Malahide Millennium Tournament
The annual Malahide tournament was also held over the holiday weekend and four Ulster players took part. RVH player Gareth Annesley finished equal first in the Major section for the biggest success of his career. Gareth beat FIDE Master and Irish champion Colm Daly in round 3 and was a point ahead going into the final day after beating second seed Pawel Madynski in round 4. He then lost to Brian Galligan but a draw with Stephen Moran in the final round was sufficient to share first place when Daly and Galligan drew their game.
Clifton House player Nicholas Pilkiewicz finished half-a-point behind the winners and won a Grading Prize for his efforts. His teammate Danny Mallaghan finished on 3 points, which was also the total achieved by Fortwilliam's Patrick McKillen in the Challengers (Under 1600) section.
Leading placings in the Major:
1=5. FM Colm Daly, Gareth Annesley, Stephen Moran, Martin Crichton, Brian Galligan 4.5
6=8. Nicholas Pilkiewicz, Ciaran Quinn, Oisin Benson 4.0