Braille Chess Championship 2011
By Seán Loftus
The 2011 Irish Chess Championship for blind and vision impaired players took place at the headquarters of the National League of the Blind of Ireland during the weekend of October 7-9. The tournament was organised by the Braille Chess Association of Ireland.
There were two sections with six players in each. In the top section the competition was so intense that nobody emerged unbeaten at the end of the five rounds. Only five of the 15 games were drawn. Philip Doyle with his third win came through in the final round to take first place on 3.5 points. On three points came defending champion, Michael Delaney, Ernie McElroy and Sean Loftus. Then followed Joe McAloon on 1.5 and Eamonn Casey on one point.
In the minor section our two newest members Stan Lightowler from Co. Derry and Ann Casey from Mullingar participated in an Irish Championship for the first time. We were also delighted to welcome back Tony Murray after an absence of a few years. First place went to Michael Meaney on 4.5 points followed by Tony Murray on four, John Carroll, 3.5 and Shane Hall on two points.
Our grateful thanks to Tim Conlan, our tournament controller, who was present throughout the weekend to keep everything running smoothly. A special word of thanks to Noreen and Rose, who kept us provided with tea, coffee and soup. Finally, a very special word of thanks to the trustees of the National League of the Blind of Ireland for making their premises available to us for the weekend and also for the very enjoyable social evening they organised on the Saturday. For this the chess players were joined by a large number of others for an evening of singing, music, chat and the renewal of old friendships.