The Irish Chess Championship is the national Championship of Ireland, currently run by the Irish Chess Union (ICU), the FIDE-recognised governing body for the game.[1] Below is the list of champions. The first champion was J.A. Porterfield Rynd, who won the Dublin Chess Congress 1865 No. 3 Tournament, reserved for "amateurs, bona fide resident in Ireland for the 12 months prior to 1st September 1865".[2]

The Irish Chess Association was founded in 1885. Its congresses of 1886 and 1889 included provision for determining the Irish Championship, and the winners were Richard Whieldon Barnett (later Sir Richard Barnett) and George D. Soffe, respectively.[3]

The Hibernian Chess Association was established during the 1891–92 season, and held one Irish championship, in 1892, which was won by J.A. Porterfield Rynd.

Since its foundation in 1912 the Irish Chess Union has organised the Irish Chess Championships. The events ran sporadically at first, but have been held annually since 1924, except for suspension during 1941–45.

The Irish Chess Championship has run in various formats including a round robin competition, a match system, and a Swiss system competition. Since 2013, the championship has been organised as a 9-round Swiss event, open to players registered as IRL with FIDE, who meet a rating requirement.

Winners

Men's champions

YearWinnerNotes
1865James Alexander Porterfield Rynd[4]First winner
1886Richard Whieldon Barnett[5]
1889George D. Soffe
1892James Alexander Porterfield RyndFirst person to win two championships
1913John O'HanlonFirst person to win two consecutive championships
1915
1922T.G. (Thomas George) Cranston
1924Philip Baker
1925John O'HanlonFirst person to win three championships
1926First person to win four championships
1927Philip BakerFirst, and so far only, person to win three consecutive championships
1928
1929
1930John O'HanlonFirst person to win five championships
1931T.G. (Thomas George) Cranston
1932John O'HanlonFirst person to win six championships
1933James C. Creevey
1934
1935John O'HanlonFirst person to win seven championships
1936First person to win eight championships
1937Thomas Cox
1938
1939Bartholomew O'Sullivan
1940John O'HanlonFirst person to win nine championships
1946Bartholomew O'Sullivan
1947Patrick A. Duignan
1948Dónal J. O'Sullivan
1949Patrick Brendan Kennedy
1950T. Vincent Maher
1951Patrick Martin Austin Bourke
1952Michael Joseph Schuster
1953Edmund Noel Mulcahy
1954Terry Kelly
1955T. Vincent Maher
1956Dónal J. O'Sullivan
1957
1958Wolfgang Heidenfeld
1959Brian Reilly
1960
1961John Reid
1962John Reid / Michael F. LittletonShared title
First shared title
1963Wolfgang Heidenfeld
1964
1965Michael F. Littleton
1966John L. Moles
1967Wolfgang Heidenfeld
1968
1969Nicholas James Patterson
1970Paul Henry
1971John L. Moles
1972Wolfgang Heidenfeld
1973Hugh MacGrillen
1974Anthony Doyle
1975Eamon Keogh / Alan Templeton LudgateShared title[6]
1976Bernard Kernan
1977Ray Devenney / Alan Templeton LudgateShared title
1978Alan Templeton Ludgate
1979David Dunne / Eamon KeoghShared title[7]
1980Paul Delaney
1981David Dunne / Philip ShortShared title
1982John Delaney
1983David Dunne
1984Eugene Curtin
1985Eugene Curtin / Mark OrrShared title
1986John Delaney / Philip ShortShared title
1987John Delaney
1988Philip Short
1989Niall Carton
1990John Delaney
1991Stephen Brady
1992
1993Niall Carton
1994Mark Orr
1995Brian Kelly
1996Richard O'Donovan
1997Joseph Diarmuid Ryan
1998Colm Daly
1999
2000Mark Heidenfeld
2001Stephen Brady
2002Sam Collins
2003Stephen Brady
2004Joseph Diarmuid Ryan
2005Colm Daly
2006Stephen Brady
2007Brian Kelly / Stephen BradyShared title
2008Alexander Baburin
2009Colm Daly
2010Alex Lopez
2011Stephen Brady
2012Stephen Brady / Colm Daly
2013Colm Daly
2014Sam Collins
2015Stephen Brady / Philip ShortShared title
2016Stephen Jessel
2017Philip Short / Alex LopezShared title
2018Alex Lopez
2019Conor Murphy
2020Tom O'Gorman
2021Mark Heidenfeld
2022Tarun Kanyamarala
2023Alexander Baburin
2024David Fitzsimons
2025Kavin Venkatesan

Women's champions

Source:[8]

Senior / Veteran winners

Notes

  1. ^ FIDE Directory, Member Associations
  2. ^ "Irish Championship 1865", ICU web site
  3. ^ McAlister, David (1999). "History of the Early Championships". The Irish Chess Archive. Archived from the original on 1999-03-02. – via the Wayback Machine)
  4. ^ "Login". www.icu.ie. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  5. ^ "Login". www.icu.ie. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  6. ^ "Login"
  7. ^ "Login"
  8. ^ "Irish Women's Championship", Irish Chess History web site (David McAlister, ed.).
  9. ^ "Irish Veterans Championship". www.icu.ie. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  10. ^ "Irish Veterans 2012". ratings.icu.ie. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  11. ^ "Irish Veterans 2011". ratings.icu.ie. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  12. ^ "Irish Veterans 2013". ratings.icu.ie. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  13. ^ "Irish Veterans Championships 2015". ratings.icu.ie. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  14. ^ "The Irish Veterans Championships 2016". www.icu.ie. Retrieved 2021-08-12.