Galway Chess Club

The 2022 Winter League had the closest finish in its more than twenty-year history: there was a three-way tie for first place between Jason Rawlinson, Pete Morriss, and Andrew Barber.  We have had ties for first before, but never one involving more than two players.  So yesterday there was a play-off between those three, and the clear winner who emerged was Jason Rawlinson.  Congratulations to Jason for a thoroughly deserved victory.

I will post the full results and list of prize-winners shortly, when the last remaining games have been played.

Here are the pairings for the final round of the Winter League, to be played on Thursday 19 May. We can look forward to an exciting conclusion, as there are still several contenders for every prize.

No Name                         Total           Name                    Total

 1 Pereiro Rodriguez, Diego (4) [4.5]     :     Morriss, Pete (1)       [5]  
 2 Piercy, David (13)           [4]       :     Rawlinson, Jason (3)    [4.5]
 3 Edwards, Bryn (19)           [4]       :     Barber, Andrew (5)      [4.5]
 4 Karapish, Micheal (21)       [4]       :     Jiddewar, Gourang (23)  [4]  
 5 Frost, Robert (14)           [2.5]     :     Delee, Bill (8)         [3.5]
 6 Galvin, Eoin (24)            [3]       :     Healy, Frank (25)       [3]  
 7 Twomey, Alice (18)           [3]       :     Gallagher, Maureen (16) [2]  
 8 Reilly, Scott (15)           [1]       :     Coneely, Cavanaugh (20) [3]  

Here are the pairings for round 6, to be played on Thursday 5 May (or, by arrangement between the players, before Sunday 15th).

No Name                    Total           Name                         Total

 1 Rawlinson, Jason (3)    [4.5]     :     Pereiro Rodriguez, Diego (4) [3.5]
 2 Morriss, Pete (1)       [4]       :     Edwards, Bryn (19)           [4]  
 3 Barber, Andrew (5)      [3.5]     :     Blackwell, James (7)         [3]  
 4 Jiddewar, Gourang (23)  [3]       :     Du Berry, Ross (10)          [3]  
 5 Healy, Frank (25)       [3]       :     Piercy, David (13)           [3]  
 6 Karapish, Micheal (21)  [3]       :     Whyte, Shane (26)            [3]  
 7 Delee, Bill (8)         [2.5]     :     Istuk, Niko (6)              [2.5]
 8 Scarry, James (11)      [2.5]     :     Frost, Robert (14)           [2]  
 9 Gallagher, Maureen (16) [2]       :     Galvin, Eoin (24)            [2]  
10 Twomey, Alice (18)      [2]       :     Reilly, Scott (15)           [1]  
11 Coneely, Cavanaugh (20) [2]      1:0    BYE                               

The Galway Rapidplay tournament will take place on Saturday 18 June in the Galway Bridge Centre. Start time is 11.00 a.m. (sharp!), but you should enter in advance by emailing us at galwaychess(at)gmail(dot)com before Friday 17 June (and pay the entry fee of €15 on arrival on the day between 10.15 and 10.45 a.m.). There will be seven rounds, with each player having 15 minutes per game to make all their moves, plus an extra ten seconds for each move. Full information is available on the “Galway Rapidplay” tab, above.

Non-members are very welcome to take part, and this event is particularly suitable for anybody considering playing in their first tournament.

Here are the pairings for round 5. (Apologies for not posting the round 4 pairings: I was having internet problems. Those pairings – and all of the results – will be put up here at the end of the tournament.)

 1 Barber, Andrew (5)           [3]       :     Rawlinson, Jason (3)    [4]  
 2 Edwards, Bryn (19)           [3]       :     Karapish, Micheal (21)  [3]  
 3 Morriss, Pete (1)            [3]       :     Delee, Bill (8)         [2.5]
 4 Pereiro Rodriguez, Diego (4) [2.5]     :     Scarry, James (11)      [2.5]
 5 Maurer, Tobias (2)           [2.5]     :     Piercy, David (13)      [2]  
 6 Blackwell, James (7)         [2]       :     Coneely, Cavanaugh (20) [2]  
 7 Twomey, Alice (18)           [2]       :     Du Berry, Ross (10)     [2]  
 8 Healy, Frank (25)            [2]       :     Frost, Robert (14)      [2]  
 9 Whyte, Shane (26)            [2]       :     Gallagher, Maureen (16) [2]  
10 Galvin, Eoin (24)            [1]       :     Reilly, Scott (15)      [1]  
11 Jiddewar, Gourang (23)       [2]      1:0    BYE                          
12 Istuk, Niko (6)              [2]     .5:0    BYE                          
13 Donlon, Pete (12)            [0]     .5:0    BYE    

Here are the pairings for round 3:

No Name                         Total  Result   Name                    Total

 1 Rawlinson, Jason (3)         [2]       :     Morriss, Pete (1)       [2]  
 2 Coneely, Cavanaugh (20)      [2]       :     Karapish, Micheal (21)  [2]  
 3 Istuk, Niko (6)              [1]       :     Scarry, James (11)      [1.5]
 4 Pereiro Rodriguez, Diego (4) [1]       :     Delee, Bill (8)         [1]  
 5 Du Berry, Ross (10)          [1]       :     Barber, Andrew (5)      [1]  
 6 Blackwell, James (7)         [1]       :     Edwards, Bryn (19)      [1.5]
 7 Maurer, Tobias (2)           [.5]      :     Twomey, Alice (18)      [1]  
 8 Cunningham, David (9)        [.5]      :     Healy, Frank (25)       [1]  
 9 Galvin, Eoin (24)            [1]       :     Frost, Robert (14)      [1]  
10 Jiddewar, Gourang (23)       [1]       :     Gallagher, Maureen (16) [1]  
11 Whyte, Shane (26)            [1]       :     Feerick, Cyril (17)     [1]  
12 Donlon, Pete (12)            [0]       :     Piercy, David (13)      [0]  
13 Reilly, Scott (15)           [0]      1:0    BYE     

The Galway Congress was won by Richard Zienert, who came over from Germany for the tournament, and returned €1000 richer.  Richard scored 5½ points out of 6; his one draw was with Denis Ruchko, who finished second equal, with Atharva Paibir, on 5 points.

Denis Ruchko also won the Reynolds Electronics Perpetual Trophy for the best Connaught player.  The Hugh Finan Memorial Cup, awarded to the highest placed player rated under 1200, was won by James Scarry, who scored 4½ points.

Rating prizes also went to Rafael Ninan Renji, Andrey Ivanov, David Andreu, Jack Hennesy, Oscar Roe, George Fearnhead, Stanislaw Ulbrych, Craig Dubose, Paddy Connolly, Alice Twomey, Gourang Jiddewar, Bryn Edwards, and Alex Harney.

The full standings and crosstable are on our dedicated webpage, along with photos of some of the winners.

Here are the pairings for round 2:

 1 Pete Morriss (1)       [1]       :     Niko Istuk (6)              [1]  
 2 Jason Rawlinson (3)    [1]       :     Ross Du Berry (10)          [1]  
 3 James Scarry (11)      [.5]      :     Tobias Maurer (2)           [.5] 
 4 Bill Delee (8)         [.5]      :     Andrew Barber (5)           [.5] 
 5 Cyril Feerick (17)     [1]       :     Diego Pereiro Rodriguez (4) [0]  
 6 Alice Twomey (18)      [1]       :     James Blackwell (7)         [0]  
 7 Bryn Edwards (19)      [1]       :     David Cunningham (9)        [0]  
 8 Micheal Karapish (21)  [1]       :     Pete Donlon (12)            [0]  
 9 Maureen Gallagher (16) [1]       :     Cavanaugh Coneely (20)      [1]  
10 Robert Frost (14)      [0]       :     Gourang Jiddewar (23)       [1]  
11 Eoin Galvin (24)       [0]       :     David Piercy (13)           [0]  
12 Shane Whyte (26)       [0]       :     Scott Reilly (15)           [0]  
13 Mohammed Alsaleh (22)  [0]       :     Frank Healy (25)            [0] 

The 2022 Winter League (our club championship) starts this Thursday (17 February). Here are the pairings for round 1:

               

 1 James Blackwell (6)        :     Pete Morriss (1)      
 2 Tobias Maurer (2)          :     Bill Delee (7)        
 3 David Cunningham (8)       :     Jason Rawlinson (3)   
 4 Andrew Barber (4)          :     James Scarry (9)      
 5 Pete Donlon (10)           :     Niko Istuk (5)        
 6 David Piercy (11)          :     Bryn Edwards (17)     
 7 Cavanaugh Coneely (18)     :     Robert Frost (12)     
 8 Scott Reilly (13)          :     Micheal Karapish (19) 
 9 Mohammed Alsaleh (20)      :     Maureen Gallagher (14)
10 Cyril Feerick (15)         :     Eoin Galvin (21)      
11 Frank Healy (22)           :     Alice Twomey (16)     

If you haven’t entered and would like to join the tournament in round 2, please email us at galwaychess [at]gmail[dot]com

Galway Congress will be held in the Menlo Park Hotel, on the weekend of 11th to 13th March. You can enter now, by going to the Galway Congress 2022 tab, above, which also gives further information about the Congress. It’s suitable for players of all levels, from Grandmasters to beginners who haven’t played in a tournament before. We look forward to seeing you!