The Irish National Draughts Championships take place in Kingscourt, County Cavan.
Cabra Castle Hotel in Kingscourt is the venue for this year's Irish Open Draughts Championships. From novices to masters, three hundred competitors have taken their places at the draughts boards over the past few days.
Ireland’s team manager Con McCarrick is the current Irish Draughts Champion and also holder of the world title for simultaneous displays. He explains the aim of the game to reporter Peter McNiff,
To prevent your opponent from having a proper move, without giving the game away.
The tournament which is being sponsored by Fuss Products, Kingscourt, has a prize fund of £4000 and has attracted some of the world's top players. English Grand Master and former six times world champion Derek Oldbury put his defeat on the first day to overplaying. An author of ten books about draughts, he is busy with his next project,
I’m working on an encyclopedia right now.
New Yorker Joe Schwarz is promotion manager of the American Checkers Federation. He maintains that a thorough knowledge of the game is what makes a good checkers master,
It’s just too difficult, too precise to rely on so-called cross-board ability.
A game that bridges the generation gap, draughts calls for dedication from the players. Top international players study it for up to eight hours a day, says Con McCarrick. A period of ill health presented him with time to learn as much as he could about draughts, and he continues to build on that,
I take out the board every night and have a study for at least two hours.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 26 October 1982. The reporter is Peter McNiff.
