This year, the Irish Championship was held in one of the key strongholds of junior development—Ennis, Co. Clare—close to other centres such as Shannon, Limerick, and Adare. This location helped the first weekend satellite events Challenger, Major, and Intermediate Sections attract many local competitors, including a great number of talented young players under the age of 10.

In recent years, there has been no shortage of brilliant junior U14 players. Korneliusz Bartczak (12, from Limerick), Nitish Arun (13, from Cork), Yannick Woods (13, from Sligo), and Nemhain Doolin (13, from Moate Juniors)—to name just few of the youngest—are already competing this year in the Main Event.

We are pleased to see that in every section, the next generation is already knocking on the door. In each section, there was at least one U12 player among the top three. These young talents are likely to bring glory not just to themselves and their families in the years ahead, but to Ireland as well.

The Challengers' Section (<1450)

⬇︎ From Cillian McBrien vs. Navinesh Ramesh, Challengers, Round 4 (Black to move, -+)

To view the full results and cross tables, please check the Challenger Section - Tournament Details (Ratings Site).

The Challengers played in a 60-minute + 30 seconds/move format this year, which is better suited to the youngest players. The section was won by Navinesh Ramesh (age 14, Blanchardstown), edging out Shrimadh Prakash (age 15, Limerick) on tie-break, with both players scoring an impressive 4½ out of 5 points.

Navinesh played very consistently throughout the tournament. His only slip came in Round 4, where a slight mistake cost him half a point—but it wasn’t enough to stop him from lifting the winner’s trophy.

His endgame may be of interest to others. In the depicted position, Black (Navinesh) is to move. Theoretically, Black must ensure that White’s (Cillian McBrien’s) king does not get in front of the H-pawn if it remains on the board—or stay at least two squares ahead of the G-pawn if the H-pawns are exchanged. Any deviation leads to a draw.

A simple winning line: 56... Qxh3 57. Kxh3 Kg5 58. Kg3 (maintaining opposition) h5! If opposition is lost, Black can advance and recreate the same winning position a rank closer to promotion. If White pushes the pawn early, Black can outflank the king and drive him from the corner. Either way, Black is winning.

Unfortunately, advancing the G-pawn (e.g., 56... g6 or 56... g5) seems tempting but leads to a draw if White plays accurately. That’s what happened in the game—Cillian McBrien defended resourcefully and seized the opportunity to hold the draw, denying Navinesh any further chances.

Shrimadh Prakash began the tournament with a draw but showed no mercy afterwards, finishing with 4 straight wins to end on 4½/5.

Oisín McFadden (age 10) secured third place with a brilliant performance. For example, see Eva Sharma vs. Oisín McFadden, where both players demonstrated strong play, but Oisín converted a small middlegame inaccuracy into a full point.

Major Section (1400-1700)

To view the full results and cross tables, please check the Major Section - Tournament Details (Ratings Site).

⇧ Krish Bhattacharjee vs. Aken Pinitha Palihawadana, Major, Round 5. White to move.

In the Major Section, players competed with a time control of 75 minutes plus 30 seconds per move. Cian Grant delivered a flawless performance, scoring a perfect 5/5 and leaving no doubt about who was the best player in the tournament. His impressive performance rating of 2292 reflected both dominance and consistency. Notably, he was the only player who seemed completely unfazed by the pressure of being top-ranked—even though he hadn't participated in standard-time events for some time.

The only remaining question was who would claim second place. This ended in a tie between Krish Bhattacharjee (age 9, Cork) and Kevin McInerney (age 10, Ennis), with Krish edging ahead on tie-break points. It was a very successful weekend for Krish, who also secured a tied second place (third on tie-break) in the Irish U12 Rapid Championship. His performance rating in the Major Section was 1877—well above the section limit—highlighting his strong form.

One of Krish’s games, against another talented player, Aken Pinitha Palihawadana, showcases his sharp tactical abilities—particularly his 29th move, shown in the diagram on the right.

Many players would have opted to capture the pawn on f7, which is good enough—but Krish's decision to sacrifice the bishop with 29. Bxh6 was far more effective. After this bold move, Black’s best response is 29... Bg5, which delays the inevitable but comes at a high cost—losing the queen in the process: 30. Bxg5 Kg8 31. Be7!. Any other move leads to immediate checkmate.

In the game, Black played 29... g6, but that allowed a forced checkmate in five moves, which the young Cork player found with ease: 30. Rxg6! fxg6 31. Qxg6+ Kh8 32. Bg7+ Kg8 33. Bxf6+ Kf8 34. Qg8#.

Intermediate Section (1650+)

To view the full results and cross tables, please check the Intermediate Section - Tournament Details (Ratings Site).

The Intermediate Section featured classical games with a 90-minute + 30 seconds/move time control—a format that always makes this category fiercely competitive. This year, two young talents stood out by defeating every opponent except each other. Both finished with 4½/5, having drawn their head-to-head match in Round 4.

On tie-break points—thanks largely to slightly more favourable pairings—the first place went to Gabriel Landmark (age 18, Curragh), just ahead of Namo Siller-Aziz (age 18, Cork), who impressively played his first-ever standard tournament here in Ennis.

Third place was claimed by Iaromir Kurochkin (age 11), whose only loss came in Round 3 against the eventual winner, Gabriel Landmark. That game turned on a minor miscalculation on move 29, as Iaromir was pressing too hard to force a win, see the game below:

Congratulations to the winners.