This report covers the period March-August 2007.
Activity on the junior chess front in 2007 centred around the Glorney and Faber Cups. It was the ICU's turn to host the event this year and the event at Dublin City University proved a great success. Two 4 nations tournaments (U12 and U14) ran alongside the Glorney and Faber. In total 42 players over eight teams represented Ireland, with over 100 players taking part in all. The event was opened by Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin and garnered both local and international media coverage. Irelands best performances were in the Glorney and U12 events where our A team came second behind the English team in both cases. Thanks are due to everyone who was involved in organising the event especially the tournament director Pat Fitzsimons who put a huge effort into ensuring everything ran smoothly.
A new junior chess magazine was launched in May on the initiative of Mark Quinn and John Healy. Junior Chess Corner is a free downloadable magazine with features and articles for beginners and junior players. The magazine also includes annotated games from Irish juniors from around the country. This is a very positive development for Irish Junior Chess and provides an excellent showcase for players.
The Irish junior championships were held in Castletroy in Limerick over the weekend of 20-22nd May 2007. A large turn out was observed in the lower age groups particularly in the U12 section confirming the current health of Irish junior chess. More disappointing however was the lack of players in the older age groups (only two players in the U19) and also the lack of girls participating. The event is due to be held in Connaught in 2008.
An Irish team played a challenge match against Sussex in June. This event provided Irish Juniors with an opportunity to test themselves against some top English juniors. Ireland sent teams in the U8, U10, U12, and U14/16 categories. Although Sussex won the match, the event was thoroughly enjoyed by all who travelled and gave our junior players some useful international experience which should stand to them in future. Thanks are due to Nicky Deacon who organised the trip.
A Junior chess calendar has been added to the Irish Chess Union website courtesy of Mark Orr. This details junior international events taking place over the coming months. Hopefully it will be useful to parents and players for planning in advance (booking holidays etc) and also ensuring that they meet the selection criteria in time.
As the Glorney and 4 nations events overshadowed other competitions somewhat, there were no Irish entrants in the European Junior Individual or Team competitions this year. Irish juniors did compete in international events in Croatia, Hungary and the UK, as well as the Irish senior championships. Noteworthy performances were Ryan Rhys Griffiths in the British senior championship and Ronan Magees joint second place finish in the British U8 and U9 events. We will also be represented at the World Youth Chess Championships in Turkey in November. 2 players (Jamie Flynn and Ronan Magee) have so far confirmed that they will be playing in this event.