The Chess Mind

Confused? You won't be, after the next episode of...oh, never mind; that show hasn't been on the air for 27 years. So let's clear up the mystery now. The championship of Ireland allowed foreigners to compete (to create norm possibilities, I presume), so although Alon Greenfeld of Israel (but born in the U.S.A., which I didn't know until a moment ago) tied with Irishman (by way of Russia) Alex Baburin for first in the tournament with 8/9, he was not in the running for the championship title. The runner-up in that category was Stephen Jessel, who finished fourth overall with 6/9. (English GM Mark Hebden came in third with 6.5 points.)

While Baburin had already clinched the national championship with a round to spare, the last round pairings were intriguing. Greenfeld's task was to play with the white pieces against a 2188 player (John Redmond), while Baburin had Black against GM Stuart Conquest. Greenfeld fulfilled his task with too much ease, winning in just nine moves, but Baburin won too, despite the triple disadvantage of a strong opponent, the black pieces, and his persistent use of the Alekhine Defense. (Ok, Carlsen uses it too from time to time, so maybe it's not that bad.) You can replay both games here.

So congrats to GM Baburin, Chess Today's El Jefe! Interested readers can find much more information on the tournament here and here.