Results

The 2022 Galway Rapidplay. held on Saturday 18 June at the Galway Bridge Centre, attracted 90 entries – about twice our previous highest number.  Nearly a third of these were playing in their first tournament, which indicates the enthusiasm that there is for chess at the moment.  If this continues, then Irish chess would seem to be in a very good place.

            The tournament was won by top-seed Colm Daly, who dropped just half a point – to Conall Hegarty.  Second equal, half a point behind, were S Anand Kumar and Rory Quinn.  In recognition of the large number of entries, we drastically increased the number of rating prizes and junior prizes, in each case from the advertised one up to four.  Rating prizes winners were: under-1500: Paul Ward and Jaiten Saini on 5 points; under-1000: Christopher Woods, also on 5 points; and unrated (for which there were two prizes): Gerard McLoughlin (again on 5 points) and Brian Gallagher (4½).  Under-18 prize-winners were Lukian Hushpit and Christopher Woods again (both on 5 points), with a four-way tie for the third prize between Maryna Petrenko, Patrick O’Keeffe, George Stack, and Patryk Brozynski (all 4½ points).  The under-12 prize was won by nine-year-old Vivaan Verlekar (4½ points).  Last, but definitely not least, the prize for the best female player was won by Alice O’Gorman, who was also fourth equal on 5½ points.  Unusually for such category-prizes, it was decided in a head-to-head last round match-up between the two leading candidates, Alice and Maryna Petrenko, in which Alice prevailed.

            Photographs of the prize winners, plus full standings and cross-table, are available below.

Here are pictures of the prize-winners receiving their prizes. Unfortunately the winner, Colm Daly, and a couple of other prize-winners, had to leave before the closing ceremony.

Rating Prizewinners

Junior Prizewinners

Best Female Prizewinner

Standings

Place Name                   Rating Score

  1   Colm Daly                2189 6.5  

 2-3  S. Anand Kumar           1992 6    
      Rory Quinn               2067 6    

 4-7  Yunis Barudi             1963 5.5  
      Alice O'Gorman - F       2075 5.5  
      Conall Hegarty           1641 5.5  
      Jason Rawlinson          1687 5.5  

8-14  Lukian Hushpit - J       1684 5    
      Christopher Woods - J    963  5    
      Paul Ward                1463 5    
      Denis Ruchko             1995 5    
      Karolina Bronnikova - F  1790 5    
      Gerard McLoughlin             5    
      Jaiten Saini             1195 5    

15-21 Maryna Petrenko - JF     1630 4.5  
      Patrick O'Keeffe - J     643  4.5  
      Mahendra Singh           1701 4.5  
      Vivaan Verlekar - JJ     708  4.5  
      Brian Gallagher               4.5  
      George Stack - J         1137 4.5  
      Patryk Brozynski - J     1908 4.5  

22-35 Timothy O'Malley         1217 4    
      Alan Lane                1044 4    
      Conor Sheehan - J        1166 4    
      Gourang Jiddewar         1040 4    
      Jarek Wieczorek          1532 4    
      Bill Delee               1160 4    
      John A. O'Dowd           1085 4    
      George Fearnhead         976  4    
      Thomas McStay            457  4    
      Roy Marshall  - J        1016 4    
      Shay Scott               1240 4    
      Bryn Edwards             1189 4    
      Oscar Roe - J            1021 4    
      Tadhg Long - J           989  4    

36-45 Robert Frost             983  3.5  
      Alla Bronnikova - F           3.5  
      Michael O'Donnell        1623 3.5  
      Oisin O' Sullivan        1093 3.5  
      Tallann Maguire               3.5  
      Josh Kizilos                  3.5  
      Alexey Marchenko         925  3.5  
      Alton D'Souza - J        769  3.5  
      Mustafa Al-Mashhadi      508  3.5  
      David Piercy             953  3.5  

46-61 Vladimir Mabhena         995  3    
      Colin Kelly              1491 3    
      Marek Fijalkowski        858  3    
      Riyansh Agarwal - JJ     777  3    
      Kacper Zeberek                3    
      Yathrik Anand - JJ       680  3    
      Shane Loughlin - J       686  3    
      Eoin Galvin              727  3    
      Gian Carpio - J               3    
      Oliver Barnes - J        682  3    
      Scott Fitzgerald              3    
      Ratan Madnani                 3    
      Shane O'Halloran              3    
      Oisin McDonnell               3    
      Kangna Madnani - JF           3    
      Rory Regan  - J               3   
 
62-67 Aaron Brennan                 2.5  
      Saiansh Biswal - JJ           2.5  
      Ruairi McManus                2.5  
      Max Cook                      2.5  
      Phillip Keegan                2.5  
      Richard Casserly         479  2.5  

68-74 Daniel Kitovas                2    
      Vinayak Verlekar         679  2    
      Cyril Feerick            860  2    
      Maksym Danilishyn             2    
      Jack Hartford                 2    
      Parsia Jahanzad               2    
      Rowan Earls - J               2    

75-78 Addhrit Bhushan - JJ          1.5  
      Adhiraj Bhushan - JJ          1.5  
      David Nagle                   1.5  
      Frank Healy              810  1.5  

79-81 Nathaniel Foye                1    
      Clodagh O' Sullivan - JF      1    
      Dylan Tobin - J               1    

82-90 Eric Bennett             1671 0    
      Joseph A. McDonnell      1554 0    
      Diego Pereiro Rodriguez  1503 0    
      John Bourke              946  0    
      Benjamin Gacquin - J     517  0    
      Paul Barry                    0    
      Patrick Murphy                0    
      James Lee                     0    
      Paul Gaffney                  0   

Notes: The Rating is ICU, or FIDE Rapid for entrants that have one 
            and have no ICU Rating.
       J:  Eligible for Best Junior Prize (under 18)
       JJ: Eligible for Best Junior Prize (under 12)
       F:  Eligible for Best Female Prize

Cross Table

No  Name                          Total  1    2    3    4    5    6    7  

1.  Colm Daly                2189 6.5   23:W 13:D 15:W 81:W  9:W 53:W  6:W
2.  Alice O'Gorman - F       2075 5.5   24:W 11:L 38:D 28:W 27:W 60:W 14:W
3.  Rory Quinn               2067 6     25:W 21:W  9:L 46:W 31:W 13:W 11:W
4.  Denis Ruchko             1995 5     26:W 14:L 34:W 51:W 22:W 11:L 30:W
5.  S. Anand Kumar           1992 6     27:W 37:W 11:W  6:L 57:W 90:W 38:W
6.  Yunis Barudi             1963 5.5   28:W 20:W 14:D  5:W 60:W 48:W  1:L
7.  Patryk Brozynski - J     1908 4.5   29:D 15:L 47:W 85:W 81:W 10:L 36:W
8.  Karolina Bronnikova - F  1790 5     30:W 22:L 41:W 63:W 38:L 31:W 26:W
9.  Mahendra Singh           1701 4.5   31:W 43:W  3:W 60:D  1:L 38:L 32:W
10. Jason Rawlinson          1687 5.5   32:W 38:D 22:W 14:L 29:W  7:W 48:W
11. Lukian Hushpit - J       1684 5     33:W  2:W  5:L 73:W 59:W  4:W  3:L
12. Eric Bennett             1671 0       :    :    :    :    :    :    : 
13. Conall Hegarty           1641 5.5   34:W  1:D 36:W 69:W 14:W  3:L 53:W
14. Maryna Petrenko - JF     1630 4.5   35:W  4:W  6:D 10:W 13:L 15:W  2:L
15. Michael O'Donnell        1623 3.5   36:D  7:W  1:L 56:W 69:W 14:L 27:L
16. Joseph A. McDonnell      1554 0       :    :    :    :    :    :    : 
17. Jarek Wieczorek          1532 4     37:L 47:W 43:W 52:W 90:L 33:W 23:L
18. Diego Pereiro Rodriguez  1503 0       :    :    :    :    :    :    : 

19. Colin Kelly              1491 3     38:L 48:L 58:W 49:W 42:W 32:L 60:L
20. Paul Ward                1463 5     39:W  6:L 37:W 57:L 43:W 35:W 25:W
21. Shay Scott               1240 4     41:W  3:L 48:L 61:L 74:W 69:W 43:W
22. Timothy O'Malley         1217 4     42:W  8:W 10:L 71:W  4:L 37:W 90:L
23. Jaiten Saini             1195 5      1:L 49:W 53:L 64:W 51:W 34:W 17:W
24. Bryn Edwards             1189 4      2:L 50:W 46:L 55:D 56:W 29:D 47:W
25. Conor Sheehan - J        1166 4      3:L 53:L 61:W 68:W 63:W 41:W 20:L
26. Bill Delee               1160 4      4:L 52:W 59:L 50:W 45:W 57:W  8:L
27. George Stack - J         1137 4.5    5:L 56:W 69:D 36:W  2:L 81:W 15:W
28. Oisin O' Sullivan        1093 3.5    6:L 55:W 81:D  2:L 85:W 36:L 63:W
29. John A. O'Dowd           1085 4      7:D 36:L 49:W 58:W 10:L 24:D 45:W
30. Alan Lane                1044 4      8:L 57:W 90:L 65:W 46:W 59:W  4:L
31. Gourang Jiddewar         1040 4      9:L 61:W 89:W 86:W  3:L  8:L 50:W
32. Oscar Roe - J            1021 4     10:L 59:L 65:W 72:W 52:W 19:W  9:L
33. Roy Marshall  - J        1016 4     11:L 64:W 60:L 74:W 61:W 17:L 49:W

34. Vladimir Mabhena         995  3     13:L 73:W  4:L 84:W 71:W 23:L 57:L
35. Tadhg Long - J           989  4     14:L 69:L 64:W 77:W 73:W 20:L 51:W
36. Robert Frost             983  3.5   15:D 29:W 13:L 27:L 55:W 28:W  7:L
37. George Fearnhead         976  4     17:W  5:L 20:L 88:W 86:W 22:L 89:W
38. Christopher Woods - J    963  5     19:W 10:D  2:D 89:W  8:W  9:W  5:L
39. David Piercy             953  3.5   20:L 81:L 63:L 70:W 77:W 61:D 69:W
40. John Bourke              946  0       :    :    :    :    :    :    : 
41. Alexey Marchenko         925  3.5   21:L 84:W  8:L 82:W 89:W 25:L 59:D
42. Cyril Feerick            860  2     22:L 89:L 68:W 83:W 19:L 63:L 81:L
43. Marek Fijalkowski        858  3     83:W  9:L 17:L 87:W 20:L 72:W 21:L
44. Frank Healy              810  1.5     :  90:L 71:L 75:L 70:D 87:D 79:D
45. Riyansh Agarwal - JJ     777  3     48:L 60:L 72:W 80:W 26:L 73:W 29:L
46. Alton D'Souza - J        769  3.5     :  86:W 24:W  3:L 30:L 82:D 84:W
47. Eoin Galvin              727  3       :  17:L  7:L 78:W 75:W 68:W 24:L
48. Vivaan Verlekar - JJ     708  4.5   45:W 19:W 21:W 59:W 53:D  6:L 10:L
49. Shane Loughlin - J       686  3     71:W 23:L 29:L 19:L 88:W 83:W 33:L
50. Oliver Barnes - J        682  3     72:W 24:L 73:L 26:L 79:W 86:W 31:L
51. Yathrik Anand - JJ       680  3     73:L 75:W 84:W  4:L 23:L 71:W 35:L
52. Vinayak Verlekar         679  2     74:W 26:L 82:W 17:L 32:L 89:L 72:L
53. Patrick O'Keeffe - J     643  4.5   75:W 25:W 23:W 90:W 48:D  1:L 13:L
54. Benjamin Gacquin - J     517  0       :    :    :    :    :    :    : 
55. Mustafa Al-Mashhadi      508  3.5   77:W 28:L 86:L 24:D 36:L 64:W 82:W
56. Richard Casserly         479  2.5   78:W 27:L 85:D 15:L 24:L 84:L 87:W
57. Thomas McStay            457  4     88:W 30:L 80:W 20:W  5:L 26:L 34:W

58. Rory Regan  - J               3     84:L 78:W 19:L 29:L 82:L 79:W 75:W
59. Alla Bronnikova - F           3.5   82:W 32:W 26:W 48:L 11:L 30:L 41:D
60. Brian Gallagher               4.5   68:W 45:W 33:W  9:D  6:L  2:L 19:W
61. Josh Kizilos                  3.5   79:W 31:L 25:L 21:W 33:L 39:D 85:W
62. Paul Barry                    0       :    :    :    :    :    :    : 
63. Kacper Zeberek                3     90:L 79:W 39:W  8:L 25:L 42:W 28:L
64. Max Cook                      2.5   87:W 33:L 35:L 23:L 84:D 55:L 78:W
65. Jack Hartford                 2     81:L 77:W 32:L 30:L 83:L 78:W 73:L
66. Patrick Murphy                0       :    :    :    :    :    :    : 
67. James Lee                     0       :    :    :    :    :    :    : 
68. Shane O'Halloran              3     60:L 88:W 42:L 25:L 87:W 47:L 74:W
69. Aaron Brennan                 2.5   85:W 35:W 27:D 13:L 15:L 21:L 39:L
70. David Nagle                   1.5   86:L 82:L 88:L 39:L 44:D   :W 83:L
71. Ratan Madnani                 3     49:L 83:W 44:W 22:L 34:L 51:L 86:W
72. Oisin McDonnell               3     50:L 87:W 45:L 32:L 80:W 43:L 52:W
73. Gian Carpio - J               3     51:W 34:L 50:W 11:L 35:L 45:L 65:W
74. Rowan Earls - J               2     52:L 85:L 78:W 33:L 21:L 88:W 68:L
75. Parsia Jahanzad               2     53:L 51:L 83:L 44:W 47:L 80:W 58:L
76. Paul Gaffney                  0       :    :    :    :    :    :    : 
77. Clodagh O' Sullivan - JF      1     55:L 65:L 79:W 35:L 39:L 85:L 80:L
78. Nathaniel Foye                1     56:L 58:L 74:L 47:L   :W 65:L 64:L
79. Adhiraj Bhushan - JJ          1.5   61:L 63:L 77:L   :W 50:L 58:L 44:D
80. Maksym Danilishyn             2     89:L   :W 57:L 45:L 72:L 75:L 77:W
81. Tallann Maguire               3.5   65:W 39:W 28:D  1:L  7:L 27:L 42:W
82. Saiansh Biswal - JJ           2.5   59:L 70:W 52:L 41:L 58:W 46:D 55:L
83. Kangna Madnani - JF           3     43:L 71:L 75:W 42:L 65:W 49:L 70:W
84. Ruairi McManus                2.5   58:W 41:L 51:L 34:L 64:D 56:W 46:L
85. Phillip Keegan                2.5   69:L 74:W 56:D  7:L 28:L 77:W 61:L
86. Daniel Kitovas                2     70:W 46:L 55:W 31:L 37:L 50:L 71:L
87. Addhrit Bhushan - JJ          1.5   64:L 72:L   :W 43:L 68:L 44:D 56:L
88. Dylan Tobin - J               1     57:L 68:L 70:W 37:L 49:L 74:L   : 
89. Scott Fitzgerald              3     80:W 42:W 31:L 38:L 41:L 52:W 37:L
90. Gerard McLoughlin             5     63:W 44:W 30:W 53:L 17:W  5:L 22:W

Notes: The ordering of the unrated players was based on a rough estimate of online ratings (when supplied)

Saturday 18 June 2022

Venue:  Bridge Centre, St Mary’s Road, Galway

(For directions to the Bridge Centre, see this link)

Start time: 11.00 a.m. (sharp)

Expected finishing time: before 7 p.m.

There will be a break for refreshments after round 4

Rate of play

15 minutes per player per game, plus a 10 second increment per move.

Number of rounds: 7

Accelerated pairing may be used if the number of entrants warrants it.

Methods of entry

Method A (much preferred)

1.       Register your entry with the organizer, by emailing [email protected] before midday on Friday 17 June.  (Note: this email address will not be checked after that time.)  Include your name, and ICU or FIDE ID number if you have them, or date of birth.

                     Also please specify whether you are eligible for the Junior or Female Prizes.

2.       Pay the entry fee of €15 on arrival, between 10.15 and 10.45.

          N.B.  The pairings for round 1 will be made at 10.50, and only paid entrants will be included.  Latecomers will be added if possible, or given a travelling bye for rounds they miss, at the arbiter’s discretion.

Method B

Register and pay the entry fee of €30 on arrival on Sat 18 June between 10.15 and 10.45.

In accordance with standard international practice, the organizers have the right to refuse any entry without giving a reason.

Prizes

1^st                                                               200

2^nd                                                              125

3^rd                                                                75

Grading Prize                                             50

Best Junior                                                 50

Best Female Player                                    50

The prize fund may be decreased if there are fewer than 40 entrants,

and will be increased if there are more than 50 entrants

If there is a tie on game points, prize money will be divided equally between the tied players.

The Junior and Female prizes will only be awarded if there are a minimum of 5 entrants in the category. A junior is anybody under 18 on the date of the tournament: i.e. born on or after 18 June 2004.

The Best Junior and Best Female prize can be won in combination with any of the other prizes; the grading prize cannot be won in combination with the prize for first, second or third place.

Timetable

Round 1 will start at 11 a.m. prompt.  The pairings for round 1 will be made at 10.50.  Players who have not yet arrived at the time the pairings for the first round are made will not be included for that round (the same applies for subsequent rounds), though late arrivals may be added at the arbiter’s discretion.  Players who have entered and are not paired will receive byes for the rounds in which they do not play: such byes will be worth half a point up to a maximum of two such byes in rounds 1 to 5, and no points for any further byes or for byes in the last two rounds.

            Subsequent rounds will start 2 minutes after the pairings for that round have been released; the pairings will be released as soon as possible after the completion of the previous round.  Each player will be allowed at least a 5 minute break between games.

            It is each player’s responsibility to ensure that he or she is at their board at the time their game commences.

            There will be a break for refreshments after round 4; food and drink will be available for purchase at the venue.

Default

There will be no separate default procedure, but any player who arrives at their board 15 minutes late will have lost on time (unless he is black and his opponent is also late).  In the event that neither player has arrived at the board within 15 minutes, the game will be scored as a loss for both players.

            Any player who loses on time without have played a move will be deemed to have withdrawn from the tournament.  Such a player can be reinstated at the discretion of the arbiter, but no player will be reinstated twice.

Mobile Phones

You are strongly advised not to bring a mobile phone with you, nor any other device capable of communicating with others or assisting play.  If you do bring such a thing, it must be switched off whenever your game is in progress.  It must also be switched off at all times that it is in the playing room (this applies to spectators and parents, as well as players).  If your device makes any noise during your game you will automatically lose that game; if it makes any noise in the venue during play you may be excluded from the playing area.

Ratings

The primary ratings for determining seeding and eligibility for grading prizes will be FIDE Rapid Ratings if more than half of the entrants (excluding any entrants on the day) have such a rating.  Otherwise (and in any case for all entrants without a FIDE rapid rating) we will use the latest published ICU rating.  For any entrant who does not have a FIDE or ICU rating, we will use our best estimate.

Playing Rules

The FIDE rules for rapid tournaments will apply (see the FIDE Laws of Chess, Appendix A.  Section A4 will apply.).  These are the normal rules of chess (including touch-move); the main alterations are as follows.

(a)  You do not have to record your moves.  You may do so if you wish, but score sheets will not be provided.

(b)  Illegal moves.  The standard rules apply, except that once the opponent has made his next move, an illegal move cannot be corrected unless this is agreed by the players without intervention of the arbiter.            It is allowed for player B to point out to A that the move was illegal and invite him to try again, without involving the arbiter, subject to complying with the touch-move rule if appropriate.

(c)  Illegal positions.  “If the arbiter observes both kings are in check … he shall wait until the next move is completed.  Then, if an illegal position is still on the board, he shall declare the game drawn.”

A note to spectators.  If you are watching a game and see that an illegal move has been made, you must not point this out to the players (or to anybody else); if you see that a player has exceeded the time limit you may point this out to the arbiter, but not the players.

Claiming Draws.

Note that Allegro rules do not apply; that is, you cannot claim a draw because you believe your opponent is not attempting to win.  The circumstances in which you can claim a draw (in addition to the players agreeing a draw, which can be done at any time) are as follows:

(i)    stalemate;

(ii)  by repetition or under the 50-move rule.  However, it is very difficult to establish either of these when the moves of the game are not being recorded;

(iii) if your opponent has insufficient mating material.  However, note that this is interpreted strictly: you can only claim a draw if there is no sequence of legal moves that can lead to your opponent being mated.  Thus you can claim a draw with king v. king and knight, but not with king and knight v. king and knight.  (I would request that players try to be sensible, and, for instance, agree a draw when faced with king and knight v. king and knight, unless their opponent seems to be flirting with one of the mating positions.)

The laws require the arbiter to intervene and declare a game drawn if in his opinion 75 consecutive moves have been completed without a pawn move or a capture.  The arbiter may also intervene and declare a draw if in his opinion neither side is playing for a win, and if the tournament schedule would be disrupted by allowing the game to continue; this will only be done if the game has already lasted at least an hour (i.e., at least 90 moves).

Appeals

Given the restricted time-frame for this tournament, it is not possible to have an appeals procedure; therefore, all decisions of the arbiter will be final.  Please remember that the arbiter is human(ish), and has a lot of things to do simultaneously; it is therefore possible that he will make a mistake (or mistakes).  In such circumstances, please be considerate and accept the error with good grace.