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The August Blitz brought coffee house chess back to Belfast, with 24 competitors plus spectators filling up QUB’s Café Krem. The University café provided an exceptional venue and service for the event, with superb playing conditions and selection of free refreshments provided to both blitzers and onlookers alike.

Claiming not just Krem’s refreshments but also the 1st place prize money was the host club’s Steve Scannell. It was to complete a special bank holiday weekend for Scannell, who had just been crowned Ulster Champion with a record breaking eighth title win on the very same day.

Scannell transferred his blistering form from the Europa Hotel to the coffee house setting, racing to four wins from four as he beat Frank Wu, Andrew Higgins, John Bradley and Lukasz Kwiatek to maintain a perfect record going into the final round. It was there he came up against Damien Lavery, July 2008 Blitz winner and the sole other player with a faultless score.

A draw was soon agreed but this only delayed the inevitable, as an Armageddon tiebreak match was then employed to finally separate the pair. Even here a drawn position was reached – but in such tie breaks drawn games are awarded as a win for black, thus Scannell emerged victorious again. Another first place for Steve and another record, as he notched up his third outright QUB Blitz win.

Lavery had the consolation of the 2nd place prize and a string of impressive wins. He defeated PJ Mallon, James McDonnell, two times Blitz winner Eamonn Walls and John Bradley before running into Scannell.

Sharing third place were James McDonnell and QUB’s Lukasz Kwiatek. Both players finished with four wins and only a single defeat after the five rounds.

Lukasz wasn’t the only Pole recording an impressive performance, with Queen’s players Sylwek Furman and Karina Kruk both collecting prizes. Furman got out of the blocks with a win over Fisherwick veteran Neil Green and went on to score 3 points tally and the prize for best unrated player. Kruk only ended up with a total of 2.5, leaving her edging Ciara Pugh for the best female player prize by just half a point.

For the first time there was a sizeable contingent present from the Bangor chess club, with the seasiders predictably drawn by the allure of free food and coffee. Among them was Paul McLoughlin, whose 3.5/5 score secured him the prize for the best under 1800 player. McLoughlin’s best result came in the final round, where he defeated Ulster Intermediate Champion Mark Newman.

The final prize went to the best newcomer, an award earned by QUB’s Tak Fung. The Science PhD candidate claimed to be a bit rusty after a long holiday from competitive chess, but a good showing here will hopefully ease him back into further over the board action.

All in all, this successful event provides excellent grounds to suggest the Blitz series may now make a long term departure from the SU bars to the coffee house scene. Café Krem couldn’t have played the role of host in any more welcoming or professional a fashion and will hopefully be available for similar events in the not too distant future! Coffee addicts and chessers alike, stay tuned…

The August Bank Holiday weekend saw Steve Scannell retain his title of Ulster Individuals Champion for another year. Scannell’s success represents a record breaking eighth occasion in which the Baltimore born Queen’s player has lifted the McSparran Cup. Despite the competition’s strongest field since 2002, Steve scored a perfect 6 wins from 6 in Belfast’s Europa Hotel.

Another Queen’s player, Eamonn Walls, had kept pace with Scannell all the way to the final round, only to lose to the reigning champion. Walls still had the consolation of second place and, along with it, earned qualification to next year’s British Individual Championship.

The competition also featured appearances from other member’s of the University club, including Karina Kruk who recorded the shock of the tournament with a victory over Michael Waters.

The 2009 Irish Open Weekender took place in Ballsbridge, Dublin, with QUB's Steve Scannell finishing joint first on 4.5/5.

A strong field entered, including Karl McPhillips (2304), Mel O'Cinneide (2193), Mindaugas Janusaitis (1955) and Eamonn Keogh (1907). However, McPhillips lost to Zaidan Zulkipli (1991) in round 3 while Scannell defeated O'Cinneide in round 5 to claim a first equal finish.

Alongside Steve on 4.5/5 were Gonzaga's Gordon Freeman (2090) and Polish player Pawel Madynski (2106). They each won their opening 4 games before drawing their own encounter in the fifth and final round. The QUB player defeated Atanas Kouhtev (1402), drew with Terry Creighton (1599) and then won three in a row against Elizabeth Shaughnessy (1493), Eric Bennett (1868) and Mel O'Cinneide (2193).

Damien Lavery also competed, scoring 3/5. Lavery's defeats came against Madynski and Zulkipli, with his best win coming versus Bernard Boyle (1774).

Over the same weekend, QUB Rapid 2009 winner FM Colm Daly claimed the title of Irish Champion as he finished with 7.5/9.

5 rounds, 30 players, 7 newbies, a multinational cast of Poles, English, Irish, Americans and Aussies - all set under Bar Sub's atmospheric lighting and with a steady supply of alcohol. This bar blitz cocktail made the latest installment in the series sweeping the SU one of the best to date.

Eamonn Walls was the competition’s biggest winner on the night, as he sensationally reeled off 5 wins from 5 to claim clear first place. Jonathan Beattie, Shane Keers, Martin Kelly, John Cairns and John Bradley all fell victim to Walls’ ruthless winning streak, with the QUB Theology student taking no prisoners. This display means Eamonn has now equalled Steve Scannell’s record of two outright Blitz wins, and has also become only the 2nd player to record a perfect score in the event – repeating Scannell’s achievement from October 2008.

However, Steve wasn’t meekly standing by as his achievements in Blitz folklore were being matched by a QUB teammate. Outside of a hard fought draw with another Queen’s man Andrew “Higgy” Higgins in round 2, the 7 times Ulster Champion found form to win every other game including against Ulster Player of the Year John Cairns in the final match. These results secured second spot for Scannell and a QUB 1-2 along with it.

Not far behind were Calum Leitch and John Bradley with 4/5. Sitting pretty on 4/4 going into the last round, Bradley must have smelt first place. A fifth round defeat to the eventual winner though meant that he was pipped at the post. As consolation, he shared the prize for best under 1800 player with Leitch, who recovered from an early loss to Martin Kelly to finish up with a fine score.

Immediately behind Leitch and Bradley came Polish duo Patrick Cielen and Karina Kruk. They agreed a final round draw to complete an excellent tournament for themselves, with Kruk defeating Mark Newman and Cielen besting UCU Chairman David McAlister as they each finished up on 3.5/5. These performances left Karina winning the prize for best female player, while Patrick marked an impressive Blitz debut by collecting the prize for best newcomer.

Another newcomer among the prizes was schoolboy Matthew Chapman, who signed up to the QUB club just a week ago. The intensive coaching from Walls at that club meet appeared to pay dividends, with Matthew notching 3 wins to grab the prize for best unrated player.

As ever, it was the contest for the David v. Goliath prize which meant everybody kept an interest throughout. Martin Kelly - amidst his patented but unusually sober complaints for having received too many blacks - thought his win over Leitch would see him home. Not so, as Robert Lavery (1040) overcame a 500 rating point gap to beat Shane Keers (1551) in round 4. Cathal Murphy was on hand to declare that he could not confirm Kelly had been hard done by to miss out. High praise indeed for the justice of the Blitz prize-giving system.

Amongst the evening’s other highlights were the usual wanderings into Bar Sub of non-chessers, confidently expecting to arrive in an environment more befitting of Bar Sub at night. Their double-take facial expressions – as they were greeted with a reality they didn’t even realise existed – were as priceless as ever.

However, all readers will be more than aware that the bar blitz absolutely does exist and is becoming an ever more successful and popular concept. Keep your eyes peeled for announcements of further events to be scheduled throughout the summer and don’t miss out!

John Cairns won the 2009 City of Belfast Championships with a round to spare at the Belfast Boat Club. This success capped a superb season for Cairns, with the win securing not just the Nemztov Cup, but also the Tom Clarke Trophy for the UCU Player of the Year.

Settling for joint second place this time round was the 2007 and 2008 winner Steve Scannell. He shared the runner up spot with another QUB player, Eamonn Walls, who finished as the only player to take anything from Cairns after a last round win. Also level with the Queen's pair was Gareth Annesley of RVH.

Grading prizes were won by QUB men John McKenna and newcomer to the University club Tomasz Sobolewski, with the latter defeating Annesley along the way. Bombardier top board Mark Newman also earned himself a cut of the prizemoney.

In the Junior section, Queen's Karina Kruk only narrowly missed out on winning the Henderson Cup. Kruk led for the whole tournament but was pipped at the post by William Storey, as she narrowly lost to Martin Kelly while Storey defeated Alex Beckett in the final round.

April 21st proved to be a night of sweet success for Queen’s Chess, with the University club sealing a superb Ulster League double in stunning last day fashion.

On an evening billed as “Grand Slam Tuesday”, QUB defeated their nearest challengers in Division 1 to retain the title of Ulster Champions. Simultaneously, in the same corridor of the University’s Peter Froggatt Centre, QUB B saw off their closest rivals with a dramatic last minute finish to lift Division 2’s John Strawbridge Trophy.

This rare Division 1 and 2 double triumph was last achieved by the University way back in 1969. The club’s retention of the Division 1 title (and coveted Silver King trophy along with it) means that QUB are also celebrating consecutive top flight victories for the first time since 1970.

Out of term time though it was, Tuesday April 7th saw the Students’ Union play host to a full house. Maximo Park did their part - drawing crowds into the Mandela Hall – but the main event was taking place next door in the building’s basement, where Bar Sub was the venue for the QUB April Blitz.

The great turnout, unique atmosphere, high number of new faces and fierce competition made for bar blitz at it’s best. Top seeds Steve Scannell and John Cairns may have started favourites, but it was QUB Theology student Eamonn Walls who emerged as the winner after a tense playoff win against Mark Newman.

Going for three consecutive outright Blitz wins, Scannell’s challenge came off the rails with a defeat against Newman in round 3. Cairns then found himself in clear first a round later after a fourth win from 4, but blundered to lose a drawn endgame versus Walls in the final round.

That result set up an Armageddon playoff between Eamonn and Mark, which the QUB man won after Newman’s knight and king couldn’t stop his opponent’s marauding passed pawns.

The playoff drama wasn’t confined to this match though, as a 30 strong crowd watched the match between Ciara Pugh and Karina Kruk to decide the best female player prize. Each player had already scored 3 wins over the 5 rounds, but it was Kruk who notched up another victory here to secure the prize money.

Pugh didn’t go home empty handed though, as her strong performance meant she was still guaranteed the prize for the best ungraded player. Along the way she beat Jason Spence, who himself put in an impressive showing to seal the prize for best newcomer.

Marking a successful return to competitive chess after a long sabbatical was Shane Keers. A final round win for the 2nd year student over RVH’s Guych Nuriev meant that he finished the tournament with 4 points, having lost only against Walls.

All in all, the QUB April Blitz provided a fine night of chess for tournament veterans and newcomers alike. You’ll simply not play in a more enjoyable tournament, so if you haven’t given bar blitz a go yet then make sure not to miss out again next time! UCU Pres David McAlister's take on proceedings.

The next Blitz will hopefully be confirmed for a date before the end of May. Keep right up to date via this very site...

The QUB Rapid 2009 was much publicised as Northern Ireland’s richest ever one day chess event and may also be remembered as among its most incident rich. Few tournaments begin with the controller and top seed trapped in a lift for twenty minutes prior to kick off and culminate in a joyous trophy collection from an emotional Frenchman.

39 competitors braved the frost and snow for a competition which provided more than enough heat to make the cold outside seem a million miles away. A superb day of chess rewarded the participants for making the journey, with the five round format as ever excelling in accentuating the ups, downs and unpredictabilities of tournament play.

OPEN SECTION

As expected, the Rapid’s top section lined up with a formidable set of competitors. The band of elite players, featuring six rated above 2000, saw Fide Master Colm Daly (2278) emerge as champion to return to Dublin with the shining trophy and £350 winners’ cheque.

Daly began the tournament by negotiating the early obstacle of fellow Dubliner Ciaran Quinn, before having to come up against the upper echelons of Northern Irish chess. The likes of Stephen Gillen (2257), Chris Cohrs (2211), Steve Scannell (2110) and John Cairns (2020) all did their best to stop him, but Daly saw them off to finish up with an impressive 4.5 points from 5. His sole draw came against Gillen in the final round, but by this stage he was already guaranteed top spot.

That was because the rest of the competitors were all taking points off each other. Second seed Stephen Gillen finished the five rounds unbeaten, but could only win once. Ulster Champion Steve Scannell of QUB, after losing to the eventual winner in round 2 and drawing against Michael Waters (2070) the round after, couldn’t resurrect a realistic challenge for top spot.

In the end, those who got closest to Daly were Fisherwick’s John Cairns and Queen’s Calum Leitch (1774), as the pair finished joint second with 3.5 points. Both players enjoyed excellent tournaments and also played out the most scrambled of blitz finishes to draw their own head-to-head. Cairns’ highlight came with a coolly played rook pawn endgame win over Cohrs, while Leitch’s tournament recovered from opening round defeat to finish with a superb win over Scannell.

The under 2000 grading prize went to Ciaran Quinn (1934) of Dublin’s Elm Mount chess club.

Final standings and crosstable: http://www.dublinchess.com/qubopen.htm

CHALLENGERS SECTION

The under 1600 section packed out Club Rooms 3 and 4 of the SU top floor, with competition fierce for each of the 7 prizes up for grabs. Finishing clear first was the lone player to complete the day with a 100% winning record, Frenchman David Baras.

Baras chalked up one victory after another to leave himself half a point ahead of the chasing pack entering the last round. Here he met QUB’s in form Richard Gould (1517), who was closest to the leader along with Fisherwick stalwart Martin Kelly (1396). Baras’ final round win sealed top spot for him, while Kelly won his last round match against QUB’s Karina Kruk (1419) to secure second. The third place prize went to Alan Burns (1402) of Bangor.

Kruk wasn’t to finish the day without consolation for her good run, as her 3/5 points tally meant she claimed the best female player prize. That this prize was so well contested paid testament to the recent rise in women competitors in QUB, with Radhika Gupta, Ciara Pugh, Maria Murray and Nina Harker not far behind.

The young Robbin brothers certainly enjoyed a successful day too. Kiaran’s impressive 3.5 score meant he finished as the best junior at the event, while Kevin notched up 3 points to finish as the best unrated player.

RVH's Pearse O’Brien (1106) recorded 3.5/5 to claim the best under 1300 player prize.

Final standings and crosstable: http://www.dublinchess.com/qubchallengers.htm

There are plenty of signs from a day to remember that the annual QUB Rapid event is continuing to make a very significant contribution towards the development of chess in Queen’s and Northern Ireland. In recent years the tournament has proved second to none in terms of attracting leading southern players to freshen the challenge for Ulster’s best - not to mention encouraging newcomers, juniors and women to take the plunge into the world of competitive chess.

A Dublin perspective on the tournament is available here: http://www.dublinchess.com/qubrapidplay.html

Until next year's Rapid comes along QUB Chess is lining up plenty more! The club knows you chessers just can’t get enough. Expect details of the next QUB Blitz to be published on this website soon. Rumours are that the next Blitz competition will mark a return to coffeehouse chess...

The internationally rated German Chris Cohrs took to the QUB Chess stage on Monday February 2nd, as he took on all comers and all at once in the Students' Union. The SU's modern Enterprise Unit proved the perfect location for the German doctor to provide an impressive display and a first class evening of chess for all the participants.

The turnout of players featured a healthy mix of QUB veterans such as Robert Lavery and PJ Mallon; those fresh to the club this year like Maria Murray and Brian Rooney; and even those new to the club that evening such as Patrick McLaughlin. There were a few hardened chess competitors on hand to keep the German on his toes too, as Eamonn Walls and Damien Cunningham from the host club were joined by Lagan's Gerald Harvey.

It certainly didn't take many laps around the players for Cohrs to realise his evening's work was certainly cut out for him. Derren Brown may waltz into a simul display aiming for anything above a 50% record but Cohrs - not just a psychologist like Brown but also a chess perfectionist - aimed to finish the night off with an unblemished 100% winning run.

By 9.30pm the first few players began to fall as Chris banked wins in quick succession to get off the mark. With the length of the German's circuit now reduced, the rate of play stepped up a gear. The same increase was then seen in the German's winning tally as he notched up wins over the thorny resistance of QUB Womens' Champ Ciara Pugh and also Nina Harker.

By 10.15pm Cohrs was down to the final three - Walls, Cunningham and Harvey - and the German was still enjoying a perfect winning sequence. Harvey was the next to fall, as his game slipped into a lost queen and pawn endgame. However, the many were then to enjoy their sole success of the night against the one. Theology student Walls forced Chris's resignation with the threat of an advanced passed d pawn. That defeat was to be the single blip for the German as, now able to focus his attention fully, he finally managed to succumb Cunningham's best efforts.

In summary, the German Doctor provided a superb evening's enterntainment for all the punters keen enough to brave the freezing February snow to experience the unique atmosphere of a chess simul. Kudos to Cohrs for such a mercurial display. Next year he promises to repeat the feat, but this time blindfolded...

Attention now turns to the QUB Rapid 2009 this Saturday February 7th. Want your slice of the £750 prize fund and the opportunity to compete in the country's biggest one day chess event? Then no excuses - get involved!

The first major Ulster chess tournament of 2009 took place in the final weekend of January, as a strong field of 28 players competed for one of the local game's most coveted and historic trophies. Donated in 1904 and first won in 1912, who would be taking home the shield in 2009?

QUB's Steve Scannell, having managed to finish clear first in 2007 and 2008, could only get one hand on the Williamson this year. A final round draw with James McDonnell meant that Scannell had to settle for sharing the trophy with Fisherwick's John Cairns and Gareth Annesley of RVH. In doing so, Steve caught up with Tom Clarke's record of 8 Williamson wins.

John Masterson re-emerged on the competitive chess scene to record 4 points from 6, while QUB B captain Damien Cunningham ended up with 3.5 after a final round draw with Alan Delaney. Marking her debut to Ulster chess tournament play was the latest addition to the University club's ranks, Karina Kruk. The 14 year old, recently arrived from Poland, scored 3 wins over the 6 rounds. Also competing was the previous management of QUB Chess, Ashley Peile. Peile scored 2.5/5, before having to catch his plane back to England during the last round.

More details of the tournament, including a final crosstable, should soon be available at David McAlister's Ulster Chess Chronicle.

The 2008 Ulster Rapidplay Championship saw a 5-way tie for first place in an incredibly close tournament. Among the five were two of QUB's own, Steve Scannell and Calum Leitch. QUB's sole other representative in the competition, Richard Gould, also scooped a prize by finishing as best equal in the under 1600 category.

The QUB Blitz series continued in the Students' Union and provided another night of high quality competition, banter and, on this occasion, no shortage of controversy.

The event had something for all of the 26 competitors to enjoy - whether it was the chess, the laid back surroundings of the Union’s Speakeasy Bar or the value for money drinks (ask Martin Kelly).

Enjoying the chess as much as anybody was Steve Scannell. The 7 times Ulster Champion held off fierce competition to claim a consecutive outright QUB Blitz victory with 4.5 points from his 5 games.

In the opening round Scannell got off the mark with a win against one German, Alois Scholl, before sealing top spot with a composed final round draw against another - 2211 FIDE rated Chris Cohrs. In between there was to be no easy passage for Steve either, as he downed Danny Mallaghan, Damien Lavery and Eamonn Walls one after the other on his way to earning the £50 1st prize.

Consolation came for QUB Theology student Walls, however, as he excelled to win all his other games and took second prize on tiebreak ahead of both Cohrs and Damien Cunningham. Eamonn's pivotal victory came in the form of a win over Cal Leitch in the final set of games.

Débuting in the world of competitive chess was Maria Murray, who marked the occasion by claiming the prize for the best female player. Even after defeating QUB Freshers' Champion Scott Colhoun in round 5, Maria still needed to see off another talented fresher, Nina Harker, in an armageddon chess play-of before securing the prize money.

Also rewarded for an excellent tournament performance with 3/5 was QUB novice Paddy Magee. Magee took the prize for the best ungraded player after recording victories against much more seasoned campaigners.

The level of interest (even at this time of year) and high standard of the field competing reconfirmed the Blitz's attraction as a unique tournament and unmissable evening of chess.

The next Blitz shall arrive in due course next year, with all details to be published online. Already confirmed for Saturday February 7th - with a huge guaranteed prize fund of £750 - is the QUB Rapid 2009. We could also be looking at a Simul display being lined up before then, just keep up to date via this website!

In addition to enjoying winning ways at team level, QUB have developed a habit of producing prolific trophy and prize winners in individual competition. The usual suspects have their names and pictures scattered across this site, but the QUB Chess glitterati now appear to have company in the form of newly crowned Ulster Girls' Champion Ciara Pugh.

Arriving at the club at this July's Blitz in Bar Sub, Ciara was quick to show her ability and potential. Only losing two games that night, the QUB Chess coaching department wasted little time in building her up into a serious force to be reckoned with in time for the new season's arrival.

Pugh then wasted little time herself in delivering results and trophies. She has already claimed the title of QUB Women's Champion in October after beating Chris Black (who, of course, wasn't in the running for that particular prize himself) and displaying ice cool determination to edge out Nina Harker in a play-off in front of 30 spectators.

Now, in November, she has won the £1,000+ valued Hilda Chater solid silver plate to mark another glittering addition to the QUB trophy cabinet. Ciara's few defeats in the competition came in close matches against much more experienced campaigners like Utkarsh Joshi and Frank Wu (who won with 15 seconds remaining on his clock).

A bright future appears to lie in wait for both the Queen's chess silverware collection and Ciara - now probably the last person those in the world of Ulster chess want to face over the board.

The other major titles at the event were picked up by Ananda Srinivasan and Leon Hulleman.

Queen's University Belfast competed in this year's prestigious European Club Cup from October 16th to 24th in the Athos Palace Hotel of Kallithea, Greece.

Playing against Europe's elite club sides in the 24th incarnation of the Champions League of chess, the team did brilliantly to defeat Serbian champions Ksh Llamkos and Welsh side Cwmbran to finish as the highest ranked team of all the Celtic nations' clubs. The vital team wins over Llamkos and Cwmbran meant QUB finished ahead of both other Irish sides (Phibsboro of Dublin and Ennis of Munster) to gain huge bragging rights for the University club.

That this achievement was recorded with an understrength team (minus the unavailable 7 times Ulster Champion Steve Scannell) only further illustrates the magnitude of the result for Queen's. The entire team pulled together to perform at the moments when it really mattered and got richly rewarded for their determined displays.

Highlights also came in the form of some fantastic individual performances. Characteristically, Karl McPhillips won his games under extreme pressure to seal both team victories by a single point margin. Chris Millar drew with a 2403 rated International Master along the way to producing the highest rating performance from a Northern Irish born player in either this event or a Belfast club's last involvement in the competition back in 2006.

The European Club Cup 2008 will be a tournament savoured for a long time by the QUB Chess Club, who can consider the event as an outstanding high point in their history. A tremendous thanks goes to team manager Stephen Morgan, who's unenviable task of arranging travel and coping with tournament organisers was fulfilled magnificently.

After the success of July's Blitz in Bar Sub, Belfast chess veterans and newcomers alike had October's event marked as a five star tournament not to miss. With a great atmosphere, Ulster's best players, many new faces and a steady supply of alcohol - the QUB October Blitz duly delivered upon high expectations. 36 players crowded into the SU's Bar Bunatee for what was to provide a superb start to the new University year and the 2008/09 chess season.

Finishing in clear first was QUB's own seven times Ulster Champion Steve Scannell. Scannell's focus didn't slip once the entire evening, as he completed the tournament with a perfect 5/5 score. Along the way to first place and the requisite £50 winner's prize, Steve downed Vladimir Pucovsky, Damien Lavery, Eamonn Walls and Gareth Annesley. Then, in the fifth and final round, Scannell enjoyed a crucial win over second placed Stephen Morgan in what was effectively a play-off for first place.

Also up for grabs at this event were the titles of QUB "Freshers Champion" and "Womens Champion". The availability of each prize undoubtedly added an extra dimension to the competition, with the contest for each going right to the wire.

The honour of becoming the first Freshers Champion since the club's 2005 reformation went to Scott Colhoun. Colhoun just pipped David Knowles to the title, trophy and prize money with a pivotal win over his main rival in round 4 followed by a hard fought final round draw which saw him safely over the winning line.

Definitely the closest run prize winner of the evening was the new QUB Womens Champion Ciara Pugh. Ciara was right on top of her game for the event, not least when summarily dispatching seasoned campaigner Chris Black in round 2. In between Ciara and the title was another very talented female player though, QUB Philosophy fresher Nina Harker.

Each finished the five rounds with an identical points tally, leaving the prize to be decided via a winner-takes-all play off in front of the onlooking crowd. Ciara held the superior position but seemed to be slipping into time trouble. However, with the difficulty of keeping her opponent's passed pawns at bay, it was Nina's clock which ran out of time first thus forcing her to concede defeat.

For all the competition though, it was a night on which the battle for prizes came second. The Bunatee Bar and high turnout was always likely to make for a very relaxed and informal atmosphere, meaning the enjoyment of the game and the opportunity to socialise was above all what mattered. Chess afficianados can expect more of the same from QUB Chess over the coming weeks and months. Already confirmed is the QUB Rapid 2009, but there will be more before then!

Ulster Chess Union President, David McAlister, gives his impression of the blitz from a player's perspective here.

QUB player Steve Scannell continued his prolific success in Ulster chess competition by winning the Civil Service Tournament, thus claiming the Hammel Cup for the sixth time.

Steve's form was as potent as ever, as he finished with a 10/11 points tally after 9 wins and 2 draws from 11 matches. It was only fellow QUB players that could stand in the way of Scannell finishing the tournament with a 100% winning record, with half points being dropped against Cal Leitch and John Masterson.

Cal and John themselves ended up with 2.5/3 and 1.5/3 respectively while another QUB man, Damien Lavery, took 4.5 points from the 6 games he played.

The final weekend in August saw the City of Dublin Championships 2008 take place in the Morrison Hotel. Queen's University travelled with serious contenders for individual titles as Vlado Spiriak, Cal Leitch and Chris Millar all battled it out by the River Liffey. Millar fought off the Eastern European mafia to clinch joint first in the 1200-1600 Challengers event with an unbeaten 5/6. In the 1600-2000 Majors, Spiriak and Leitch each scored 3/6.

QUB captain Chris Millar entered the tournament as one of multiple 1500+ rated players in what was a markedly stronger section than in previous years. Lacking match practice and no longer enjoying the free time of student life, your author was still hopeful of pushing strongly for a place amongst the prize winners.

The first 3 rounds saw the Queen's graduate experience a bumpy ride along the way to 2.5/3. Less than convincing wins were recorded in rounds 1 and 3, while an oversight conceded a draw by perpetual check in round 2.

However, Millar's tournament was to be ignited by the fourth round pairing on the Saturday night when he faced the usually less than agreeable Atanas Kouhtev. Having been the victim of the Bulgarian's unstable disposition in Kilkenny last November, no more inspiration was needed to start playing to his potential. That Kouhtev was currently leading the section with 3/3 made a win all the more necessary. Despite facing "Team Bulgaria" (Kouhtev was twice assisted by pointing towards pieces and Bulgarian spoken advice from two non-playing assistants), a crucial win was recorded in comprehensive manner.

Chris Millar (1552 ICU) - Atanas Kouhtev (1436 ICU): City of Dublin Challengers 2008 (Round 4)

8. ...a6 9. Bxc6 Bxc6 10. Ne5 dxc4 11. Nxc4 Qd8 12. d3 h5 13. Ne5 Rc8 14. Nd2 b5 15. Qe2 Ba8 16. e4 g6 17. f5 gxf5 18. exf5 Rg8 19. Ne4 Bg7 20. fxe6 fxe6 21. Rxf6 Bxf6 22. Qxh5+ Ke7 23. Qf7# 1-0

Atanas took the defeat in tune with his trademark grace by accusing his opponent of receiving advice from Cathal Murphy (not a jury in the world would entertain this notion) before withdrawing from the tournament just as in Kilkenny.

A fifth round win against Conor Pender meant that a very quick draw with top seed Shane Lee in round 6 secured joint first and the QUB captain's €160 share of the prize money.

Among QUB's star signings last year was Ballymena-based Slovakian Vlado Spiriak, who entered the Majors as top seed and with very realistic chances of claiming a podium finish. Calum Leitch also competed and, despite being well down in the seeding list, has previously proven himself more than capable of mixing it up with the best at this level.

Spiriak enjoyed a perfect start as he played past stubborn defence to claim two wins from his opening two matches. His hopes evaporated in the third and fourth rounds though, as time pressure induced defeats to Irish Intermediate Champion Nelman Lagutin and then Zaidan Zulkipli. A determined win over Stefan

Meskens in a queen and knight v. queen and knight endgame boosted Vlado back on to the top boards before he lost to Stephen Moran in round 6. Primarily costing Vlado was most probably a lack of experience in such a densely packed weekender schedule.

Leitch produced some impressive games to finish with 3/6 as well. Results were again achieved against 1900+ opposition, but a fifth round defeat to Clifton House player Danny Mallaghan effectively ended any hopes of a prize. Mallaghan himself was to finish the highest of the Belfast players in the Majors after a strong finish saw him on to 3.5/6.

RVH players Aaron McCully and Cathal Murphy competed in the under 1200 event. McCully recovered from an unlucky 1st round loss to win 5 in a row and claim second prize, while Murphy recorded 3/6.

Much of Aaron's play comfortably surpassed his current 1136 rating, which should quickly shoot upwards over the course of forthcoming tournaments.