Kilkenny's junior chess players continue to achieve amazing results both in Ireland and internationally. For example, recently, a junior team from Kilkenny competed in the National Club Championships in Dublin. They did Kilkenny proud by defeating several adult teams in the tournament. The team members were Ryan-Rhys Griffiths, Aravind Menon, Eoin Minock and Tourlogh Kelly.

In the Masters Section (+2000 rating), of the Bunratty Chess Festival, Ryan-Rhys Griffiths shared second place with English GM Tony Kosten, finishing ahead of three other grandmasters. Another of our very strong juniors, John Courtney, also played outstanding chess in Bunratty, scoring 2½ out of 6. John is most certainly on his way to becoming one of Ireland's strongest players.

Two other of our junior players, namely Tourlogh Kelly and Eoin Minock, are also making names for themselves in the chess world. Tourlogh was the all-out winner in the 1200-1600 rating section of the Kilkenny Congress while Eoin Minock, All Ireland U-12 Champion, and Tourlogh Kelly earned some valuable points and experience in the 1600-2000 rating section in Bunratty. Both young players are showing tremendous promise at this stage in their chess careers.

In the Leinster Leagues, once again the young Kilkenny players proved that they have class. In the Armstrong League, John Courtney, is on 9/10, Ryan-Rhys Griffiths is on 8/10 and Aravind Menon is on 7/9. Outstanding performances by all three young men. In the 4th Division, Turlough Kelly and Eoin Minock helped secure promotion for their team to the 3rd division.

The Chess On Line project has started in Kilkenny. Irish primary schools will play each other on line.

For more information, follow us on Facebook.