This was the twelfth in a series of chess tournaments run by transition year students at Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin 6. The goal is not just to provide a traditional weekend event, but to raise as much money as possible for charity, in this case the Habitat for Humanity Project in Zambia. Later in the year a group of students will travel there to help build houses in partnership with local families.

The tournament was held over the weekend of 1-3 February 2013. The chief organisers were Michael Donnelly, Arran Bolger, Andy Keenan, Alex Buckley, Jonathan McGrath and Laurence Childs, with assistance from Daniel Lynch. Sponsorship was provided by local businesses Superquinn and the Tribeca Restaurant.

Winner of the Masters section and Philip Hogarty Cup for the fourth year running was Irish international David Fitzsimons. This brought his run for this event to 20 wins and one draw out of 21 games over the last four years.

Apart from the chess, there is plenty of diversion for the players in the form of refreshments provided by the student-run shop, a big screen to watch the international rugby matches, and a talk and bookstall from GM Alexander Baburin on the final day.

Total numbers were up again on the previous year to over 150, making this the most popular weekender in Dublin of the season.

The top scorers in each section were as follows:

Masters

1 David Fitzsimons 5/5; 2 Valentine Kalinins 4; 3-5 David Murray, Conor O'Donnell (grading prize), Liam Porter 3.

Championship

1 Shahram Nikrow 5½/6; 2-3 Paul Higgins, Mervyn Honner 5; 4-7 Lukasz Goralski, Marc Lincoln, Barry Foran, Kevin Burke 4½; grading prizes Marc Lincoln, John W Connolly.

Challengers

1-2 Arda Balkanay, Eoghan Turner 5½/6; 3-4 Desmond Beatty, Sean McLoughlin 5; 5-8 Pat O'Brien, Tom O'Gorman, Dylan Boland, Conor Maher 4½; grading prizes Tom O'Gorman, Dylan Boland, Padraig Sheehy, Henry Li; ladies prize: Suzanne Barry.

Masters games. Full tables: Masters, Championship, Challengers.