From the Emerald Isle comes word that the Irish national Championship will be decided in a match arranged by the Irish Chess Union, an organization founded last year to replace the long-defunct Hibernian Chess Association, under whose direction the last Championship tourney took place in 1892. Mr. J.A. Porterfield Rynd, holder of the national title since that time, has sportingly agreed to risk his crown against Mr. J.J. O'Hanlon, winner of a preliminary match against Mr. C.J. Barry. The Championship match, scheduled for the best of five games, is expected to take place in early August in Dublin, and will likely prove a stern test for Mr. Porterfield Rynd, now well into his seventh decade.
Mr. O'Hanlon earned the right to face the Champion by defeating Mr. Barry by the score of three victories to one in a match likewise scheduled for five games. Our understanding is that a three-man preliminary tourney had originally been planned as a means to select a challenger to Mr. Porterfield Rynd, but the absence of a representative from the Cork Chess Association lead to the arrangement of the O'Hanlon-Barry match in its place.
We applaud the intention of the newly-fledged Irish Chess Union to bring about a Championship encounter after so long an interval, and we wish all success to their efforts.
Two games from the match between Messrs. O'Hanlon and Barry have come to hand, representing one victory for each man, and we offer them below.
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