ARMAGH RAPIDPLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019

Saturday March 30, 2019

11:00am to 5:30pm

Kings and queens battle at Royal School, Armagh

The first ever Armagh Rapidplay Chess Championships were held at the Royal School on Saturday 30 March. The event was run by the Ulster Chess Union (UCU) and kindly supported by the school headmaster Graham Montgomery.

The Royal School Armagh has the current Ulster Under 16 Chess Champion, Louie McConkey, and it was through this connection, that the idea of holding a tournament was born. 54 players flocked to the event as locals mixed with entrants from Dublin, Donegal, Omagh, Enniskillen, Portadown, Lisburn, Belfast, Larne, Newtownards and Bangor. With 25 minutes per player, it was 6 rounds of intense speed chess.

The top section was rated by FIDE (World Chess Federation) and the lower section saw many youngsters play in their first ever event. The assembly hall was buzzing with activity all day long. 22 year old Ulster Champion Thomas Donaldson was crowned Armagh Rapidplay Champion with the undefeated score of 5.5/6. Thomas is the current chess club president of Imperial College, London, where he’s completing the final year of his degree.

2nd place went to multi-award winning local champion Gareth Annesley. 3rd place was won by speed chess supremo Modestas Razbadauskas from Lithuania. The Under 1700 Grading Prize was picked up by Polish player Kamil Szulc with an impressive 4.5/6. The Under 1400 was won by Cathal Murphy with 4/6 and the Under 1100 was awarded to Paul Anderson (4/6). Both of these players punched far above their weight in a very tough section.

Meanwhile, in the junior section, Donegal schoolboy Eoin Boyle won the championship with 5/6 and his brother Conor took 3rd place with 4/6. Newtownards player Ken Haddock was awarded 2nd place with 4.5/6. The Under 800 Grading Prize was won by 7 year old Helen Bueckert, travelling up from Dublin with her three sisters and enthusiastic dad, Hagen, from the beautiful city of Weimar in Germany. 8 year old Sklya McConkey from Armstrong Primary, opposite the Royal School, was awarded the Under 700 Grading Prize after an excellent tournament performance.

At the prize-giving ceremony, UCU Tournament Director Brendan Jamison said “We are extremely grateful for the support of the Royal School Armagh and to Clare Finnegan-McConkey for working in the background to secure such an excellent venue. Also, a huge thanks to Richard Gould (National Arbiter) and Ross Harris (UCU President) for giving up their Saturday as volunteers to run the tournament so that everyone could enjoy their day of chess.”

Reflecting on the tournament, Brendan concluded “chess and education go hand-in-hand as it’s a special activity which enhances our creative thinking and problem-solving skills in a fun and friendly environment. Our tournaments embrace a true community spirit with players of all ages, all abilities and all nationalities coming together to enjoy mental gymnastics and mutual respect”.

The next event is a youth chess rapidplay at Methodist College, Belfast, on Saturday 13 April from 12:30 to 5pm. It is open to children and teenagers from ages 5 up to 18. This monthly event attracts school players from all across Northern Ireland and is expertly run by Mark Newman, UCU Director of Children’s Chess.

Prize-winners:

Champion: Thomas Donaldson (5.5/6) TPR = 2012

2nd: Gareth Annesley (5/6) TPR = 1995

3rd: Modestas Razbadauskas(5/6) TPR = 1745 

Under 1700 Grading Prize: Kamil Szulc(4.5/6) TPR = 1855 

Under 1400 Grading Prize: Cathal Murphy (4/6) TPR = 1591

Under 1100 Grading Prize: Paul Anderson (4/6) TPR = 1642

Junior Champion: Eoin Boyle (5/6)

Junior 2nd: Ken Haddock (4.5/6)

Junior 3rd: Conor Boyle (4/6)

Under 800 Grading Prize: Helen Bueckert (3/6)

Under 700 Grading Prize: Skyla McConkey (3/6)

TOP SECTION OF

THE EVENT WILL BE

RATED BY FIDE, THE

WORLD CHESS FEDERATION

TOP AND LOWER SECTIONS

WILL BE RATED BY ULSTER CHESS UNION

Round 1 will begin at 11:15am sharp

In a continuing drive to reach beyond the Belfast metropolitan area, we are looking forward to holding our first ever rapidplay chess championships in Armagh this Spring. The event is kindly sponsored by The Royal School Armagh, providing us with excellent facilities for the tournament.

For info on local hotel offering special chess rates, please scroll to bottom of page

ARBITERS:

Chief Arbiter Richard Gould (National Arbiter)

Arbiter: Brendan Jamison (UCU Tournament Director)

Arbiter: Ross Harris (UCU President)

ENTRANTS:

58 players registered, as at Wednesday 26 March 2019

OPEN SECTION

JUNIOR SECTION (Under 1000)

EVENT TITLE: Armagh Rapidplay Championships 2019

DATE: Saturday March 30, 2019

START TIME: 10:45am to 11am for check-in / payment of entry fees. Round 1 at 11:15am

END TIME: 5:30pm (Prize-giving at 5:25pm).

REGISTRATION:

Emailing to register means that you have read the information below and agree to abide by the rules. Please email Brendan Jamison at playchessni@gmail.com by 12 noon on Wednesday March 26, 2019 with the following info if you are non-FIDE registered:

Full name

Date of Birth

Rating (if any)

FIDE ID (if you have it)

Please note the Ulster Chess Union will not hold any records with your date of birth, this info will be deleted after being passed to FIDE for the registration process.

Entries after 12 noon will not be accepted. Entries through other people will not be accepted so please make direct contact.

ENTRY FEES:

£10 per player for ICU and UCU members.

£5 for under 18 year olds.

£5 for students.

PRIZES:

All entry fees will be distributed as prizes at end of the day. A list of prizes will be published on the day after all money is collected from entry fees.

CHIEF ARBITER: Richard Gould NA

FORMAT: 6 rounds. One open section. FIDE rated. One lower section, primarily for newcomers. Both sections will be rated by Ulster Chess Union.

TIME CONTROL: 25 minutes per player for all the moves therefore each game will last a maximum of 50 minutes.

TIE BREAKS: For tie-breaks, players will be ranked based on their scores by Median Buchholz, followed if necessary by Buchholz and then Progressive Scores.

RULES: FIDE rules will apply. Touchmove will apply. The second illegal move will result in the immediate loss of the game, however, your opponent must announce when the first illegal move has been played and then once again announce the second illegal move has been played before claiming the win, provided the player still has mating material left on the board, otherwise only a draw can be claimed. If play continues, the opponent may not claim the win retrospectively.

Remember FIDE rules about mobile phones is very strict. If your phone makes a noise during the game, you will automatically lose the game therefore always remember to have your phone switched off. Phones should not be seen in the playing hall. If you are a doctor on call, please notify an arbiter in advance.

PUNCTUALITY: Players who arrive at their board after their clock has been started will receive a strike against their name. Even if it is 10 seconds after the clock has been started, you will still be marked down as late. If this continues for a third time in the same tournament, you will be disqualified. For rapidplay chess tournaments, we request that ALL PLAYERS TAKE THEIR SEATS 2 MINUTES BEFORE STARTING TIME.

LOCATION: The Royal School, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DH

TIMETABLE:

Charlemont Arms Hotel, 57-65 Upper English St, Armagh, BT61 7LB

HOTEL DETAILS FOR ARMAGH RAPIDPLAY CHESS TOURNAMENT

The Charlemont Arms in Armagh are offering special chess rates for either Friday 29 or Saturday 30 March 2019.

Double/twin room: £85.00 per night bed &breakfast.

Single room: £54.00 per night bed & breakfast.

The Charlemont Arms is a small, family run hotel approximately 5 minutes walk from the Royal School/town centre. It has a great restaurant and bar, traditional music most weekends and reputedly the best pint of Guinness in town!

Anyone wishing to avail of the offer is asked to quote 'Rapidplay Chess Tournament'. Ring reception and ask for Judith, she is the only member of staff able to do the booking with the discounted chess rate.

Phone:

02837522028

Please let Brendan Jamison know if you have booked a room as they are only keeping a limited number aside with the chess discount rate.

Hotel website:

http://charlemontarmshotel.com

Hotel address:

57-65 Upper English St, Armagh, BT61 7LB