The Mulcahy Memorial Chess Tournament 2026, held recently in the Aula Maxima at UCC, once again attracted a record field, with 93 players competing over the weekend.
Three former champions were among the entrants: Mel O’Cinneide (winner in 1992), Colm Daly (2015 and 2016), and last year’s champion Jacob Flynn. Other leading contenders included Rory Quinn of Ennis, along with Cork players Nitish Arun and David Geaney-O’Brien.
The tournament commemorates Noel Mulcahy, one of Ireland’s strongest chess players, who won or finished runner-up in the Irish Chess Championship on five occasions. Noel worked in UCC’s Chemistry Department and represented the UCC Chess team for over 25 years, first as a student and later as a staff member. His proudest achievement was never having lost a game while playing for his beloved UCC team. Noel Mulcahy tragically died in 1968, and the Mulcahy Memorial Chess Tournament was established the following year in his honour.
Mark Watkins returned as arbiter and, once again, ensured the competition ran smoothly and efficiently. The opening round followed the seedings closely, with all the top players securing full points. One notable upset saw unrated Emir Abiltarov defeat his 1393-rated opponent. With accelerated pairings in use, leading players began to face one another early, yet in round two, the top five seeds continued their winning runs.
Round three featured a clash between former champions Mel O’Cinneide and Jacob Flynn, with Flynn emerging victorious to reach three points from three games. He was joined on a perfect score by Rory Quinn, Nitish Arun, Emir Abiltarov, and father-and-son duo Norbert and Tobias Heydemann. After Saturday evening’s fifth round, only Flynn and Quinn remained on full points, setting up a crucial Sunday morning encounter.
Flynn edged a closely fought fifth-round game to take a half-point lead going into the final round. Nitish Arun and Colm Daly trailed by half a point, with a further eight players close behind on four points.
In the decisive final round, Flynn defeated Daly to secure the Mulcahy Trophy for the second consecutive year. A worthy champion, Jacob Flynn said he is already looking forward to returning to Cork next year in pursuit of a remarkable hat-trick.
The prizewinners in the 2026 Mulcahy Memorial Chess Competition were:
- 1st Jacob Flynn.
- Jt 2nd Colm Daly, Nitish Arun, Rory Quinn, David Geaney O’Brien, and Arthur Moull.
- Ladies prize: 1st Beril Bayrak; 2nd Teva Shuman.
- Gerry McCarthy prize Leonardo Fraccaroli
Category prize winners:
- Category ‘A’ 1st Rahul Arun; 2nd Hubert Machowski; 3rd Bjorn Johannesson.
- Category ‘B’ 1st Tobias Heydemann; David O’Mahony; 3rd Sean O’Flynn.
- Category ‘C’ 1st Emir Abiltarov; 2nd Ignacio Rubio Encinas; 3rd Adhish Jagtap.