does not change)
   
2. Ra5+ Ke6
   
3. Rxf5 Kxf5
   

The key concept is that Black is left with a bishop and a rook pawn which queens on the wrong coloured square for the bishop to help it promote, so the defending king can prevent promotion.

Update Mel Ó Cinnéide pointed out that 1.hxg5 allows Bf6-e5 preventing the exchange of rooks. However, 1.Ra5+ Ke6 2.Rxf5 Kxf5 3.hxg5 Bxg5 reaches the same position.

A further point is that black still has winning chances if they can force white to play g3-g4 allowing black's h-pawn to convert to a g-pawn. That would require black to stalemate white's king, and that might be impossible, but maybe not!

Details

Introduction

All proceeds to charity. Free parking. Luas = Cowper stop. Hot food, tuck shop.

Section	Rating band	Time control
Masters	1900+	90 mins + 30 sec/move
Championship	1650 - 1950	75 mins + 30 sec/move
Major	1400 - 1700	75 mins + 30 sec/move
Challengers	Under 1450	75 mins + 30 sec/move

All FIDE and ICU rated.

Default time all sections 30 mins.

Round times for different sections

Day	Time	Champ/Major/Chall.	Time	Masters
Fri	19:00	Round 1	19:00	Round 1
Sat	10:00	Round 2
Sat			11:00	Round 2
Sat	14:30	Round 3
Sat			16:00	Round 3
Sat	19:00	Round 4
Sun	10:00	Round 5	10:00	Round 4
Sun	14:30	Round 6
Sun			15:00	Round 5

Entries

Early entry
€50 in Masters by Wed 14 Jan,
€45 for adults / €40 for U18s in Championship, Major and Challengers by Wed 14 Jan,
€30 for Gonzaga Students by Wed 14 Jan

All entry fees above rise by €10 after the dates above, or €20 extra on the day.
Entries may close early if we reach capacity.
Entry and Rating bands will be based on the ICU January ratings. Entrants without an Irish rating will be allocated an appropriate section at the discretion of the tournament controller.

All players must be registered with the ICU.
Entry is only available via the event page linked above, which requires registration first, not via the school.

Pairings

Pairings for round 1 will be published on or soon after Thu 15 Jan.

Rules and Playing Conditions

Free parking in the college. There is a Tuck Shop serving hot and cold drinks and snacks at the back of the large hall. Hot food is available from the school canteen at certain times. Shops and restaurants are a short walk outside the campus.

While quiet is expected in the playing area, players and parents will be allowed to spectate quietly after they finish playing. Spectators including parents should not communicate with players during games.

Electronic devices are not permitted in the playing area, corridor, toilets or outdoor smoking area. An exception is if they are left near the controller's desk, switched off, not on silent. Electronic devices include anything that may make a noise or vibrate including watches, alarms.

If you request a bye you must do so before pairings are done, to receive a half point, except in the last round.

Players are required to record their moves to the end of their game, and keep their scoresheet up to date.

At the end of your game please fill in your result on the pairings sheet on the wall. You may analyse in the analysis room, not in the playing area. If your opponent fails to show 30 mins after the round started call the assistant arbiter to claim a win by default, or to be paired with another opponent if you prefer, if one is available.

All players without a FIDE ID who play in this FIDE rated tournament will be registered with the IRL federation.

Arbiters

Chief Organiser: Mr. Daniel Lynch,
Chief Arbiter: John Loughran, FA,
Deputy Chief Arbiter: Henry Williams, NA.
Arbiters: Daniil Nikolaev, Kieran Barry, Ronan Barrett, Fiachra Scallan.