We are not far away now from this tournament which will be held at the Rochestown Lodge Hotel, 164 Rochestown Avenue, Dun Laoghaire from on 16-19 October. The first round will take place at 7pm on 16 October and there will be two rounds (10am and 3.30pm) on each of the following 3 days.
Uniquely confined to eight previous Irish champions- GM Alex Baburin; IMs Mark Heidenfeld, David Fitzsimons and our own Tom O’Gorman; and Fide Masters Colm Daly, John Delaney, Joe Ryan and Eamonn Keogh- the tournament promises a feast of quality and competitive chess as the participants vie for the coveted trophy (kindly donated by the Eblana Club) for the winner and generous cash prizes on offer. All eight players are icons of Irish chess and have won or shared the Irish Championship 20 times between them. The tournament will thus be one of the strongest tournaments held in Ireland for many years.
The Rochestown Lodge Hotel is convenient to a number of bus routes and people are welcome to attend. But the event can be viewed in the comfort at home through a system of live boards.
New Members Wanted
We had a great season last year, winning promotion to the Armstrong and BEA leagues. Conveniently located in the Eblana Club, 3 Eblana Avenue Dun Laoghaire, and meeting on Wednesday nights from 7.30pm onwards, the club is always anxious to attract new members of all standards. Now that we are again competing in the Armstrong Cup, the highest level of league chess in Leinster, there is a special emphasis currently on attracting strong players from about 1,900 rating upwards and free membership is on offer for players rated 2,000 and above.
