Padraig, from Athy recently won the best player at the Kilkenny monthly junior tournament and was the under 10 Irish champion in 2011. Padraig plays on the Curragh's O'Hanlon Cup team.

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The Junior Club meets every Sunday from 11 a.m. -12.30 p.m. Beginners are always welcome.

Latest News

Heidenfeld Trophy - Division 2 - 2011/12:

Going into the Christmas break, the Curragh have managed to move up the table and are still in with a chance of promotion:

Team members are Richard Arundell, Pearse Dunne, Noel Lynch, Mark McLoughlin,  Harijs Valters, Martin Brehhov Robert Turley and Franco Rivera.

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O'Hanlon Cup - Division 4 - 2011/12

After a slow start, Curragh have improved their position and are in the top half of the table.

Team members are Brendan Duffy, Dermot Earls, Leo Talbot, Padraig Hughes, Maurice Canavan, Niall O'Shea.  Full league results at www.leinsterchess.com

The Junior Club meets every Sunday from 11 a.m. -12.30 p.m. Beginners are always welcome.

Latest News

Heidenfeld Trophy - Division 2 - 2011/12

The Curragh have had a reasonable start to the season with 13.5/32 after four rounds against some of the stronger teams in the league.

Team members are Richard Arundell, Pearse Dunne, Noel Lynch, Mark McLoughlin,  Harijs Valters, Martin Brehhov Robert Turley and Franco Rivera.

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O'Hanlon Cup - Division 4 - 2011/12

After a poor first round, Curragh had an excellent second round win over Phibsboro and are on 11/18 after three rounds.

Team members are Brendan Duffy, Dermot Earls, Leo Talbot, Padraig Hughes, Maurice Canavan, Niall O'Shea.  Full league results at www.leinsterchess.com

 Short Video Chess Simul :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQEMGskFDHQ

The Curragh Chess Club welcomed Jonathan O'Connor, chairman of the Irish Chess Union to the club on Thursday night where he gave a talk on chess tactics and played in an entertaining simultaneous exhibition game.

Jonathan played nine games and scored an impressive 100% score. First to fall were Dermot Earls and Noel Lynch followed by Tim Hinchey and Niall O'Shea. Hugues Hammouma put up the biggest resistance but ultimately collapsed to Jonathan's better tactical play. The youngest player of the night Padraig Hughes was one of the last to fall putting in a good performance while Aiden O'Connor missed some opportunities to draw and even win the game when he was one of the last men standing.

Jonathan also presented Noel Lynch with the Billy O'Connor perpetual trophy for winning the Club Championship 2011.

For the record, here's the full score for the night:-

Jonathan O'Connor 1-0 Franco Rivera

Jonathan O'Connor 1-0 Tim Hinchey

Jonathan O'Connor 1-0 Hugues Hammouma

Jonathan O'Connor 1-0 Niall O'Shea

Jonathan O'Connor 1-0 Dermot Earls

Jonathan O'Connor 1-0 Noel Lynch

Jonathan O'Connor 1-0 Padraig Hughes

Jonathan O'Connor 1-0 Martin Brehhov

Jonathan O'Connor 1-0 Aidan O'Connor

Lecture and Simultaneous Display

Jonathan O'Connor, chairperson of the Irish Chess Union and member of Dublin Chess Club will give a lecture and simultaneous exhibition game on Thursday 6th May at 7.30 p.m.

All are welcome to attend.

International Ratings

Two Curragh players have obtained partial FIDE ratings following the 2010-11 season, the first ever for the Curragh. The Heidenfeld Trophy was rated for the purposes of obtaining a FIDE rating but depended on the number of games against rated opponents. Although Richard played on the top board in the National Club championships, he did not play enough games to achieve a FIDE rating performance from the competition.

It is expected that after next season, Richard and Pearse may obtain full international ratings and other players on the higher boards will manage to play against rated opponents.

2008 Club Championship

Congratulations to Noel Lynch who won the trophy for the first time this season. Noel scored a remarkable 11.5/12 to cap a great season. Noel was presented with the "Billy O'Connor perpetual Trophy by Billy O'Connor himself at the Annual General Meeting on Thursday 24th April 2008.

The Curragh Chess Club championship known as the Ladder Competition was first competed for in 1987. The trophy is called the Billy O'Connor Perpetual Trophy. The competition is run on a handicap basis based on the rating of the players. There is no draw for the competition and any player may challenge any other member present in the club to a match. The person who gains the most points during the season is declared the winner of the trophy.

Club News - Rose of Tralee

The Curragh Chess Club would like to send best wishes to Chantelle Bowers who will be representing the club in the preliminary rounds of the Rose of Tralee selection heats for Kildare at Kilashee Hotel, Naas on Sunday 24 April. Chantelle is from Robertstown and works for Assets Model Agency.

The Curragh finished in fourth place following completion of the final round in the Teachers Club, Parnell Square on Sunday 13 March 2011. The Curragh scored a solid 5-3 win over Lucan in the last round which made up for the poor result in the previous round when Curagh lost 7-1 to Inchicore. Elm Mount and Celbridge were promoted and Drogheda and St. Benildus were relegated

O'Hanlon Cup (Division 4) 2010/11

Curragh finished the season in a very respectable 3rd place but unfortunately well behind the two promoted teams. The team put in some good performances and will be hopeful of promition next season.

The Curragh suffered a comprehensive defeat to table top team Celbridge 2.5-5.5 with Richard's win on Board 1 the only highlight.

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O'Hanlon Cup - Division 4 - Round 7

The Curragh defeated the top team of the League with a 3.5-2.5 win over Kilkenny. Very good results For Franco and Brendan on the top boards and a good draw for Dermot on Board 3.

Above: Hugues Hammouma v Bryan Tobin (Front) and Michael Kennedy v Pearse Dunne

Om a cold a bitter evening the Curragh Chess season came back to life with a blast!
The Tom Bermingham Blitz competition was held to celebrate the impact that Tom, who recently passed away, had on the chess club.
The tournament saw eleven warriors fight it out for the prize with Pearse Dunne the early favourite, although playing with a time handicap.
However it was the dark horse of Hugues Hammouma who emerged from the pack to take the title following an exciting penultimate round defeat of Pearse.
Hugues held his nerve in the final round against Michael Kennedy to emerge victorious on a score of 9/10 as he finished level with Pearse but with a better head-to-head score.

Above: Derek Stacey v Mark McLoughlin

Above: Jim Forde v Bryan Tobin

The club is back in action every Thursday night evening at 8 p.m. in the former Curragh Branch Library (Watertower Conference Facility). New players are always welcome.

Tom Bermingham  (died 23 Nov 2010)

The death has occurred, on 23 November 2010,  of former club member Tom Bermingham. 

Tom was a regular in the club throughout the 1980s and 1990s serving as club chairman in 1995 and 1996. He was a member of Naas Chess Club prior to joining the Curragh and introduced many young players to the game in the Suncroft area. Tom was a farmer living in Mooretown, Kilcullen. He made a brief appearance in the club in 2004 to mark the club's 25th anniversary. He will be sadly missed by his former chess playing colleagues, friends and family.

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