Bunratty Chess Festival 2019
The 26th Bunratty International Chess Festival kicked off on Friday evening, February 22nd, with 346 players spread across four sections, our second largest field ever.
The venue for this event is the beautiful Bunratty Castle Hotel, which has been the tournaments home since 2010. Not many of the players had time to enjoy its pool, spa and beauty treatments as the hectic schedule for the Bunratty includes one game Friday evening, three games on Saturday and two games on Sunday.

The beautiful venue for the Bunratty Chess Festival, the Bunratty Castle Hotel
The Bunratty Chess Festival has to thank not only the lovely hotel which hosts the event, but also the main sponsor of the event, Blackthorne Transport's Gary O'Grady. Gary is not only our sponsor, he's also quite a strong chess player himself — his latest ECF rating had him as the second seed in the Challengers!
The top seeds in the Masters all seem to hail from the UK this year and, at 2689, this year's number one player was GM David Howell. As I noted in my opening speech, the last time David played Bunratty he was only half the height he is today (2003 I think, but I'm sure someone will correct me). We've long been asking David to return but the timing just never worked out...until this year. We were delighted to have such a high rated player top the seeds at this year's Masters.

A much taller David was back in Bunratty | Photo: Gerry Graham
Our second seed this year was our returning Bunratty Blitz Champion, Luke McShane (2663) who played a simultaneous chess display in Belfast the night before the event. This went very well, playing 30 or so opponents, losing one, drawing one and winning the rest. Luke McShane famously won the Bunratty Masters in 1998 in a Blitz playoff with John Nunn. As a 14-year-old at the time, he then had to catch a Sunday evening flight back to England to be in school for Monday morning!
Third seed and with a few Bunratty titles already to his credit was former World Chess Championship candidate, Nigel Short (2648) who's now a FIDE vice president and the only player to win a Bunratty Masters title on 6/6. Nigel played his first Bunratty in 2011 and has returned almost every year since. Nigel, in his "Short Stories" column in New in Chess kindly described the Bunratty Chess Festival as "The Rolls Royce of Chess Weekenders". We'll take that!

Irish IM David Fitzsimons | Photo: Gerry Graham
There were certainly a few other titled players to challenge for the top honours, as the other grandmasters included Matthew Turner (winner of the recent strong Gonzaga International Masters) the famous "Ginger GM" Simon Williams, Alex Baburin, Mark Hebden, Bogdan Lalic and Peter Wells. There were also a few IMs to have their say, and these included Irish IMs Sam Collins, Alex Lopez, Mark Heidenfeld and Ireland's most recent IM, David Fitzsimons, English IMs Richard Bates, Adam Hunt and Malcolm Pein were also joining the hunt for the title of Bunratty Masters Champion.
Round 1 began at 8:00pm and, as usual, the top half of the 52 players in the Masters were pitted against the bottom half. And, as usual, there were a few "upsets", of which more anon.
On board 1, David Howell beat Guil Machin (France, 2161) in the following nice squeeze of a game:
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1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 d6 3.e3 Nf6 4.g3 c6 4...Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.c4 Nc6 7.Nc3 d5 8.Nxd5 Nxd5 9.cxd5 Nb4 10.Qb1 Nxd5 11.Nf3 f6 12.0-0 5.Bg2 Bg4 6.Ne2 Nbd7 7.h3 Bh5N 7...Be6 8.d4 Bd5 9.f3 Qa5+ 10.Qd2 Qxd2+ 11.Nxd2 exd4 12.Nxd4 8.0-0 e4 9.d3 exd3 10.cxd3 Bxe2 11.Qxe2 Be7 12.Nd2 0-0 13.e4 Re8 14.f4 Bf8 15.Rae1 Qa5 16.a3 g6 16...Qb5 17.d4 d5 18.e5 Nh5 19.Qd3 f5 19...Nxg3? 20.Bc3+- 20.g4 Ng7 21.gxf5 Nxf5 22.h4 Qd8 22...Qa6 23.Qxa6 bxa6 23.Nf3 23.Bh3+- 23...Bh6! 24.Bh3 Qe7? 24...Ng3= 25.Bxf5+- gxf5 26.Qxf5 Kh8 27.Ng5 Rg8 28.Kh1 Raf8 29.Qg4 Bxg5 30.hxg5 30.fxg5 Rxf1+ 31.Rxf1 Rf8+- 30...Rg6 31.Rf3? 31.Qh3 31...Rfg8? 31...Nf6 32.Qh3 32.gxf6 Rfxf6 33.Qc8+ Rf8 32...Ne4 32.Rh3 Nf8 33.Re2 R6g7 33...Ne6 34.Bc1 R6g7 34.Rh6 Rg6 35.Rh5 R6g7 36.Bc1 c5 37.f5 Qe8 38.e6 Qe7 39.Bf4 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Howell,D | 2689 | Machin,G | 2159 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 1.1 |
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Nigel Short also won a nice game against Stephen Moran (nicely avoiding a "Short" pun) while the Ginger GM got off to a winning start against Shane Melaugh:
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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.exd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Qd2 0-0 7.0-0-0 Nc6 8.f3N 8.h4 Bf5 9.Qf4 Bg6 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.Nf3 Re8 12.Bd3 Bxd3 13.Rxd3 Nb4 14.Re3 Rxe3 15.fxe3 8...a6 9.h4 b5 10.Re1 Rb8 11.g4 b4 12.Na4 Na5 12...Re8= 13.b3 Bd7 13...Re8 14.Nc5!± Bb5 15.Ne2 15.Nxa6 Bxa6 16.Bxa6 c5 15.Qxb4?! Nxb3+ 16.axb3 Bxf1= 15...Nb7 16.Nxb7 Rxb7 17.Ng3 Bd7 18.Bd3 18.Bxa6?! Ra7= 18...a5? 18...Re8± 19.Rxe7!+- Qxe7 20.Nh5! Rb6 20...Re8 21.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Bxf6! 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Short,N | 2648 | Moran,S | 2155 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 1.3 |
Walton,A | 2140 | McShane,L | 2663 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 1.2 |
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This DVD gives you the key to start out with the French Defence. GM Yannick Pelletier is a specialist of this opening, and believes that the most efficient way to understand its ideas, plans, and typical structures is to study classical lines.
While most games went according to seeding, three did not. Kieran Moynihan beat IM Alex Lopez, Peter Carroll beat IM Malcolm Pein while FM Gabriel Voiteanu from Romania beat GM Alex Baburin. In fairness, Gabriel played a very nice game at a level above his rating of 2121 might suggest:
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1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 Bf5 5.c4 e6 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.Nh4 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.g4 Bg6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Nxg6 hxg6 12.Bf4 Nb6 13.Qd3 Bd6 14.Qe3+ Kf8 15.Qg3 Bxf4 16.Qxf4 Nc4 17.b3 Qd6 18.Qxd6+ Nxd6 19.Rc1 Re8 20.f3 Nd7 21.Kd2 f5 22.e3 Nf6 23.Rcf1 Kg8 24.Kd3 g5 25.Re1 g6 26.e4 fxe4+ 27.fxe4 dxe4+ 28.Nxe4 Nfxe4 29.Bxe4 Nxe4 30.Rxe4 Rxe4 31.Kxe4 Kf7 32.Rf1+ Ke6 33.Rf3 Re8 34.Kd3 Rh8 35.Kc4 b6 36.Re3+ Kf6 37.d5 cxd5+ 38.Kxd5 Rc8 39.Kd6 Rd8+ 40.Kc6 Rd4 41.Kb7 Rd7+ 42.Ka6 Rc7 43.b4 Rd7 44.b5 Rc7 45.a4 Kf7 46.Re5 Kf6 47.Re8 Rd7 48.Ra8 Ke7 1–0
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Voiteanu,G | 2121 | Baburin,A | 2432 | 1–0 | 2019 | D02 | Bunratty Masters 2019 | 1.6 |
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Round 2 began at 9:30am on Saturday morning. Fitzsimons (pictured above) had White against our top seed, David Howell, and despite the more than 370 pints [SIC — presumably he meant points but beer is very much in abundance in Bunratty! -Ed.] in the difference between their ratings, things did not go as you might have expected.
Luke McShane was in a real tussle against Blair Connell on board 2, Blair had told me the night before that he was really looking forward to this game and he certainly gave it a good go, despite having a broken arm! You can see this game in the viewer below as well.
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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 h6 3...c5 4.Ngf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Qc7 9.Qe2 Ne7 10.0-0 Ng6 11.Nf3 Bd6 12.c4 dxe4 13.Bxe4 0-0 14.Rd1 Rad8 15.h3 c5 16.b3 Bc6 4.c3 c5 5.exd5 exd5 6.Ngf3 Nc6 7.Bb5 cxd4 8.0-0 Bd6N 8...Bd7 9.Nb3 Nf6 10.Re1+ Be7 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Qxd4 9.Nxd4 Nge7 10.N2b3 0-0 11.Be3 Qc7 12.h3 a6 13.Bd3 Ne5 14.Bf4 Re8 15.Re1 Bd7 16.Bxe5 Bxe5 17.Qh5 Bh2+ 18.Kf1 Bf4 19.Re2 g6 20.Qf3 Bg5 21.Kg1 Qd6 22.Rae1 Kg7 23.a3 Rab8 24.Na1 Nc6 25.Nxc6 25.Nac2= 25...bxc6 26.Rxe8 Bxe8 27.Qe2 27.b4 27...c5 28.Rd1 Ba4 28...Qe6-+ 29.b3 a5 29.b3 Bxb3 29...Bc6 30.Bxa6 Ra8 31.Bd3 Qf6 32.Qb2 Bf4 30.Nxb3 Rxb3 31.Bc4! Rxa3 32.Bxd5 Rxc3 33.Bxf7! 33...Rc1 33...Qxd1+! 34.Qxd1 Rc1 35.Qxc1 Bxc1 33...Kxf7 34.Rxd6 34.Rxc1= Bxc1 35.Bc4 a5 35...h5= 36.Qf3!± Qf4 36...Qf6 37.Qb7+ Kf8 38.Qc8+ Ke7 39.Qxc5+ 39.Qe6+ Kd8 40.Qb6+ Ke7 41.Qxc5+ Qd6 42.Qa7+ 42.Qxa5 Bf4+- 42...Qd7 43.Qc5+ Qd6 44.Qa7+ 44.Qxa5 Bf4+- 44...Ke8 45.Bf7+ 45.Qxa5 Ba3± 45...Kd8 46.Qxa5+ Ke7 47.Bxg6 39...Qd6 40.Qxa5 Bg5 41.Qa7+ Kd8 42.g3 Bf6 43.Qa8+ Kc7 44.Qe4 44.Ba6± Kd7 45.Qb7+ Kd8 46.h4 44...Bd4 45.Qf3 45.Kf1 Qf6 46.Qc2 Qc6 47.Qd3 Qf6 48.Qd2 45...Qf6 46.Qxf6 Bxf6 47.f4 Kd6 48.Kg2 Ke7 49.h4 Kf8 50.Kf3 ½–½ - Start an analysis engine:
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Fitzsimons,D | 2301 | Howell,D | 2689 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.1 |
McShane,L | 2663 | Connell,B | 2239 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.2 |
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Henry Li was facing Nigel Short on board 3 and Nigel was in no mood to let any fraction of a point slip:
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.d5 Nb4 15.Bb1 a5 16.b3N 16.a3 Na6 17.b4 Nb6 18.bxa5 Na4 19.Nb3 N6c5 20.Nxc5 16...Nc5 17.Nf1 Bd7 18.Be3 Qc7 19.Qd2 Rfc8 20.Ng3 Nba6 21.Nf5 Bf8 21...Bxf5!? 22.exf5 Qb7 22.Nh2 b4 23.f4 Bxf5 24.exf5 f6 25.Bc2 25.Nf1= 25...Na4! 26.Bd3 26.bxa4 Qxc2 26...Nc3! 27.Bc4 Kh8 28.a4 Nc5 29.Rec1 29.Bxc5! Qxc5+ 30.Kh1 29...Qd7!-+ 30.g4 30...N5xa4! 31.Nf3 31.Rxa4 Rxc4 31...Nc5 32.Nh4 32.Kh2 32...Qe8 33.fxe5 33.Ng2 33...N5e4 33...dxe5 34.d6= 33...fxe5 34.Kg2 33...Qxe5 34.Nf3 34.Qe1 dxe5 34...fxe5? 35.Nf3-+ 35.Bd3 Bd6 36.Rc2 Nc5 37.Bc4 a4 38.Bxc5 Rxc5 38...Bxc5+ 39.Kh1-+ 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
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Li,H | 2287 | Short,N | 2648 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.3 |
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Starting with Black's alternatives on move 3 and working through until the main lines of the Closed Lopez and the Marshall and Anti-Marshall, the viewer will find his knowledge of the opening developing in tandem with an improvement in his tactical ability.

Henry Li | Photo: Gerry Graham
However, on board 5, the Ginger GM himself had a bit of a setback, I'm afraid. In an exciting wild game, having Black against the young Irish FM, Tom O'Gorman he sacrificed material for attacking chances but Tom weathered the storm. This fascinating game actually features two under-promotions, you don't get that value for money every day!
On board 6, our unofficial PRO, Fiona Steil Antoni had white against Bogdan Lalic and managed to share the point. [Replay both below.]
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 a6 7.Be2 Nbd7 7...Bg7 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.g4 d5 10.exd5 Nb6 11.0-0-0 Bxg4 12.f3 Bd7 13.Nb3 Nc8 14.Ne4 Nd6 15.Nbc5 0-0 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 8.g4 h5N 8...d5 9.exd5 Ne5 10.Rg1 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 Qxd5 12.Nb3 Qxd1+ 13.Rxd1 Bg7 9.g5 Ng4! 10.Bxg4 hxg4 11.Qxg4 Ne5 11...Nb6!? 12.Qe2 Bh3= 12.Qe2 Rh3 13.f3 b5 14.0-0-0 Bb7 14...Nc4 15.Nd5± Nc4 16.Kb1! Bg7 17.Bc1! e6 18.Ne3 18.Nf4± Rh7 19.b3 18...Rc8 18...Qc7 19.Ng4 Qb6 20.Nf6+ Bxf6 21.gxf6 e5 22.Qg2 Rh8 23.Ne2 b4 24.b3 Na3+ 25.Bxa3! bxa3 26.Rd3 d5 27.exd5 Qxf6 28.Qg4 28.c3! 28...Rh4 29.Qg1! Rb4 29...Rh3± 30.Qc1!+- Rb5 30...a5 31.Qxa3 Ba6 31.Nc3 31.Qxa3 Rxd5 32.Rxd5 Bxd5= 31...Ra5 31...Rxc3 32.Rxc3 Rxd5 33.Qxa3 Qd8 32.Ne4 Qd8 33.d6 Kd7 34.Qh6 Bxe4 35.fxe4 Qf6 36.Qh3+ Qe6 37.Qxe6+ 37.Qh4 37...Kxe6 38.d7 Rd8 39.Rhd1 f5? 39...Ke7 40.Rd6 Rb5 41.Rxa6 Rxd7 42.Rxd7+ Kxd7 43.Rxa3 Rb4 40.Rd6+ Kf7 41.exf5 gxf5 42.R6d5 Rxd5? 42...Rb5 43.Rd6 Ke7 43.Rxd5 Ke6 44.c4 f4 45.Kc2 e4 46.h4 f3 47.Kd2 f2 48.Ke2 e3 49.h5 Rf8 50.d8N+ 50.Rd1 a5 51.c5 50...Kf6 51.Rd1 Kf5 52.Kxe3 Kg4 53.Ke2 f1N 54.Rxf1 Re8+ 55.Kd3 Rxd8+ 56.Kc3 a5 57.Rh1 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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O'Gorman,T | 2248 | Williams,S | 2471 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.5 |
Steil-Antoni,F | 2166 | Lalic,B | 2406 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.6 |
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Round 3 began on Saturday afternoon and there were a few bye requests to watch the Rugby, but not near the business end of the events. Our first all-GM clash happened on board 1 when Peter Wells was paired against McShane. And what an exciting game it was. You've got to feel for Peter in this game, he had Luke within his grasp, Luke admitted after the game that he was probably lost at some point, but it's not enough to get a winning position against these top guys, you also have to beat them! This was the game that got away for Mr. Wells.
David Howell got back to his winning ways in a fine game against Marijus Vicas (2324) while Nigel Short had a really nice win over Richard Bates.
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 b6 5.Nc3 Bb7 6.Bg5 a6 7.Bxf6 gxf6 8.e3 e6 9.Be2 Bxg2 10.Rg1 Bc6 11.Bh5 Qe7 12.Qe2 f5 13.0-0-0 Qf6 14.f4 Bb4 15.Qd3 Ra7 16.Rg5 h6 17.Rg3 Rf8 18.a3 Be7 19.Nf3 Bxf3 20.Bxf3 Rc7 21.Kb1 d6 22.Na4 Nd7 23.Qb3 b5 24.cxb5 axb5 25.Qxb5 d5 26.Rgg1 Bd6 27.Nb6 Rb7 28.Nxd7 Rxd7 29.Bxd5 exd5 30.Rxd5 Ke7 31.Rgd1 Qe6 32.Rxf5 Rb8 33.Qd3 Rb3 34.Qc2 Rdb7 35.Rxd6 0–1
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Wells,P | 2415 | McShane,L | 2663 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 3.1 |
Howell,D | 2689 | Vicas,M | 2212 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 3.4 |
Short,N | 2648 | Bates,R | 2351 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 3.2 |
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This left the top boards draw for the fourth round in the Masters looking like this:
1 |
Luke McShane 2663 |
3 |
Nigel Short 2648 |
3 |
2 |
Matthew Turner 2519 |
3 |
David Howell 2689 |
2.5 |
3 |
Mark Hebden 2417 |
2.5 |
Mark Heidenfeld 2358 |
2.5 |
Simon Williams against Malcolm Pein were both fighting for a possible live board clash in the morning — a crack at the top seeds. Remember, the fourth round is the third round played in one day and before this round, a tired Nigel Short told me that there is a "special place in hell for the man that came up with the idea of three rounds in one day"!
Nigel Short takes us on an electrifying journey through a very rich chess career, which saw him beat no less than twelve world champions. His experience in tournaments and matches all over the world – Short has visited a total of 89 countries – can be seen in the narratives that precede the games which he annotates with humour and instructive insights.

Nigel Short: Tired or remembering his prep? | Photo: Gerry Graham
GM Hebden came out on top in the clash of the 'Marks' on board 3 while Luke and Nigel drew on the top board but Matthew Turner vs David Howell on board 2 was a real clash of the Titans. Matthew was probably under a bit of pressure and David decided to "push" maybe a bit too hard for the full point.
The Ginger GM did beat Malcolm in this round while Blair Connell, who was having a great tournament up until this round, missed his chance to "finish off" IM Alex Lopez:
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1.d4 d6 2.e4 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Bd7 5.Nc3 exd4 6.Nxd4 Nge7 7.Be3 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Bxb5 9.Nxb5 a6 10.Nc3 Nc6 11.Qd2 Be7 12.0-0-0 Qd7 13.Nd5 0-0 14.g4 Rfe8 15.f3 b5 16.h4 Ne5 17.Qg2 Nc4 18.Bg5 f6 19.Bf4 c6 20.Ne3 Nxe3 21.Bxe3 Qe6 22.Kb1 d5 23.Bc1 dxe4 24.Rhe1 exf3 25.Qxf3 Qc8 26.g5 f5 27.Re5 Bf8 28.Rxf5 Qe6 29.h5 Be7 30.g6 Rf8 31.Rxf8+ Rxf8 32.Qg3 hxg6 33.hxg6 Rf6 34.Re1 Qd6 35.Qh4 1–0
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Hebden,M | 2417 | Heidenfeld,M | 2358 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.3 |
McShane,L | 2663 | Short,N | 2648 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.1 |
Turner,M | 2519 | Howell,D | 2689 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.2 |
Pein,M | 2313 | Williams,S | 2471 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.5 |
Connell,B | 2239 | Astaneh Lopez,A | 2427 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.6 |
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Looking for an interesting, exciting, aggressive and flexible opening to play against 1 e4!? Then the Black Lion is just the opening for you! The Lion gets ready to roar after 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0–0 c6 – and now Black wants to attack with an early ...g5. Grandmaster Simon Williams suggests a simple to learn, yet deadly system of development for Black. He explains the main ideas of this opening in an easy and entertaining manner, using examples from such maverick players as Baadur Jobava. In what other opening do you get a chance to attack White’s castled King with an early ...g5? Let the Lion roar and the fun commence!

Mark Hebden, tournament warrior | Photo: Gerry Graham

Luke McShane ready for round 4 | Photo: Gerry Graham
This left the 5th round pairings for the top boards looking like this:
1 |
Luke McShane 2663 |
3.5 |
Matthew Turner 2519 |
4 |
2 |
Nigel Short 2648 |
3.5 |
Mark Hebden 2417 |
3.5 |
3 |
Alex Lopez 2427 |
3 |
Adam Hunt 2397 |
3.5 |
McShane enjoyed his second White in a row on top board 1 and it really didn't go too well for him during the game. However, the ending was played by him using mostly the 15-second increment only and, as he admitted after the game, he was very lucky to survive it and even luckier to win this fascinating game.
It seemed to my untrained eye that Nigel was winning somewhere in his game against Hebden, but Mark managed to hold the ending to share the point.
Lopez and Adam Hunt also drew their encounter on board 3 while Howell proved far too strong for Ireland's newest FM, Henry Li.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 Bb6 7.a4 h6 8.Nbd2 a6 9.b4 0-0 10.Ra2 10.Bb3 d5 11.Bb2 Be6 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.g3 Re8 14.Re1 Nf6 15.Bxe6 Rxe6 16.Nc4 e4 17.dxe4 Nxe4 18.Nxb6 cxb6 10...Ne7 11.Re1 Ng6 12.d4N 12.a5 Ba7 13.Bb3 Nh5 14.Nc4 Nhf4 15.Ne3 Be6 16.Nd5 Bg4 17.Nxf4 exf4 12...exd4 13.cxd4 Re8 14.Bf1 Bg4 15.Qc2 Qe7 16.h3 Bxf3 17.Nxf3 Nxe4 18.a5 Ba7 19.b5 axb5 20.a6 bxa6 21.Rxa6 d5! 22.Bxb5 Bb6 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Bc6 Rd8 25.Bxd5! Rxd5 26.Rxe4 Qd7 27.Qc4 Qb5 28.Qa2 Rd8 29.Be3 Qd5 30.Re8+ Kh7 31.Qxd5 Rxd5 32.Kf1 Rd7 33.g3 f6 34.Ke2 Ne7 35.g4 Kg6 36.Ra8 h5 37.gxh5+ Kf7 38.Ra4 Nf5 39.Rc4 Ke6 40.Rc1 Rd5 41.Rg1 Kf7 42.h6 gxh6 43.Kd3 h5 44.Ke4 Ke6 45.Rg6 Nd6+ 46.Kd3 c5 47.Rg1 47.Rg8 47...cxd4 48.Bd2 48.Bc1 48...Rb5 49.Ke2 Ne4 50.Rg8 Rb3 51.Be1? 51.Rb8 Rb2 52.h4 51...d3+ 52.Kf1 Rb1? 52...Kf7-+ 53.Rb8 Rb1 54.Rb7+ Ke8 55.Rb8+ Kd7 53.Re8+!= Kf5 54.Rxe4! Bxf2? 54...Ba5= 55.Rd4 Rd1 54...Kxe4 55.Nd2+ 55.Kxf2+- Rb2+ 56.Nd2 Rxd2+ 57.Bxd2 Kxe4 58.Kg3 h4+ 59.Kf2 f5 60.Bc1 Kd4 61.Bg5 Kc3 62.Ke1 Kc2 63.Bd2 Kb3 64.Kd1 Kc4 65.Bg5 Kd4 66.Kd2 Ke4 67.Bxh4 f4 68.Be1 Kd4 69.Bf2+ Ke4 70.Bb6 Kf3 71.h4! Kg4 72.Bf2! 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
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McShane,L | 2663 | Turner,M | 2519 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 5.1 |
Short,N | 2648 | Hebden,M | 2417 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 5.2 |
Astaneh Lopez,A | 2427 | Hunt,A | 2397 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 5.3 |
Howell,D | 2689 | Li,H | 2287 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 5.6 |
Please, wait...
The Italian Game is considered a sound but quiet opening without early trades, giving rise to rich positions where plans are more important than forced variations. So shows black's plans on this DVD.
This left McShane in front on his own on 4½ from 5 with 4 players tied on 4/5 in the chasing pack. The title of the Bunratty Masters Champion cannot be shared and if there is a tie for first place, we arrange a blitz playoff, (the same as with all the sections) and, of course, this was a possibility as long as Luke didn't win board 1 in the final round draw. You can see this final round top 3 boards pairing below:
1 |
Adam Hunt 2397 |
4 |
Luke McShane 2663 |
4.5 |
2 |
Matthew Turner 2519 |
4 |
Nigel Short 2648 |
4 |
3 |
Mark Hebden 2417 |
4 |
Simon Williams 2471 |
3.5 |
Matthew Turner's "reward" for his bad luck in the previous round was a meeting with Nigel Short and a relatively quick draw.

In the background, Adam Hunt and Luke McShane are set to decide the trophy | Photo: Gerry Graham
In the meantime, on board 3, a resurgent Mark Hebden managed to beat Simon Williams in a nice game with a pleasing finish:
39.Qxe8+! Ouch!
Fitzsimons beat Lopez in the final round, and Lalic also managed to overcome the resistance of Richard Bates.
Our top seed, David Howell beat Sam Collins on board 4, while on board 1, Adam and Luke fought to bare kings in an epic encounter:
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.0-0 Nd4 6.Nxd4 Bxd4 7.Nd2 7.c3 Bb6 8.Ba4 0-0 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bh4 d6 11.Nd2 g5 12.Bg3 Bg4 13.Qe1 Nh5 14.Bd1 Bxd1 15.Qxd1 Nxg3 16.hxg3 7...c6 8.Ba4 d6 9.c3 Bb6 10.Nc4 Bc7 11.Ne3 Be6N 11...0-0 12.Qf3 g6 13.Bb3 Kg7 14.h3 Qe7 12.Bb3 0-0 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Ng4 Nd7 15.Bd2 d5 16.Qe2 Qe8 17.f3 Qg6 18.Kh1 a5 19.Rad1 a4 20.Be1 Rae8 21.Bg3 h5 22.Nf2 Bd8 23.Nh3 b5 24.b3 a3 25.b4 Bb6 26.Qc2 Qh6 27.c4 bxc4 28.dxc4 Bd4 29.c5 29.Bf2± 29...Nf6 30.Bh4 Qg6 31.Nf4 exf4 32.Rxd4 Rb8 32...e5= 33.Rdd1 dxe4 33.Qb3 Kh7 34.e5 Nd7 34...Ng8!= 35.Be7! Nxe5 36.Bxf8 36.Qxa3 Ra8 36...Rxf8 37.Qxa3 Nc4 38.Qd3 e5 39.Qxg6+ Kxg6 40.Rd3 Ra8 41.Ra1 41.b5!± 41...Na3! 42.Rc1 Nb5 43.a3 Kf5 44.Kg1 g5 45.Kf2? 45.Ra1= 45...e4 46.fxe4+ dxe4 47.Rb3 47.Rd7 Rxa3 48.Kf1 47...e3+-+ 48.Ke1 48.Kf1 48...Ke4 49.Rc4+ Kd5 50.Rc1 g4 50...Nxa3 51.Rd3+ Ke5 51.g3! Nd4 51...h4!? 52.gxf4 Ke4= 52.Rd1 Kc4 53.Rxd4+! Kxd4 54.gxf4= Ke4 55.Ke2 Kxf4 56.Rxe3 h4 57.Kf2 Rd8 58.a4 Rd2+ 59.Re2 g3+ 60.hxg3+ hxg3+ 61.Kf1 Rd3 62.Kg2 Rb3 63.b5 cxb5 64.axb5 Rxb5 65.Rc2 Rb7 66.c6 66.Ra2 Rb8 67.Ra4+ Ke5 68.Rg4 Kd5 69.Rg5+ 66...Rc7 67.Rc4+ Ke5 68.Kxg3 Kd5 69.Rc1 Rxc6 70.Rxc6 Kxc6 ½–½ - Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Hunt,A | 2397 | McShane,L | 2663 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.1 |
Turner,M | 2519 | Short,N | 2648 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.2 |
Hebden,M | 2417 | Williams,S | 2471 | | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.3 |
Collins,S | 2429 | Howell,D | 2689 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.4 |
Fitzsimons,D | 2301 | Astaneh Lopez,A | 2427 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.5 |
Bates,R | 2351 | Lalic,B | 2406 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.6 |
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All round 6 games
There was left a blitz playoff required to decide the destination of the trophy in both the Masters and the Minor. The Minor play-off was contested by Theo Wallace and Sean Horan and Theo won a closely fought game. The Masters playoff required three games as the first two were drawn. McShane beat Hebden and our 1998 champion won his second Bunratty trophy 21 years after his first!

Bunratty Blitz playoff, Bunratty style, with a nice pint by the player's side!
All Masters games
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 d6 3.e3 Nf6 4.g3 c6 4...Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.c4 Nc6 7.Nc3 d5 8.Nxd5 Nxd5 9.cxd5 Nb4 10.Qb1 Nxd5 11.Nf3 f6 12.0-0 5.Bg2 Bg4 6.Ne2 Nbd7 7.h3 Bh5N 7...Be6 8.d4 Bd5 9.f3 Qa5+ 10.Qd2 Qxd2+ 11.Nxd2 exd4 12.Nxd4 8.0-0 e4 9.d3 exd3 10.cxd3 Bxe2 11.Qxe2 Be7 12.Nd2 0-0 13.e4 Re8 14.f4 Bf8 15.Rae1 Qa5 16.a3 g6 16...Qb5 17.d4 d5 18.e5 Nh5 19.Qd3 f5 19...Nxg3? 20.Bc3+- 20.g4 Ng7 21.gxf5 Nxf5 22.h4 Qd8 22...Qa6 23.Qxa6 bxa6 23.Nf3 23.Bh3+- 23...Bh6! 24.Bh3 Qe7? 24...Ng3= 25.Bxf5+- gxf5 26.Qxf5 Kh8 27.Ng5 Rg8 28.Kh1 Raf8 29.Qg4 Bxg5 30.hxg5 30.fxg5 Rxf1+ 31.Rxf1 Rf8+- 30...Rg6 31.Rf3? 31.Qh3 31...Rfg8? 31...Nf6 32.Qh3 32.gxf6 Rfxf6 33.Qc8+ Rf8 32...Ne4 32.Rh3 Nf8 33.Re2 R6g7 33...Ne6 34.Bc1 R6g7 34.Rh6 Rg6 35.Rh5 R6g7 36.Bc1 c5 37.f5 Qe8 38.e6 Qe7 39.Bf4 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Howell,D | 2689 | Machin,G | 2159 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 1.1 |
Walton,A | 2140 | McShane,L | 2663 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 1.2 |
Short,N | 2648 | Moran,S | 2155 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 1.3 |
O'Connor,J | 2208 | Turner,M | 2519 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 1.4 |
Williams,S | 2471 | Melaugh,S | 2118 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 1.5 |
Voiteanu,G | 2121 | Baburin,A | 2432 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 1.6 |
Fitzsimons,D | 2301 | Howell,D | 2689 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.1 |
McShane,L | 2663 | Connell,B | 2239 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.2 |
Li,H | 2287 | Short,N | 2648 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.3 |
Turner,M | 2519 | Delaney,K | 2234 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.4 |
O'Gorman,T | 2248 | Williams,S | 2471 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.5 |
Steil-Antoni,F | 2166 | Lalic,B | 2406 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 2.6 |
Wells,P | 2415 | McShane,L | 2663 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 3.1 |
Short,N | 2648 | Bates,R | 2351 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 3.2 |
O'Gorman,T | 2248 | Turner,M | 2519 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 3.3 |
Howell,D | 2689 | Vicas,M | 2212 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 3.4 |
O'Donnell,C | 2377 | Hebden,M | 2417 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 3.5 |
Lalic,B | 2406 | Fitzsimons,D | 2301 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 3.6 |
McShane,L | 2663 | Short,N | 2648 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.1 |
Turner,M | 2519 | Howell,D | 2689 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.2 |
Hebden,M | 2417 | Heidenfeld,M | 2358 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.3 |
Hunt,A | 2397 | Collins,S | 2429 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.4 |
Pein,M | 2313 | Williams,S | 2471 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.5 |
Connell,B | 2239 | Astaneh Lopez,A | 2427 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 4.6 |
McShane,L | 2663 | Turner,M | 2519 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 5.1 |
Short,N | 2648 | Hebden,M | 2417 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 5.2 |
Astaneh Lopez,A | 2427 | Hunt,A | 2397 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 5.3 |
Williams,S | 2471 | Bates,R | 2351 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 5.4 |
Wells,P | 2415 | Fitzsimons,D | 2301 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 5.5 |
Howell,D | 2689 | Li,H | 2287 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 5.6 |
Hunt,A | 2397 | McShane,L | 2663 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.1 |
Turner,M | 2519 | Short,N | 2648 | ½–½ | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.2 |
Hebden,M | 2417 | Williams,S | 2471 | | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.3 |
Collins,S | 2429 | Howell,D | 2689 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.4 |
Fitzsimons,D | 2301 | Astaneh Lopez,A | 2427 | 1–0 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.5 |
Bates,R | 2351 | Lalic,B | 2406 | 0–1 | 2019 | | 26th Bunratty Masters 2019 | 6.6 |
Please, wait...
Prize Winners
Masters
- Luke McShane (with a blitz playoff victory)
- Mark Hebden
- Nigel Short
- Matthew Turner
- David Howell
- Adam Hunt
- Bogdan Lalic
Grading prizes were won by David Fitzsimons, Jonathan Pein and John McMorrow (Chairman of the Irish Chess Union).
Challengers
- Ciaran Quinn
- Jonathan Peoples
- Luke Scott
- Stephen McQuillan
Grading prizes were won by Sean Murphy, Swenja Wagner and Ljubisa Cirkovic
Major
- Muhd Khairil Asyr Khairil
- Erik Grindbakken
- Andrejs Kozlovz
- Tominslav Marosevic
Grading prizes were won by John Phelan, Patryk Brozynski, Eamon Casey and Jason Harris.
Minor
- Theo Wallace (in a blitz playoff)
- Sean Horan
- Ben Sheehan (also won grading section 1)
- Hayk Arshakyan (also won grading section 2)
- Eoin Harrington
Grading prizes were won by Iza Bujak, David Racz, Tadhg Holland, Adrain Gilmore and Andy Wagner.
Rogues Gallery
You'll find additional photos in the gallery at the top of the article!

Theo Wallace is the new Bunratty Minor Champion this year | Photo: Gerry Graham

Muhd Khairil Asyr Khairil is the new Major Champion this year | Photo: Gerry Graham

This is the last photo and my personal favourite, this rowdy bunch were the last in the bar on Sunday evening, do you recognise all the faces?
Dates for Bunratty 2020 are set for February 21st, 22nd and 23rd so mark your calendar now!
Source: icu.ue (republished with permission)
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