Irish Chess Championship
The Irish Chess Championship is the national Championship of Ireland as run by the Irish Chess Union (ICU), the FIDE governing body for the sport. Below are the list of winners for the Men's and Women's titles. Note that women are currently admitted to the Men's tournament. The first Irish Championship competition won by J.A. Porterfield Rynd in 1865 was run under the auspices of the Hibernia Chess Association a forerunner of the ICU.
The Irish Chess Association was founded 1885 and held a Masters tournament to decide who was Irish Champion (this was a handicapped tournament and while William Pollock won on points, Porterfield Rynd won on the handicap rules). Since its foundation in 1912 the Irish Chess Union has organised the Irish Chess Championships.
The Irish Chess Championship has run in a number of various formats from a round robin competition for those who qualified, to a Swiss system competition, to an Open competition with other nationalities playing, and the highest scoring Irish player being awarded the title of Irish Champion, the 2007, 2008 and 2009 championships were open nine-round Swiss competitions.
Men's winners
- 1865 James Alexander Porterfield Rynd
- 1889 G.D.Soffe
- 1892 James Alexander Porterfield Rynd
- 1913 John O'Hanlon
- 1915 John O'Hanlon
- 1922 T.G.Cranston
- 1924 Philip Baker
- 1925 John O'Hanlon
- 1926 John O'Hanlon
- 1927 Philip Baker
- 1928 Philip Baker
- 1929 Philip Baker
- 1930 John O'Hanlon
- 1931 T.G.Cranston
- 1932 John O'Hanlon
- 1933 James C. Creevey
- 1934 James C. Creevey
- 1935 John O'Hanlon
- 1936 John O'Hanlon
- 1937 Thomas Cox
- 1938 Thomas Cox
- 1939 Bartholomew O'Sullivan
- 1940 John O'Hanlon
- 1946 Bartholomew O'Sullivan
- 1947 Patrick A. Duignan
- 1948 Donal J. O'Sullivan
- 1949 Patrick Brendan Kennedy
- 1950 T. Vincent Maher
- 1951 Patrick Martin Austin Bourke
- 1952 Michael Joseph Schuster
- 1953 Edmund Noel Mulcahy
- 1954 Terry Kelly
- 1955 T. Vincent Maher
- 1956 Donal J. O'Sullivan
- 1957 Donal J. O'Sullivan
- 1958 Wolfgang Heidenfeld
- 1959 Brian Reilly
- 1960 Brian Reilly
- 1961 John Reid
- 1962 John Reid / Michael F. Littleton
- 1963 Wolfgang Heidenfeld
- 1964 Wolfgang Heidenfeld
- 1965 Michael F. Littleton
- 1966 John L. Moles
- 1967 Wolfgang Heidenfeld
- 1968 Wolfgang Heidenfeld
- 1969 Nicholas James Patterson
- 1970 Paul Henry
- 1971 John L. Moles
- 1972 Wolfgang Heidenfeld
- 1973 Hugh MacGrillen
- 1974 Anthony Doyle
- 1975 Eamon Keogh / Alan Templeton Ludgate
- 1976 Bernard Kernan
- 1977 Ray Devenney / Alan Templeton Ludgate
- 1978 Alan Templeton Ludgate
- 1979 David Dunne / Eamon Keogh
- 1980 Paul Delaney
- 1981 David Dunne / Philip Short
- 1982 John Delaney
- 1983 David Dunne
- 1984 Eugene Curtin
- 1985 Eugene Curtin / Mark John Legard Orr
- 1986 John Delaney / Philip Short
- 1987 John Delaney
- 1988 Philip Short
- 1989 Niall Carton
- 1990 John Delaney
- 1991 Stephen Brady
- 1992 Stephen Brady
- 1993 Niall Carton
- 1994 Mark John Legard Orr
- 1995 Brian Kelly
- 1996 Richard O'Donovan
- 1997 Joseph Diarmuid Ryan
- 1998 Colm Daly
- 1999 Colm Daly
- 2000 Mark Heidenfeld
- 2001 Stephen Brady
- 2002 Sam Collins
- 2003 Stephen Brady
- 2004 Joseph Diarmuid Ryan
- 2005 Colm Daly
- 2006 Stephen Brady
- 2007 Brian Kelly / Stephen Brady
- 2008 Alexander Baburin
- 2009 Colm Daly
- 2010 Alex Lopez
- 2011 Stephen Brady
- 2012 Stephen Brady / Colm Daly
- 2013 Colm Daly
- 2014 Sam E. Collins
- 2015 Stephen Brady / Philip Short
Women's winners
- 1951 H.F.Chater
- 1952 H.F.Chater
- 1953 H.F.Chater
- 1954 H.F.Chater
- 1955 H.F.Chater / K.Doolan
- 1956 E.M.Cassidy
- 1968 D.O'Siochru
- 1969 C.Byrne
- 1970 B.O'Shaughnessy
- 1971 C.Noonan / C.Meulien
- 1972 D.O'Siochru
- 1973 D.O'Siochru
- 1974 D.O'Siochru
- 1977 Ann Teresa Delaney
- 1980 Suzanne Connolly / Ann Teresa Delaney
- 1982 E.Quinn
- 2012 Karina Kruk
- 2013 Diana Mirza
- 2014 Gearoidin Ui Laighleis
- Irish Championships at the website of the Irish Chess Union
- includes history, scores, crosstables, bios, and interviews.
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