This years open tournament organised by the Braille Chess Association of Ireland took place from Friday, October 10 to Monday, 13. For the first time in 8 years we were back in Dublin. The Marine Hotel in Sutton proved an excellent venue. Most of the participants opted to stay at the hotel throughout the weekend and this meant that a very pleasant atmosphere prevailed. We are especially grateful to the manager of the Hotel, Graham OToole and his staff for the significant part they played in making our stay so enjoyable. The presence of Graham himself for much of the time demonstrated to us that nothing was being left to chance.
In all 19 players took part in the tournament. There were 13 in the open section and 6 in the section for players with a grade of less than 1400. Seven came from England, two from Sweden, and we were delighted to welcome back Stan Lightowler from Castlerock in Derry who took part in our very first open tournament in 1986. Another intended participant, David Hodgkins from England was regrettably unable to travel due to illness. We all wish David a full and speedy recovery and are pleased to know that he is making good progress. After dinner on the Friday evening, play in round 1 of the open section got under way shortly after 8 oclock. Ernie McElroy on top board and Colin Chambers (England) on board 3 drew their games with Michael Keating and Sean Loftus respectively. Philip Doyle, Michael Delaney, Les Whittle (England) and Richard Spele (Sweden) were winners. These 4 were joined on 1 point by Norman Andrews (England) who received the bye.
At 10 o'clock next morning round 1 of the second section for players graded under 1400 started. In this section all six players would have a game against each of the other five. Winners in round 1 were John Carroll, Martin Kane and Michael Meaney. John and Michael won again in the afternoon and this left them sharing the lead on 2 points followed by Martin and Jim Cuthbert on 1.
Meanwhile, in the open section Michael Delaney won against Norman in the morning round to move into the lead. There were 4 players in a tie for second place on 1.5. In the afternoon round Michael drew with Les and was joined in a 3-way tie for the lead by Ernie and Philip who both won their games. Those not playing chess went on a coach trip organised by Barry O'Brien. They visited the National Stud and the Japanese Gardens. By all accounts Barry did his usual excellent job and the good weather provided an added bonus. Barry also gave us much useful advice in planning the tournament and he and Mary, his wife, were most helpful to us throughout the weekend.
After dinner we were entertained by Vincent Cronan. Playing his guitar and singing from his huge repertoir of songs Vincent kept the party going well into the late hours. Back at the chessboards on Sunday morning Michael Delaney and Philip Doyle drew their game and Ernie McElroy drew with Colin Chambers. Les Whittle beat Norman Andrews to join Ernie, Michael and Philip in joint leadership on 3 points. In round 5 Michael lost to Ernie, Les won and Philip drew. Going into the final round Ernie and Les were in a tie for the lead on 4 points with Philip on 3.5.
In the under 1400 section Michael Meaney won both his games on Sunday to move a point ahead of Martin Kane. After dinner on the Sunday evening there was the traditional sing-along in the bar. Michael Meaney, displaying his versatility, swapped his chessboard for a guitar and kept us and everyone else in the bar well entertained. Resuming his chessboard next morning, Michael won against Martin to take first place in the under 1400 section with a perfect score of 5 points. In the open section Ernie and Les had an early draw, so Philip needed to win against Sean Loftus to join them on 4.5, and this he did. A win for Norman Andrews took him into forth place just half a point behind. This gave him a grading prize. The other grading prize was shared between Michael Keating, Richard Spele and Sean Loftus.
The complicated tie-breaking system to determine whether Ernie, Les or philip would win the trophy could not be resolved until the very last game had finished. Only then did it emerge that Ernie had come first by the narrowest of margins with les second and Philip third.
Once again we are most grateful to our tournament Controller, Tim Conlan, who carried out this function with his customary dedication and efficiency. Our thanks also to Mick Germain, Paul Moggerley and Tony Duffey who came along over the course of the weekend to give Tim a helping hand.
Shortly after 1 oclock on the afternoon of Monday, October 13 all the final positions had been totted up and the prizes were presented by Barry O'Brien. Another tournament was over and it was time to say our goodbyes. The Braille Chess Association of Ireland wishes to acknowledge the generous support given to this tournament by the Leinster Chess Union, Irish Blindsports and the National League of the Blind of Ireland.
Final scores
- Open
- 1-3 McElroy, Whittle, Doyle 4.5; 4 Andrews 4; 5-6 Delaney, Chambers 3.5; 7-10 Spele, Keating, Loftus, Thacker 3; 11 Engstrom 2.5; 12-13 Casey, McAloon 1.5.
- Under 1400
- 1 Meaney 5; 2-4 Carroll, Cuthbert, Kane 3; 5 Hall 1 (grading prize); 6 Lightowler 0