Irish Chess Union

Irish Chess Union

Abbreviation	ICU
Formation	1912
Type	Sports organisation
Legal status	Non-profit
Headquarters	Dublin, Ireland
Patron	President Michael D. Higgins
Chairperson	Desmond Beatty
Affiliations	FIDE (since 1933) European Chess Union
Website	http://www.icu.ie/

The Irish Chess Union (ICU; Irish: Aontas Fichille na hÉireann^[1][2]), is the governing body for chess in Ireland (the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) since its formation in 1912. ICU is a member of FIDE since 1933^[3] and the European Chess Union. The ICU promotes chess in Ireland and maintains the chess rating for players registered with the ICU, which are published monthly. It runs competitions such as the Irish Chess Championship and selects teams to participate in international competitions for Ireland.

In 2005, in a dispute over fees, the Ulster Chess Union (UCU), which administers and develops chess in Northern Ireland, decided to end its affiliation with the Irish Chess Union, although the UCU accepted the ICU's continued organisation of the All-Ireland Championships.^[4] The UCU's application to affiliate to FIDE was rebuffed.^[5] In September 2018 the UCU re-affiliated to the ICU.^[6]

Chess in Ireland has been concentrated around the major cities of Dublin, Belfast and Cork; there are also a number of clubs throughout the country such as those in Ballinasloe, Derry, Drogheda, Drumlish, Ennis, Enniscorthy, Galway, Kilkenny, Portadown Lisburn and Wicklow. Leagues are held in the provinces, with the winning teams (and runners-up) playing off in the National Club Championships (although in recent years the Ulster leagues have not participated). The winning team and runners-up are entered into the European Club Championships.