This years National Club Championships were held in the Carlton Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe, Co Galway on 26-27 April 2014. Organiser and chief arbiter was Gerry Graham while Herbert Scarry acted as assistant arbiter for the weekend. Local official John McKenna not only organised chess equipment and the venue, but a local team to even out the numbers when the Dublin club withdrew at short notice.
With only six teams contesting the four rounds, competition was always going to be intense and sure enough things were finely poised going into the final round:
| Place | Team | Match points | Game points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Adare | 2½ | 13-5 |
| Gonzaga | 2½ | 11-7 | |
| 3-4 | Galway | 2 | 12-6 |
| Ennis | 2 | 11½-6½ | |
| 5-6 | Ballinasloe | 0 | 4½-13½ |
| Blanchardstown | 0 | 2-16 |
The last round pairings were about the only legal pairing left in the competition:
- Galway v Gonzaga
- Adare v Ennis
- Blanchardstown v Ballinasloe
In the third match, Blanchardstown eminence grise John Delaney stepped in on top board to help condemn the impressive young local team to the wooden spoon. On the second table a win for Karl McPhillips over Alex Lopez on top board left Adare trailing 2-3 with one game to go. However top seeds Gonzaga were unable to capitalise against Galway and even lost 2½-3½. Adare pulled up to a 3-3 draw as DJ ODonoghue beat Gerry Casey on board 6, leaving the final table as follows:
| Place | Team | Match points | Game points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Adare | 3 | 16-8 |
| Galway | 3 | 15½-8½ | |
| 3-4 | Ennis | 2½ | 14½-9½ |
| Gonzaga | 2½ | 13½-10½ | |
| 5 | Blanchardstown | 1 | 6-18 |
| 6 | Ballinasloe | 0 | 6½-17½ |
So Adare took first place by the narrowest of game point margins, while Galway leapfrogged into second place thanks not least to the only 4/4 score by an individual player in the competition: ICU Chairman Pete Morriss. The reward for both clubs is a place in this years European Club Cup in Bilbao, Spain on 12-21 September.
All the games are here.