I know what I did last weekend

by Alina l'Ami
3/5/2018 – Bunratty's 25th Anniversary is over, but it's still on the mind of ChessBase photographer Alina l'Ami, who sends this retrospective from her own (quite successful) visit to the Irish hamlet. Fun for all and all for fun! | Pictured: A sampling of the 362 players | Photos: Alina l'Ami

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The last thing I perceived was my chess clock flashing 0.00 before despair shoved its long rotting nails through my neck, its other hand muffling my screams. I can't move, breathe, speak or hear and it is dark.

I sat bolt upright, relieved it was just a dream. I didn't lose on time in a winning position! But as I saw the clock reading 0.03, 0.02... I realized I must play something, anything. 0.01...

Shivering and sweating, all at once. My move was a horrifying blunder and I can feel my throat strangled of any hope when suddenly...

...my alarm went off! Please let me go back to my chess nightmares, I can handle those. But just don't force me to rise with the sun — I am not a hen.

Simon Williams and Gawain Jones

Perhaps the Ginger GM had similar feelings, as he was nearly forfeited in round five

We've all been there. We all fear or dislike that. Whoever disagrees is either lying or at least stretching the truth. Or simply is not a chess player. There is no fun to be found in blundering, losing on time or having to wake up before the beauty sleep has been completed. What choice do you have though, when you must play double rounds? As if that wouldn't be evilish enough, the Bunratty weekender invented the Saturday triplets...

Bunratty Castle Hotel

This it too AM for me

Imagine playing a long game on Friday, followed by the inevitable pints, having to wake up with a throbbing head next morning, play again, drink again and continue like this until you get lost in the reality/chimaera spiral. Hard life.

So then why, you might wonder, 362 players decided to 'suffer' once again?

Man in Bunratty

Because the chess passion is always hungry for more?

Bunratty castle

Because the surroundings are so eye-catching?
(they are but rather soon your touristic options will be exhausted)

Beer

Because life is too short for bad beer?

Obviously, it is all a matter of choice. Bunratty is offering you the adrenaline shot in all its terrible beauty but the dosage is completely in your hands. And I am sorry to disappoint the readers but so far, in its quarter of a century of existence, Bunratty didn't

register any stories that our parents should never hear about (feel free to correct me if I am wrong). As much as we would like to portray ourselves differently, chess players are in fact quite reasonable people.

The players

Fun is fun and work is work

And yet, the line between the two can be rather thin at times, especially in this Irish event. Bold moves, surprising decisions but also terrible errors and unexpected turns of events are part of the tournament's features.

 
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All of us had to face, sooner or later, quite a few painful moments last weekend. Even though the ones off-the-board can be pretty nasty, such as the sunrise moments, the on-the-board tensions shouldn't be underestimated either. 16.Bh6 hxg3 Grandmaster and a piece up, what could possibly go wrong? The prophylactic 16...Re8 ignoring the undercover 'gift' and preparing e6 was objectively better. But perhaps less fun for the audience. 17.hxg3 Ne8 18.a3 Qa4 19.Bxg7 Nxg7 20.Qh6 f5 21.f4 Ng4 22.Qxg6 fxe4 23.Be2 Bf5 24.Qg5 Nf6 25.g4 Bh7 26.Rch3 Qe8 27.f5 Qf7 28.Ne3 Rfd8 29.Qh6 Qf8 30.g5 Nxf5 31.Nxf5 Bxf5 32.Qh8+ Kf7 33.Bh5+ Bg6 34.Bxg6+ Kxg6 A beautifully conducted piece sacrifice but at a cost: the time on the clock was not in White's favour. 35.Rh6+? It suddenly looks like Black just dodged a bullet on this one. But what would you play with White? 35.Qh4! and Black simply doesn't have a move. 35...Kxg5 36.R1h5+ Kf4 At a first glance, the king seems fragile when in fact it is safer than ever. 37.Rxf6+ Qxf6 38.Rh4+ Ke3 39.Rh3+ Kd4 40.Qh5 Rh8 41.Qd1+ Ke5 42.Rh5+ Rxh5 43.Qxh5+ Qf5 44.Qh2+ Qf4 45.Qh5+ Kf6 An important win for Gawain, who shared the 1st place with Sergey Tiviakov, both on 5/6. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Pein,M2346Jones,G26460–12018E81Bunratty Masters 20183
Rawlinson,A2168Collins,S24590–12018E62Bunratty Masters 20181

Luke McShane

Hand-to-hand combat: McShane vs Belenkaya

Just like the top-rated player, Nigel Short, the tournament's third seed, Luke McShane, had a difficult start too. But if Nigel climbed his way back into the prizing cards, the loss in round two for Luke proved too much of an obstacle.

 
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The tournament's 3rd seed had quite a rough start which, given the schedule, made it the more difficult to come back into the prizing cards. Defending is not desirable but necessary. What would you play with Black? 28...Ra7 allowing White to infiltrate, after which the Russian talented lady didn't falter. 28...Rd6! In cold blood, simply defending the d5-pawn. Your author is fascinated by those relatively quiet moves which make a big difference. The tactical blows and fireworks are, perhaps, easier to grasp and understand, but those little moves are no less beautiful. 29.Rde1 If 29.b4 Qe5 30.Qh7+ Kf8 and the black king keeps enjoying a healthy life. 29...Re6 yet another 'unemotional' but correct response, leading to a balanced play. 29.Qh7+ Kf8 30.Bf5 Qf6 31.Bxe6 Qxe6 32.f4 g4 33.f5 Qf6 34.Rf4 Re7 35.Rxg4 Re2 36.c3 Be5 37.Rxd5 Ke7 38.Qg8 Bd6 39.Ra4 Bc7 40.Rxc5 Qd6 41.f6+ Ke6 42.Qe8+ Kxf6 43.Rf4+ Qxf4 44.Qh8+ Ke7 45.gxf4 Bxf4 46.g3 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Belenkaya,D2286McShane,L26431–02018C47Bunratty Masters 20182

Sergei Tiviakov

 GM Sergey Tiviakov scored 5/6 and shared the first place with Gawain Jones

Gawain Jones

Jones lost traditional blitz playoff — the pint for additional inspiration sometimes works, other times not

Besides, what kind of twisted freak wouldn't love this? Chess with a cold beer in a good atmosphere. If something profound ain't happening, at least it feels like it is! The very strict professionals will be seen loosening up a bit, while the party amateurs will suddenly switch to a more ascetic approach.

Amateur player

Twilight zone indeed...

Despite its hippie aura, Bunratty is a family-friendly tournament which celebrates chess in a convivial environment. And, as you figured out already, the Irish are not shy about admitting that great conversations usually begin with a beer and not with broccoli.

But what do you do if, for various reasons, you don't like nor want to drink? Won't you feel weird in a mass of imbibed happiness?

underage players

Well, they don't!

To answer this question, I didn't want to rely only on the sober players' testimonials. Thus I conducted a very strict experiment on myself (the research had to be ignored in Dublin's airport, on the way back home): no pints, nor Irish whiskey whatsoever. And it was worth the shot.

I personally had a great time testing the serious side of Bunratty and, for a change, I know in the finest details what we did last weekend: Some of us lost, some of us won but we all did enjoy our lives, barley-and-hops-lovers or not.

You can sample a piece of that through these three chess puzzles:

 
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My last move was 40.Nb7+ so what would you play with Black? Kd4? So thin is the difference between hell and ecstasy... looked natural but it is the wrong direction. Instead 40...Kb6 makes the 'small' difference between 1-0 and 0-1. 41.Nxd6 Rf4 and the g-pawn is unstoppable. 41.c5! dxc5 42.d6 and suddenly White is winning. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
L'Ami,A2310Wall,T22271–02018A40Bunratty Masters 20185
Baburin,A2423Fitzsimons,D22871–02018A49Bunratty Masters 20185
Tiviakov,S2569Bates,R23641–02018B23Bunratty Masters 20185

Gawain Jones

They say practising smiling in front of a mirror (or camera?) actually makes you feel happier

But if you are facing the daunting scenario when your reflection won't cooperate, come to Ireland. One way or another, this tournament will fix your mood.

So how would I sum up Bunratty? That's the wrong question; you don't sum it up. You open your eyes, let it happen, breathe it in.

And, truth be told, the shortest horror story ever could be: Bunratty's entries are closed! This year the hotel quivered at full capacity, so better save your spot already for February 22nd-24th, 2019.

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Alina is an International Master and a very enthusiastic person in everything she does. She loves travelling to the world's most remote places in order to play chess tournaments and report about them here on ChessBase! As chance would have it Alina is also an excellent photographer.

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