Tournament Report Northern Quadrangular 2019, Liverpool

Michael Sheahan


The Northern Quadrangular is an annual International chess tournament involving teams from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Northern England at U14 and U 16 level. The tournament is held each year in Liverpool College, a primary and secondary school complex in Liverpool, near to Sefton Park (Liverpool’s equivalent of the Phoenix Park). The tournament is played over three rounds (two round son Saturday and one round on Sunday), with 60 minutes on the clock and 10 second increments.

Ireland was represented by a six person U 16 team - Kavin Venkatesan (ICU rating 1722), Oisin O CUllleanain (1397), Eric Wang (1366), Thomas Cooney (1326), Jack McIntyre (1272) and Richard Sheahan (1218). In round 1, Ireland U16s played Wales, and in a closely fought contest lost 2.5 to 3.5 (wins for Thomas and Richard and a draw for Eric ) In Round 2, Ireland U16 played Scotland, and came out on top with a good 4-2 win (wins for Kavin, Thomas, draws for Eric , Jack and a bye for Richard) It was all to play for on Sunday, as Ireland U16 played Northern England. Ireland went down narrowly by 2.5 to 3.5, with good wins for Kavin and Richard and a draw for Thomas. The final standings gave Northern England a narrow win on 11 points, followed by Wales on 9.5 and Ireland with a very respectable 9 points, followed by Scotland on 6.5 points

At U 14 level Ireland was represented by 5 players -Andrew Finnerty (ICU rating 1316), Atharva Paibir (1316), Lucy Bueckert (972), Lorcan Cooney (943) , and Diana Bueckert (839), who combined with 5 East Midlands players to make a 10 person team

In the first two rounds Ireland/East Midlands came up against very strong Welsh and Scottish teams and despite some close contests failed to get any points on the board. However in round three the Irish players delivered 3.5 points in their match against Northern England with wins for twins Lucy and Diana, Lorcan and a good draw on board one for Galway player Andrew.
This relaxed and somewhat informal tournament is a great introduction to international competition for underage players. Great credit goes to the organisers. Pete Purland is organiser in chief, and his remarkable 52 year association with Liverpool College is the reason that the venue makes itself available for the tournament. Pete is very ably assisted by his sister Glynis Purland, who also doubles as the Northern England team manager. Ian Campbell is chief arbiter and very efficiently ensures all rules and regulations are adhered to. Zita in the canteen deserves mention for keeping the participants fed when the blood sugar levels drop, and for keeping the coffee going for the parents. Finally a big thank you to Venkatesan kandasamy (recently appointed as the new ICU Development Officer) who did a very efficient job as team manager, ably assisted by Brendan Cooney.


Created 2019-12-09 ◦ Last updated 2019-12-09 ◦ Editor KV


New Search
© 2004-2024 Irish Chess Union ● Contact UsPrivacy Policy