David Fitzsimons, from Glasnevin, is currently one of Ireland’s leading chess players and has now claimed the title of Irish Senior Chess Champion for the first time.
The nine-round tournament took place in early August at the Talbot Hotel, Stillorgan, and featured 52 of Ireland’s top chess players.
Mr Fitzsimons finished unbeaten, securing the title by half a point ahead of his nearest challenger, the 2023 champion, Grandmaster Alexander Baburin.
“The first time I played was in 2005. I’ve played it 14 times, and this is the first time I’ve actually managed to win it, so it’s pretty tough,” he said.
“I started with four wins in a row, and I thought, well, you know, this is mine to lose, but I was able to draw comfortably in the final round, so I was guaranteed to win.”
His victory also earned him an automatic spot on the Irish chess team, which will participate in the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan. Though this won’t be his first time representing Ireland at the Chess Olympiad.
Mr Fitzsimons, a primary school teacher at Glasnevin Educate Together School, enjoys coaching chess players of all ages.
The chess club he runs is popular, with over 40 members from first to sixth class. He notes that chess helps develop children’s concentration abilities.
Speaking about the game itself, Mr Fitzsimons told the Irish Independent that chess is all about “problem-solving”.
“They actually borrow a lot of terminology from maths, and problem-solving is a huge part of it,” he said.
“You calculate variations and try to narrow down the options to figure out the best move. There are so many innumerable possibilities that the more you learn, the more you realise you don’t know.
“You could spend hours playing chess, make one mistake, and throw away all your efforts, so concentration is really the most important thing.
“You can reach a certain level where you can appreciate most of the best things about chess without getting too competitive about it,” he added.
To stay sharp for chess, he explained that in the run-up to competitions like the annual Senior Chess Championship, he tries to study chess every day, solve tactical puzzles, read chess books, and play practice games.
He also noted that thousands of games are played every day, making it “very easy” to fall behind if you don’t keep up.
On his love for the game, which was taught to him by his father, he says chess is “unlike any other game”.
