ULSTER CHAMPIONSHIP 29 APRIL - 1 MAY 2006
Over the May Bank Holiday weekend the Ulster Senior Championship was held at the Belfast Boat Club. Michael Waters and Stephen Scannell tied for the title with 4.5 points from their 6 games. Grading prizes went to Calum Leitch and Alex Beckett.
[Final standings] [Report by Damien Lavery] [Games]
MALAHIDE MILLENNIUM TOURNAMENT 29 APRIL - 1 MAY 2006
The annual Malahide tournament was also held over the holiday weekend and four Ulster players took part. RVH player Gareth Annesley finished equal first in the Major section for the biggest success of his career. Gareth beat FIDE Master and Irish champion Colm Daly in round 3 and was a point ahead going into the final day after beating second seed Pawel Madynski in round 4. He then lost to Brian Galligan but a draw with Stephen Moran in the final round was sufficient to share first place when Daly and Galligan drew their game.
Clifton House player Nicholas Pilkiewicz finished half-a-point behind the winners and won a Grading Prize for his efforts. His teammate Danny Mallaghan finished on 3 points, which was also the total achieved by Fortwilliam's Patrick McKillen in the Challengers (Under 1600) section.
Leading placings in the Major:
THE CITY OF BELFAST CHESS FESTIVAL, BELFAST BOAT CLUB, 20-21 MAY 2006
Prizewinners:
Nemtzov Cup:
CIVIL SERVICE SUMMER TOURNAMENT APRIL-SEPTEMBER 2006
Stephen Scannell won the tournament for the third time in four years. Scannell was not as dominant as last year, suffering defeat with both colours to his young Bangor CC teammate David Gryzmek. He also lost to Tom Clarke, who scored 4 out of 4 but was ineligible for the prize-list, not having played the minimum required 10 games.
EUROPEAN CLUB CUP FUEGEN, AUSTRIA 8-14 OCTOBER 2006
A Belfast team comprising Stephen Scannell, Michael Waters, James McDonnell, John Bradley, Danny Mallaghan and Stephen Morgan competed against the very best club sides in Europe. They were seeded 54th out of the 56 teams but with 2 victories from their 7 matches, the team finished in 47th equal position.
[Official tournament website] [Comprehensive statistics on the event]
Round by round results for Belfast
Round 1
|
Belfast |
Rtng |
Schachfreunde Berlin |
Rtng |
0.0 : 6.0 |
|
Stephen Scannell |
2157 |
IM Rainer Polzin |
2480 |
0 - 1 |
|
Michael Waters |
2110 |
IM Lars Thiede |
2504 |
0 - 1 |
|
James J McDonnell |
2033 |
IM Martin Borriss |
2455 |
0 - 1 |
|
John Bradley |
|
IM Stephan Berndt |
2445 |
0 - 1 |
|
Danny Mallaghan |
|
Schneider Ilja |
2368 |
0 - 1 |
|
Stephen Morgan |
|
FM Christoph Nogly |
2266 |
0 - 1 |
Round 2
|
Bronshoj Skakforening |
Rtng |
Belfast |
Rtng |
5.0 : 1.0 |
|
IM Kim Pilgaard |
2421 |
Stephen Scannell |
2157 |
1 - 0 |
|
FM Thorbjorn Bromann |
2379 |
Michael Waters |
2110 |
1 - 0 |
|
IM Bjorn Brinck-Claussen |
2361 |
James J McDonnell |
2033 |
Draw |
|
FM Jacob Carstensen |
2307 |
John Bradley |
|
1 - 0 |
|
Jakob Aabling-Thomsen |
2276 |
Danny Mallaghan |
|
1 - 0 |
|
Steen Petersen |
2147 |
Stephen Morgan |
|
Draw |
Round 3
|
Belfast |
Rtng |
Slough Sharks |
Rtng |
1.5 : 4.5 |
|
Stephen Scannell |
2157 |
IM Gawain C Jones |
2430 |
0 - 1 |
|
Michael Waters |
2110 |
Steven Tweedie |
2239 |
0 - 1 |
|
James J McDonnell |
2033 |
Graeme Kafka |
2136 |
Draw |
|
John Bradley |
|
Ben Purton |
2091 |
0 - 1 |
|
Danny Mallaghan |
|
Malcolm Armstrong |
2101 |
Draw |
|
Stephen Morgan |
|
Ben P Edgell |
2012 |
Draw |
Round 4
|
Kilkenny |
Rtng |
Belfast |
Rtng |
5.0 : 1.0 |
|
GM Alexander Baburin |
2541 |
Stephen Scannell |
2157 |
1 - 0 |
|
IM Mark Heidenfeld |
2365 |
Michael Waters |
2110 |
1 - 0 |
|
Karl McPhillips |
2208 |
James J McDonnell |
2033 |
Draw |
|
Eamon Keogh |
2093 |
John Bradley |
|
1 - 0 |
|
John White |
|
Danny Mallaghan |
|
1 - 0 |
|
Sean Bradley |
|
Stephen Morgan |
|
Draw |
Round 5
|
Galway |
Rtng |
Belfast |
Rtng |
2.5 : 3.5 |
|
Marek Goban |
2148 |
Stephen Scannell |
2157 |
0 - 1 |
|
Stefan Tomezack |
|
Michael Waters |
2110 |
0 - 1 |
|
Pete Morriss |
|
James J McDonnell |
2033 |
1 - 0 |
|
Lorcan O'Toole |
|
John Bradley |
|
1 - 0 |
|
Indranil Banerjee |
|
Danny Mallaghan |
|
Draw |
|
Jarek Wieczorek |
|
Stephen Morgan |
|
0 - 1 |
Round 6
|
Belfast |
Rtng |
Butrinti |
Rtng |
3.5 : 2.5 |
|
Stephen Scannell |
2157 |
Dritan Mehmeti |
2396 |
0 - 1 |
|
Michael Waters |
2110 |
Lime Mihasi |
|
Draw |
|
James J McDonnell |
2033 |
Murat Mejdini |
|
1 - 0 |
|
John Bradley |
|
Altin Hoxha |
|
Draw |
|
Danny Mallaghan |
|
Bajram Bajrami |
|
Draw |
|
Stephen Morgan |
|
Dhame Petraq |
|
1 - 0 |
Round 7
|
Belfast |
Rtng |
SK Hohenems |
Rtng |
0.5 : 5.5 |
|
Stephen Scannell |
2157 |
GM Michael Bezold |
2535 |
0 - 1 |
|
Michael Waters |
2110 |
IM Valery Atlas |
2482 |
0 - 1 |
|
James J McDonnell |
2033 |
IM Milan Novkovic |
2417 |
0 - 1 |
|
John Bradley |
|
IM Guntram Gaertner |
2331 |
0 - 1 |
|
Danny Mallaghan |
|
Heinz Grabher |
2311 |
0 - 1 |
|
Stephen Morgan |
|
FM Robert Thoma |
2363 |
Draw |
UCU RAPIDPLAY BELFAST BOAT CLUB 22 OCTOBER 2006
Bangor Chess Club was unable to stage its annual one-day Congress in September this year, but Ulster players still had an opportunity for some early-season rapidplay action with the revival of a UCU Rapidplay in October for the first time since 2002.
First prize went to Gareth Annesley with 5 points out of 6, half a point ahead of top seed Stephen Scannell, whom he defeated in Round 5.
Prizewinners: