Next Blitz Tournament: Thursday 15 September at 7.45 p.m.

Our 2022-23 season is opening with a blitz tournament on Thursday 15 September, at our usual venue of upstairs in the Bridge Centre, St Mary’s Road, Galway. Start time is 7.45 p.m., and we expect it to finish about 10.30. There will be 7 rounds, with each player getting 5 minutes per game for their moves, plus an increment of 5 seconds per move. As this is part of our regular season, entry is free, and there will be no prizes other than the glory (which, of course, is priceless).

New club members, and potential members, are very welcome. Enter when you arrive by 7.45. We will provide all equipment.

Our last blitz tournament in August was won by Denis Ruchko and International Master Oleg Gubanov, who tied first, both scoring 6 points out of 7. The rating prize, for the best performance by a player rated in the bottom half, was won by Marina Petrenko, with 4 points. I think this is the first time we have had a titled player at one of our blitz tournaments; we look forward to welcoming Oleg back, and hopefully we’ll get more! But if you are not an international master, please do not be put off: the tournament is open to lesser mortals including beginners, and the format is such that whatever your standard we will find you opponents so that you should have interesting games. If you are new to us and have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask here or email us: our address is galwaychess[at]gmail[dot]com.

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday.