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.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1865 | James Alexander Porterfield Rynd[4] | First winner |
| 1886 | Richard Whieldon Barnett[5] | |
| 1889 | George D. Soffe | |
| 1892 | James Alexander Porterfield Rynd | First person to win two championships |
| 1913 | John O'Hanlon | First person to win two consecutive championships |
| 1915 | ||
| 1922 | T.G. (Thomas George) Cranston | |
| 1924 | Philip Baker | |
| 1925 | John O'Hanlon | First person to win three championships |
| 1926 | First person to win four championships | |
| 1927 | Philip Baker | First, and so far only, person to win three consecutive championships |
| 1928 | ||
| 1929 | ||
| 1930 | John O'Hanlon | First person to win five championships |
| 1931 | T.G. (Thomas George) Cranston | |
| 1932 | John O'Hanlon | First person to win six championships |
| 1933 | James C. Creevey | |
| 1934 | ||
| 1935 | John O'Hanlon | First person to win seven championships |
| 1936 | First person to win eight championships | |
| 1937 | Thomas Cox | |
| 1938 | ||
| 1939 | Bartholomew O'Sullivan | |
| 1940 | John O'Hanlon | First person to win nine championships |
| 1946 | Bartholomew O'Sullivan | |
| 1947 | Patrick A. Duignan | |
| 1948 | Dónal J. O'Sullivan | |
| 1949 | Patrick Brendan Kennedy | |
| 1950 | T. Vincent Maher | |
| 1951 | Patrick Martin Austin Bourke | |
| 1952 | Michael Joseph Schuster | |
| 1953 | Edmund Noel Mulcahy | |
| 1954 | Terry Kelly | |
| 1955 | T. Vincent Maher | |
| 1956 | Dónal J. O'Sullivan | |
| 1957 | ||
| 1958 | Wolfgang Heidenfeld | |
| 1959 | Brian Reilly | |
| 1960 | ||
| 1961 | John Reid | |
| 1962 | John Reid / Michael F. Littleton | Shared title First shared title |
| 1963 | Wolfgang Heidenfeld | |
| 1964 | ||
| 1965 | Michael F. Littleton | |
| 1966 | John L. Moles | |
| 1967 | Wolfgang Heidenfeld | |
| 1968 | ||
| 1969 | Nicholas James Patterson | |
| 1970 | Paul Henry | |
| 1971 | John L. Moles | |
| 1972 | Wolfgang Heidenfeld | |
| 1973 | Hugh MacGrillen | |
| 1974 | Anthony Doyle | |
| 1975 | Eamon Keogh / Alan Templeton Ludgate | Shared title[6] |
| 1976 | Bernard Kernan | |
| 1977 | Ray Devenney / Alan Templeton Ludgate | Shared title |
| 1978 | Alan Templeton Ludgate | |
| 1979 | David Dunne / Eamon Keogh | Shared title[7] |
| 1980 | Paul Delaney | |
| 1981 | David Dunne / Philip Short | Shared title |
| 1982 | John Delaney | |
| 1983 | David Dunne | |
| 1984 | Eugene Curtin | |
| 1985 | Eugene Curtin / Mark Orr | Shared title |
| 1986 | John Delaney / Philip Short | Shared title |
| 1987 | John Delaney | |
| 1988 | Philip Short | |
| 1989 | Niall Carton | |
| 1990 | John Delaney | |
| 1991 | Stephen Brady | |
| 1992 | ||
| 1993 | Niall Carton | |
| 1994 | Mark Orr | |
| 1995 | Brian Kelly | |
| 1996 | Richard O'Donovan | |
| 1997 | Joseph Diarmuid Ryan | |
| 1998 | Colm Daly | |
| 1999 | ||
| 2000 | Mark Heidenfeld | |
| 2001 | Stephen Brady | |
| 2002 | Sam Collins | |
| 2003 | Stephen Brady | |
| 2004 | Joseph Diarmuid Ryan | |
| 2005 | Colm Daly | |
| 2006 | Stephen Brady | |
| 2007 | Brian Kelly / Stephen Brady | Shared title |
| 2008 | Alexander Baburin | |
| 2009 | Colm Daly | |
| 2010 | Alex Lopez | |
| 2011 | Stephen Brady | |
| 2012 | Stephen Brady / Colm Daly | |
| 2013 | Colm Daly | |
| 2014 | Sam Collins | |
| 2015 | Stephen Brady / Philip Short | Shared title |
| 2016 | Stephen Jessel | |
| 2017 | Philip Short / Alex Lopez | Shared title |
| 2018 | Alex Lopez | |
| 2019 | Conor E. Murphy | |
| 2020 | Tom O'Gorman | |
| 2021 | Mark Heidenfeld | |
| 2022 | Tarun Kanyamarala | |
| 2023 | Alexander Baburin | |
Source:[8]
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