REFEREE SHANE HAS ALL THE RIGHT MOVES
BETWEEN 2008 and 2014 Shane Bleahene from Ballinasloe won six successive gold medals in chess at the national finals of the Community Games.
Now 19 years of age and into his second year at college in UCD, the Galway native is still enjoying the Community Games experience in his new role as a chess referee. Reflecting on his experience, he says that the Community Games played a significant part in his attraction to the sport.
“The Community Games definitely ignited my interest,” he said over the weekend. “There would have been other competitions but there wouldn’t have been anything on that level, something to introduce people to chess and give them something to really aim for
“Everybody knows what you’re talking about if you say you got a Community Games medal, rather than saying you came second in a chess congress in Bunratty!
Bleahene started playing chess at the age of eight, and it was in his second year that he won his first gold medal at the Community Games. Over the next six years, the Ballinasloe man forged lifelong friendships with the other teammates who shared in his success.
“It was a quite a good group of people and there were a few close calls in some of those competitions but we were always fairly sure that we were going to do well. We were all more or less the same age, so there might be one person who went up an age group a year earlier, but for the most part it was the same team.
“We’d still stay in touch and I’d still be quite good friends with a couple of people I used to play with.
“There was a chess club in town set-up by John McKenna, who helps out with the chess in Community Games. That’s how we learnt how to play. My brother [Conor] used to play too and he was on the team. I still play casually. The club plays in a league in Dublin now so we play every year.”
Bleahene studies Economics and Finance in UCD. The entry points for that course soared to almost 600 points last year. It’s clear that the 19-year-old excels in matters academic, and there are some aspects of chess that can be of benefit to people in their studies.
“There would be some link there,” he explains. "I suppose it takes some concentration. If you’re playing a chess game for three hours then you’re gonna be able to concentrate for three hours in an exam.
“But for the most part it’s not really academic, it’s just a different part of the brain,” he adds.
As a chess referee, Shane Bleahene is required to help set up the matches and ensure all the players are fully informed of the rules. Talking to someone about the game, or a phone going off during a match, are examples of the offences that would force a player to forfeit the game.
Since the matches typically last between three and four hours, patience is an essential tool.
“You can stand up and walk around for a bit. Your opponent will have a certain amount of time to think of a move so you can walk around with a glass of water. You get used to it eventually,” Bleahene said.
“The younger players might find it difficult and they wouldn’t want to move away from the board, but you get used to it and you learn to trust your instincts.”