The Sligo Chess Tournament takes place in Diamond Coast Hotel, Enniscrone, Ireland, from January 31st to February 2nd, 2025. Sligo Chess is a highly reputable FIDE-rated, 5-round, classical chess event in Europe, with 100% DGT smart boards, strict anti-cheating controls, a successful partnership with the Women In Chess Foundation (WICF), and a clear vision for the present and the future. Chessdom had the pleasure to talk to the Sligo tournament director Craig DuBose
Official website: https://itsligochesstournament.ie/
The Sligo Chess Tournament is widely considered to be the highest quality event in Ireland. I imagine that this reputation is related to the Sligo Tournament’s tagline of ‘treating everyone like a professional.’ What does that tagline mean and how do you translate that into reality for the players?
‘Treating everyone like a professional’ means giving every player, regardless of their rating, the same top tier, premium experience. Everyone in every section plays on a DGT smart board, with branded NCR scoresheets and branded pens, individual name placards with flags, ratings, and tournament logo. The tournament is overseen by a class A International Arbiter who is qualified to run world championship events. There is a professional photographer who captures a candid photograph of every player (I regularly see these used as avatars in chess.com, WhatsApp, etc.). There is a comfortable analysis room with a widescreen TV showing our Twitch commentators discussing ongoing games or showing player interviews. There is a spacious ballroom with natural light during the day and excellent lighting during the evening. It isn’t just one thing or another, it’s all of these things working together to make players feel like they are treated like professionals and allow them to concentrate on playing their best chess.
I would also mention that the unofficial continuation of that tagline is, “and treat their families like special guests.” I recognise that players often travel with parents, children, and siblings so we work to make them as comfortable and entertained as possible. We have children activity sessions (e.g. painting, singing, dancing, etc.) during the rounds so that children that aren’t playing chess can still have fun. This can take the pressure off a non-playing parent. There is a playground at the hotel as well as an astro pitch and tennis courts. There is a golf course next door and a 5km long fine sand beach. So, hopefully both chess players and non-chess players can have a wonderful time.
In 2023 the tournament was a huge success with over 140 players taking part. In 2024 there were a total of 194? players. The popularity of the event is growing! Are you expecting to break the record this year?
I have set the maximum number of players at 210 for 2025 and I expect to reach that number. I could aim for a higher number, but I am conscious of maintaining the ample amount of space that individual players have and the general feeling of comfort that exists in the playing area. The amount of personal space and the comfort is something that a lot of players comment on, and I need to maintain that as part of our brand. If you see photos from the tournament, you’ll see that there are two boards per 8-ft table, not long rows of tables with players shoulder to shoulder.
What are your plans for the future of the event? Where do you go from here?
Although there are always small additions or adjustments that can be made to improve an event, the tournament has fulfilled its maximum potential in its current form. To continue to progress, I plan on transforming the weekend tournament into a full-blown festival while maintaining the premium nature. This will include adding additional tournaments of various time controls, including a 9-round tournament, over a longer period. This will also include activities and non-chess events to entertain and introduce our visitors, particularly international ones, to unique cultural and sporting aspects of the region and of Ireland. I hope to start the transformation process at the 2025 event with public-facing chess events to engage with the regional community.
We were going through the testimonials on the official website and it is lovely to see the praise and respect players have for the event. However, one thing caught our eye: a three-time participant, Denis O’Conell, said that there are strict anti-cheating controls! How do you manage to provide this on a weekender event?
It all starts with the design of the hotel which allows us to maintain a segregated playing venue (playing area, toilets, smoking area). Everyone who is actively playing a game must remain in the playing venue and everyone who is not actively playing a game is not permitted in the playing venue. This prevents any exchange of information between those outside of the playing venue to those inside. It also helps to keep the playing area quiet as players who have finished their game must leave the playing area.
The policy towards electronics (e.g. Smart phones, smart watches, etc) and the consequence of forfeiture of games is announced before every round. I make it clear that, if someone plays the game of their life with ten brilliant moves in a row against an opponent 1000 rating points higher, but their opponent points out that they had a phone turned off in their pocket, they forfeit that game. If I or the arbiters conclude that there was deliberate cheating, that player will be expelled from the tournament and that expulsion will be reported to the Irish Chess Union and FIDE.
I have handheld scanners to both randomly and selectively check players for electronics. So, even if someone doesn’t report the possibility of a player having electronics on their person, they can still be caught with a random search.
I must stress that it’s not only cheating that I seek to prevent, but also the appearance of potential cheating. That’s why we monitor the smoking area to ensure that players aren’t even discussing the weather. And it’s why even if a smart phone is turned off, if it’s on their person, they forfeit the game.
I also ensure that the bathrooms and smoking areas are searched with the handheld scanners to ensure that there are no hidden electronic devices.
Have you actually had players cheating in the event in the past?
No, thankfully we’ve never had any instances of cheating. I hope that our strict anti-cheating measures dissuade anyone considering cheating.
I have had instances of players expressing suspicions of cheating and I have used the hand held metal scanner in a targeted manner, but no electronics have ever been found.
One more detail that impresses us: you have a designated Women In Chess Foundation (WICF) advocate on site. Can you explain more?
The tournament’s partnership with the Women In Chess Foundation (WICF) is something of which I am particularly proud. As we all know, the underrepresentation of women in chess is a real and ongoing problem. Last year, I was interviewed by Ben Johnson on his excellent Perpetual Chess podcast. The other half of that episode was an interview with WICF President, Emilia Castelao. I was impressed, not only with their mission, but also with the concrete steps that they could facilitate to make the Sligo Tournament a safer environment for women in particular and everyone in general.
So, I ensured that our policies and processes were in line with the WICF philosophy which are described in the Code Of Conduct on our website. Two Sligo volunteers and I completed the WICF advocate training course to ensure that the tournament would have advocates that would be able to support anyone suffering harassment, discrimination, or mistreatment. In recognition of our Code of Conduct and the presence of three WICF-trained advocates, the tournament was the inaugural recipient of the WICF SafePolicy Badge. Although we have a long way to go to get 50% women participation, it is my hope that this has laid the foundation for our future efforts.
Where will the players be accommodated in the coming edition?
The hotel venue, the 4-star Diamond Coast Hotel, has 99 rooms and I intend to fill as many as possible with chess players. There is a finite block of rooms designated for the tournament that have a discounted rate. We always end up with players on waiting lists for discounted rooms at the hotel so I would encourage anyone considering playing to book your discounted room at the hotel as soon as possible.
There are other hotels and accommodation options in Enniscrone and nearby Ballina. And there’s always Airbnb, but there’s no substitute for walking from your room to the playing area at the hotel venue.
Why 100% DGT smart boards? Isn’t this expensive investment?
The tournament is 100% DGT smart boards for a few reasons, but the most important one is that they provide an amazing experience to the players as well as their friends and family watching remotely. It also makes every tournament game available to our Twitch commentators (former U17 Girls World Schools Champion WFM Diana Mirza and current Irish Senior Champion Jonathan O’Connor) which is another great aspect of our event. They welcome interaction from family and friends and happily review games by request. How many players can say that chess commentators reviewed one of their games live on ‘TV’?
And, let’s be honest, transmitting chess games live over the internet for family, friends, the general public, and our Twitch commentators, wherever they are in the world, isn’t the future, it’s the present.
Yes, it is expensive, but it’s worth it. And it gives the Sligo Tournament a difficult to replicate unique selling point which helps us stand out in the European tournament scene.
A tournament of this size cannot happen without sponsors. Who is sponsoring the event?
You are right that to put on a premium tournament requires outside funding. We are very lucky to have a mix of chess & non-chess, large & small, public & private entities who are generous enough to support the 2025 event: Chessable, chess.ie, Liber bookshop, DMac Media, Abtran, and Sligo County Council. I would also like to mention companies who sponsored the 2024 event but have not yet confirmed participation in the 2025 tournament: Dunnes Stores, Beyond, and the Sligo Credit Union. I also hope to receive some support from FIDE who have been a great supporter of the event in the past.
If you are to share a secret for the upcoming edition, what would it be?
It’s not a secret, but I haven’t started to publicise that the big effort in 2025 is going to be increasing the participation of women. We’ve laid the foundation by making the tournament welcoming and inclusive as well as implementing WICF-approved policies and ensuring WICF-trained advocates are available. To further attract women players, the tournament will be giving cash prizes to the top three women at the tournament (1st – €500, 2nd – €300, 3rd – €200) as well as having women’s grading prizes in the lower sections. I hope that by making these aspects of our event more public, we will attract a larger percentage of women.
What is the easiest way for someone to sign up for the event?
The easiest way to register for the event is to go to the tournament website at https://itsligochesstournament.ie/register/. You can read testimonials, see who else has registered, look at photographs, games, and results from previous years in the archive section, watch our 2023 documentary or listen to my Perpetual Chess podcast interview, get advice on how to travel to the event, and get an idea of accommodation costs at the venue. Once you are convinced, you can click the register button in the navigation bar which will give you instructions on how to register depending on whether you are a resident of Ireland or not. If you are having problems, don’t hesitate to send an email to the info@itsligochesstournament.ie.
There is a discount for registering before November 31st. There is also a finite number of discounted rooms at the hotel venue so I would advise everyone to register and book your hotel room as soon as possible.
