Women in Irish Chess

Diana Mirza

Diana started playing chess from the age of 5! She has represented Ireland at 4 World Chess Olympiads, 10 World Youth & junior Championships & many European events. Diana has won various international competitions such as the European Union Youth Championships in 2013. She won the Irish Women’s Chess Championships in 2013 and the U16 Irish Junior Championships in 2016. In 2017 Diana won a gold medal at the World Schools Chess Championships. She is the only Irish person to have won a world title in chess! She currently holds the title of WFM (Woman Fide Master) as well as the National Instructor title.

Diana continues to play chess and represent Ireland, she has started her own chess streaming channel on twitch : https://www.twitch.tv/dianamirza where she regularly hosts events for viewers, analyses games and commentates. Everyone is welcome, don’t be shy to come in and say hi & play a few games, or just watch if that’s what you prefer!

Alice O'Gorman

Alice learnt to play chess at a chess camp run by GM Alex Baburin when in fifth class. She continued to play in Baburins camps and his tournaments. She then joined her school chess club and her local chess club, Shankill. She then started playing rated tournaments. Later she joined Dun Laoghaire chess club, who she still plays for.

She currently plays every tournament she gets the opportunity to. The Bunratty chess festival, The Kilkenny Chess congress and The Gonzaga Classic are her personal favourites because of their great atmosphere and a high quality of games. Alice prefers to play in open tournaments over female-only tournaments.

Alice has represented Ireland in many international tournaments, her favourite being the Styrian Youth, a mixed under 16s tournament in Austria. She finished second in the tournament and made many fond memories in the small village of Mureck where it was held.

Alice O’Gorman is the secretary of European Chess Union Women’s Commission. Alice actively promotes women’s chess and led the ECU Webinar “Women in Leadership Roles”.

Eibhia Ní Mhuireagáin

Eibhia started playing chess when she was 9. She became inspired after watching her father play and manage to draw against Borris Spassky, the world chess champion from 1969-1972 in a Simultan exhibition held in Zurich. She quickly fell in love with the game and began competing in tournaments.

Chess gave the countryside girl from Leitrim the opportunity to travel to, and experience incredible destinations around the world. She made friends for life along with countless unforgettable memories. She continues to enjoy the game of chess and everything that comes with it.

Eibhia is the current Women's Officer of the Irish Chess Union. Contact Eibhia at [email protected]

Ioana Gelip

Ioana started playing chess when she was eight. She was living in Romania at the time and a chess coach came to the school and presented the game to her class.

She did not know anything about the game but after undergoing heart surgery when she was six she was prevented from playing any sport. The only kind of sport she could pursue was something that did not involve her moving. That was the main reason why she started to play chess, and why she kept playing.

Ioana achieved a high level of playing strength when in Romania. She now lives in Ireland where she play regularly and is coach to the Irish junior squad. Ioana is the current Irish Women’s Chess Champion.

The Four Bueckert Sisters

The Four Bueckert Sisters - Read how these four young sisters discovered chess and are inspired, encouraged and supported by their parents, school and chess community here.

My Life in Chess by April Cronin

April Cronin (Faber Winner '79) keynote to Junior Squad

My Life in Chess - Read how April's quiet but assured leadership throughout her life in chess and career as a primary school principal continues to inspire young people to discover the joy, the value and the beauty of chess here.

Dayna Ferguson

IJCC 2019 - U16 Champion and Girls Champion Dayna Fergusson

Dayna started playing chess when she was 7. She was immediately very taken with it and enjoyed playing online or with her family at home. As she improved, she started going through books and playing in every tournament she could get to. Dayna loved the competition of the tournaments- she has always been very competitive and it definitely drove her to keep at it.

Chess has given her loads of funny memories and brilliant opportunities- the World Championships in Greece in 2018 her favourite trip away so far. The highlight of Dayna’s career was winning the U16 Irish Championship in 2019.

She has represented Ireland several times at international and World tournaments. Dayna has met lots of great people and is appreciative of all that chess has given her. She looks forward to a bright future in chess.

Mercedes Plaza Reino

Mercedes started playing chess when she was 8 in her school's chess club. Her school in Spain had a number of teams in a different local chess leagues. That is how she started getting into playing chess. She always loved meeting new, interesting people and the sense of community.

In 2013, Mercedes moved to Ireland with her family. With the she Irish team she found an opportunity to play chess internationally. She started training more, and soon she was playing in World Youth Championships and European Youth Championships. Her favourite tournament was the Women’s Chess Olympiad in Batumi (Georgia) in 2018.

Mercedes moved to Germany this year, but still looks back on all the experiences she gained through chess in Ireland very fondly.

Hannah Lowry-O'Reilly

Hannah started to play chess at the age of five. However, it was only at ten when chess was introduced in her school that she took it up competitively and when Herbert Scarry, a major early influence along with Michael Crowe and Alexander Baburin, asked her to play in a junior Ireland versus Sussex match she began to compete seriously.

Hannah went on to represent Ireland in World and European Championships as well as in the Glorney and Faber Cups. In her early days in chess there were few girls playing at this level in Ireland. Emily Alfred (Limerick), Sarah Hegarty (England but qualified to play for Ireland) and Nicola Hood (Northern Ireland) were her main team mates.

Playing on the Women’s Olympiad team in Mallorca in 2004 at the age of fifteen was to bring the highlight of Hannah’s chess career – gaining Ireland’s first women’s title, that of WFM. The Leaving Certificate, university examinations and professional commitments have not left Hannah much time for competitive play although she has been involved in three subsequent Olympiads. Hannah has also represented Ireland in fencing which she likens to a physical chess with the same elements of strategy and warfare.

Karina Kruk

Karina, originally from Poland, started playing chess in her local chess club which gave her the opportunity to travel around the country. Karina then moved to Northern Ireland when she was 14 and was soon introduced to the Irish Chess Union; she switched federations and the rest as they say is history.

Karina competed in 3 Women’s Chess Olympiads and various youth tournaments as well. Karina insists that she will be forever grateful for the experiences she gained and the people she has met through playing chess.