Irish Championship 2020

cdeb wrote: »

And Tom has just won in fact. So he takes the lead on 7/9 and will win outright if Conor and Stephen both win. Computer now giving Stephen a big lead over Sam (+4 after move 25), but the chess24 computer is notoriously crap, so wouldn't necessarily trust that. Must have a look at the position.

Live commentary from Henry Li--see link on ICU page.

Congratulations to Tom,

It’s a superb result for Tom at 17 years old to win his first Irish title. Tom won’t turn 18 until December. He now adds the senior title to the U19 title that he won I think 4 years ago in Blanchardstown, and will no doubt be the first of many Irish titles for Tom.

Crucially today Tom managed to wrap up his win today earlier in the afternoon, which helped increase the pressure on both Colm and Sam, knowing that Tom has the winning tiebreak if both of them were to draw.
Tom was able to come with a late run having hard a hard run of games in the earlier part of the week. His win as black over Sam was instrumental in keeping the tournament leaderboard tightly packed, whilst also proving so valuable a tie breaker. Tom also won the tournament the hard way, having had multiple blacks in the early going. Colm played a great tournament from the front and came so close the adding to his multiple titles this week, before just running out of steam at the finish in his tight match with Conor.


It’s pleasing to see one of the hardest working players in Irish chess win the ultimate domestic prize at such a young age, and gives a pathway for the other extremely bright prospects coming through, who are even younger than Tom.

Tom from such a young age, always played in nearly every tournament on the calendar, and had a penchant for adventurous attacking chess..credit has to go to Alex Baburin for his underage tournaments which helped develop Toms passion for the game to David Fitzsimons who was so Instrumental as coach to the underage Glorney teams and who worked tirelessly with Tom during his development. Paul Cassidy and Dun Laoghaire chess club also deserve a mention in Toms development.

Lastly I am very pleased for Toms parents, Brian and Pippa who have been such supports to both Tom and Alice as their chess prowess developed these last 8-9 years and who brought Tom, Alice (and Molly) to all the various tournaments both domestically but also internationally. Alice is also one of the strongest players in the country, having already played in several Irish senior championships and represented Ireland in Olympiads.

Enjoy tonight in Dalkey the five of you.