Rathmines Junior Chess Club

It was a very busy weekend for junior chess with the Chess for All event taking place on Saturday followed by the last round of the Leinster Leagues on Sunday. Many of Rathmines Juniors took part in both events. The chess for all, Tournament of Champions, attracted over 400 junior chess players from all over Ireland. It was the largest junior event ever to take place in Ireland. Primary school players were divided into categories, 6th class, 5th class, 4th class and 3rd class and under.

Rathmines juniors pictured along with two of our good friends from Shankhill Chess Club celebrating with GM Alexander Baburin.

Rathmines juniors were represented by Michal Higgins, Stephen Higgins, Alex Mulligan, Zoe Mulligan, Fiachra Scallan, Cillian Scallan, Henry li, Matthew Gallagher, Eoghan Turner, Dierdre Turner, Sean Hunter, Leo Norris, Luke Rock and Alex Rock.There was a very exciting atmosphere in the Pavilions venue as the games kicked off at 11am, with over 400 children scrambling enthusiastically to pair up for round one.  Many volunteers worked hard  to make the day a great success, including our own, Scott Mulligan, who was an excellent support to the younger players , while undertaking the task of collecting  results.

By the end of the day Rathmines Chess Club were very proud to congratulate all members who took part and performed very well.

Major winners on the day were

Michael Higgins 1st Place…6th class

Fiachra Scallan 3rd place…5th class

Sean Hunter 1st Place….4th class

Henry Li 2nd Place…4th class

Eoghan Turner 3rd Place…4th class

Luke Rock Merit Award….3rd class

A full list of results will be posted as soon as I get it

Players had  little time to catch their breath before setting off for the last day of the Leinster Leagues in the Teachers club. Many of the players who had just taken part in the largest even junior event in Ireland were now taking there places on several teams for the Rathmines Senior Club in The Leinster Senior League.

The morning session saw Liam Coman and Peter Cooke playing against Elm Mount in the Heidenfeld with Peter scoring a draw. In the afternoon, Scott Mulligan won his match on board one in the Ennis. Nick Scallan captained the BEA team throughout the season, shepherding the many Rathmines Juniors, with the support of Dee and Tom of Rathmines Seniors, to a very successful finale. They finished 5th, just half a point behind both Dublin and Dun Laoighre which is a huge achievement considering that the team consists of juniors Matthew,Fiachra, Michael, Eoghan and Oscar, all under 12 years of age. The boys took the final day in their stride and all scored for the Rathmines B team. Wins for Michael on board 1, Matthew and Oscar plus a draw for Fiachra. Eoghan did not take part in the final round, but his decisive victory over Inchicore the previous week , coupled with wins for Fiachra and Matthew and a draw for Michael added to the tally.

Div 5  BEA Cup  2012 – 2013