Irish Championships

The 2013 Irish Championships were held in the University of Limerick, organised by UL Chess Club, with FM Colm Daly winning the senior Championships with 7/9 and retaining the title of Irish Champion.

The Irish Women's Championships kicked off the 10 days of the events, with Diana Mirza being crowned Irish Women's Champion scoring 4½/5. Diana then followed upon that success by coming second in the Open Weekender.

The format of the Championships was changed this year to provide more FIDE rated events during the week. The winners of the other events are listed below:

• AM Tournament - 1st Place – John Hughes
• ournament - 1st Place – Keegan O'Mahoney
• Junior - 1st Place – Jacob Miller
• Intermediate - 1st Place – Danny Mallaghan
• Open - 1st Place – Valentine Kalinins

The new format and conditions were possible thanks to the support of the Irish Chess Union, University of Limerick and Blackthorne Transport.

National Club Championships

The National Club Championships were held in Dublin with Adare retaining the title of National Club Champions. Second place went to Gonzaga and both teams will be participating in the upcoming European Club Cup.

FIDE Arbiters

As part of new FIDE regulations brought in on January 1st, tournaments that wish to be FIDE rated require a licensed National, FIDE or International Arbiter. There are currently 3 FIDE Arbiters (myself, Gerry Graham and Ted Jennings) and 1 International Arbiter (Kevin O'Connell) but it is expected that 3 others (Pat Fitzsimons, Brian Scully and Pete Morriss) should have the FA title in the near future.