Participants Pairings Results Progress Table Games Round Report 9

With this being the last round there was only one really big game. No surprise to see Sam Collins earning the draw he needed to win his first Irish champion title after he held it together against Paul Dempsey. This was not a quick draw but the outcome was never in much doubt.

John Joyce ended his tournament with an interesting game against Phillip Short the play was unclear for a while in the opening/middlegame but by the time the endgame arrived he was much better.

Another feature of the round was the continued resurgence of Tom Clarke who after a disastrous start ended his tournament with three straight wins. This was by far his most emphatic as he demolished Brian Fitzpatrick with vintage Tom Clarke flair. Had he started his tournament this way he may well have been able to win this tournament again, just as he did jointly in 1996. Stephen Scannell also finished on a high note as he took apart Eamon Keoghs Closed Sicilian in some style. This event certainly was not kind to the White side of this opening, with a number of heavy defeats throughout the event. Two exceptions to this coming from this round. The more convincing of them being the win by Tony Fox over Gerry O Connell which became a very one-sided affair.

Stephen Brady had his work cut out in trying to grind down Simon Jeffares but as usual the win was to be had in the endgame. Considering his critical loss the day before this was a good recovery.