O'Sullivan Cup
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The O'Sullivan Cup was the seventh division of the Leinster Chess Leagues, run by the Leinster Chess Union[1] in Leinster, Ireland.[2][3][failed verification] It was named after Tom O'Sullivan of Malahide Chess Club, then the secretary of the LCU, who donated a cup, which was later replaced by a shield when the cup was lost.
Introduction[edit]
The cup was first awarded in the 1974/75 season, during the expansion of the leagues in part due to the upsurge of interest caused by the World Chess Championship 1972 match between Fischer and Spassky 1972 in Reykjavic, Iceland. When the leagues contracted three years later it ceased. It restarted in the 2014/15 season, the competition running for three years, ending in the 2016/17 season. Teams of five players from a club played other teams in a round robin format in two sections called A and B, not regionalized. The winners and runners up of each section then played two rounds of playoff games to determine the overall winner. This means that the winners of Section A played the runners up in Section B, and vice versa, with the winners of these semi-finals facing each other in the finals. At the end of each season the two semi-finalist teams were promoted to the Bodley Cup, division 5.
The O'Sullivan Cup has not been held since the BEA Cup (Division 5) and Bodley Cup (Division 6) were regionalised into North and South sections in the 2017/18 season. This change made room for new teams to enter the leagues in Division 6 rather than Division 7. Players had to be registered with the Irish Chess Union and all matches were rated by the ICU.
Winners[edit]
Below are the winners of both sections. While a playoff between these teams occurred each season there is no record as yet of the eventual winner except in 2017.
- 2015 Trinity and Enniscorthy[4]
- 2016 Kilkenny A and Bray/Greystones[5][failed verification]
- 2017 Gonzaga[6]
No records are available for the 2015 playoffs, although Blanchardstown came third that year.[7][failed verification]
In 2016 Rathmines and Kilkenny A won the sections, with Malahide and Bray/Greystones as runners up. In the semi-finals Bray/Greystones beat Rathmines and Kilkenny A beat Malahide, but no record of the final exists.[8][failed verification]
In 2016/17 Gonzaga A and Gonzaga B were the section winners, with one Gonzaga team winning the play-off.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ Scott, Peter. "Chess League". chessleague.net. Leinster Chess Union. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ Coffey, Seán. "IRLchess | Irish chess history & records". IRLchess. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ Leinster Chess Union - official website
- ^ "O'Sullivan Cup Section A 2014-2015". chessleague.net. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "O'Sullivan Cup Section A 2015-2016". chessleague.net. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "O'Sullivan Cup Section A 2016-2017". chessleague.net. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Blanchardstown CC O'Sullivan Cup Team". Blanchardstown Chess Club. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Kevin Burke, LCU Chairperson". St.Benildus Chess Club. Retrieved 2024-05-01.