The Time Traveller

On the Dr. McSparran Cup, which has been awarded to the winner of the Ulster Championship since 1960, opposite the year 1981 there is a blank space. No Championship that year? On the contrary - in fact it was the last Championship with regional qualifiers - a system that had been in existence since 1957.

The Belfast qualifying section was a nine-round Swiss and was played in January and February 1981.

1. M. Smyth 7.0/9
2. D. Houston 6.5
3=4. J. Garcia, N. Greer 6.0
5=7. A. Pinkerton, D. Blair, D. Artt 5.5
8=9. W. Collins (8 games), P. McMahon 5.0
10=13. T. Clarke (6 games), J. Kennedy, G. Heathwood, D. Forson 4.5
14=18. E. Whiteside, R. Devenney, G. McCormick (7 games), R. Henderson, I. McDonald 4.0
19=21. N. Carton, A. Cootes, C. McDowell 3.5
22=24. E. Webb, J. O'Doherty, J. Mearns 3.0
25. J. Strawbridge 1.5

Therefore the two Belfast qualifiers were Michael Smyth and David Houston. The North Ulster qualifier was a ten-player all-play-all and ended about a month after the Belfast one. The winner was John Hegarty but there was a tie for the second qualifying place between Eugene O'Hare and Derek McGill.

1. J. Hegarty 7.5
2=3. E. O'Hare, D. McGill 7.0
4. J. Quigley 5.5
A. Jackson, W. Breslin, M. Tierney, L. Hegarty, S. O'Hara, P. North were the other competitors

A play-off match was arranged between McGill and O'Hare. Originally four games were to be played but each player won two each so a further two games were necessary before Derek McGill came out on top.

The four qualifiers went forward to a double-round all-play-all, played as three rounds of mini-matches. In the first Round the players from the same qualifying section were to play each other. Then there was to be a round in Derry and finally one in Belfast. However the final was never completed. At the 2002 Ulster Championship, while we were sharing Controlling duties, I asked David Houston what had happened. He explained that he had beaten Michael Smyth 1.5 to 0.5 in their Round 1 mini-match. He couldn't remember what had happened between the North Ulster players. However, in Round 2 both Belfast players had beaten their North Ulster rivals 2-0 and this had left Houston in pole position going into the third and final Round. Unfortunately, arrangements were never finalised to play this Round.

A similar situation of the final not being completed had occurred with the 1980 Championship and the Ulster Chess Union decided that the title should be shared between the four qualifiers, and all four - Keith Allen, John Hegarty, John Kennedy and Derek McGill - had their names inscribed on the trophy. And, even more remarkably, it happened again in 1982.

In 1982 the format of the Ulster Championship had changed from the system of regional qualifiers and a final to the current system of a seven round Swiss. The 1982 Championship produced a four-way tie - between George Heathwood, David Houston, Kevin James and Michael Smyth - and a play-off was arranged. However, the tie-breaking series ran into difficulties. James was resident in Cork and none of his play-off games were played. Smyth and Houston drew their game and both of them beat Heathwood. At a UCU committee meeting in August 1982 it was decided that the "names of D. Houston and M. Smyth should go on the trophy." Note the slightly curious wording.

At that same UCU committee meeting in August 1982, over 18 months after the 1981 Championship had started it was decided that "no names should appear on the trophy for that tournament." Note once again the rather curious wording, which leaves us with a conundrum. Should we regard the four qualifiers as joint winners of the 1981 Ulster Championship ? Or is it simply the Championship that never was?