Irish Chess Championship

The Irish Chess Championship is the national Championship of Ireland, currently run by the Irish Chess Union (ICU), the FIDE-recognised governing body for the game.[1] Below is the list of champions. The first champion was J.A. Porterfield Rynd, who won the Dublin Chess Congress 1865 No. 3 Tournament, reserved for "amateurs, bona fide resident in Ireland for the 12 months prior to 1st September 1865".[2]

The Irish Chess Association was founded in 1885. Its congresses of 1886 and 1889 included provision for determining the Irish Championship, and the winners were Richard Whieldon Barnett (later Sir Richard Barnett) and George D. Soffe, respectively.[3]

The Hibernian Chess Association was established during the 1891–92 season, and held one Irish championship, in 1892, which was won by J.A. Porterfield Rynd.

Since its foundation in 1912 the Irish Chess Union has organised the Irish Chess Championships. The events ran sporadically at first, but have been held annually since 1924, except for suspension during 1941–45.

The Irish Chess Championship has run in various formats including a round robin competition, a match system, and a Swiss system competition. Since 2013, the championship has been organised as a 9-round Swiss event, open to players registered as IRL with FIDE, who meet a rating requirement.