Photos from Knights of the Hill Chess Club's post

Congrats to Niallo "blue pigeon" O' Connor for dominating proceedings....thanks also to Caffreys for putting us up...twas a mighty few hours of chess madness..😛🍀🍺😎

Knights of the Hill Chess Club

Gareth butler

Jameson Caskmates

*OFFICIAL KOTHCC TOURNAMENT RELEASE* WHISKEY TASTING SELECTION for KOTHCC Mid-term Chess Showdown 2016 Saturday 20th Feb. 2016 In Assoc. THE OLD STAND MULLINGAR & IRISH DISTILLERS Note: All whiskies mentioned below are on special offer with reductions of up to 40%. This offer is strictly for ‘Knights Only’ on revelation of the secret handshake and secret password. Details to be revealed to individual Knights by arrival of carrier -Pidgeon; dispatch date to be revealed. Whiskies as follows: 1. Jameson Select Reserve ‘Black Barrell’ https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/us/ourwhiskeys/jameson-select-reserve-black-barrel 2. RedBreast 12, Single Pot Still http://thewhiskeyjug.com/irish-whiskey/redbreast-12-years-review/ 3. Powers Signature Release, Single Pot Still http://powerswhiskey.ie/product-info 4. Jameson Caskmates ‘Stout Edition’ https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/us/ourwhiskeys/jameson-caskmates This range of whiskeys are at a special discount price of €5.00. Ea. - KNIGHTs PRIVILEGE. Actual price €7.50 - €9.00 In KOTH fashion we will have a whiskey rating at the end of the night after which we will publish our result in 'The Golden Pawn Gazette'. NEXT UP IS THE FINAL CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS FOR SATURDAYS TOURNAMENT AND KOTH RULES. Signing off GB 'Play with Honour'

KotHCC

http://gentlemensnavigator.ninja/chess/

*OFFICIAL KOTHCC TOURNAMENT RELEASE* -CALL FOR ENTRANTS- Tournament: Knights of the Hill Mid-term Showdown Venue: The Old Stand Mullingar Date: Saturday. Feb 20th. Time: 19:00 - 23:00 hrs Dear Knights & Squires, Due to popular demand the founding fathers have decided to hold the first KOTHCC 2016 tournament Ahead schedule. This press release originally published in the 'Golden Pawn Gazette' is a call for expressions of interest to the afore mentioned Chess Tournament and Whiskey Tasting Extravaganza. -TO ANNOUNCE YOUR AVAILABLITY IS TO SIMPLY 'LIKE' or PREFERABLY COMMENT ON THIS POST- Any questions? just place in Facebook Chatroom and one of the Founding Fathers will respond. General information & Provisional tournament structure as follows; league 1 - max 4-9 players league 2 - max 4-9 players League1+2 Winners; contest the coveted KOTCC Shield Final (best of 3) Runners up to play for 3rd 4th And so on..... And Finally, perhaps the Showdown of the night - 'The Battle for the Wooden Spoon' General: 10 min games with Championship boards and clocks. League basis and finals. *IMPORTANT INFORMATION* This is a Knights of The Hill Tournamnent and in order to be labelled as such and to be loyal to the ancient history of the club, we need to include as part of the ritual a fine selection of Irish Whiskies for the tasting. Irish whiskey does have many mystical and mythical claims associated with it, from testimonies of visionary shamanic visions to a heightened sense of awareness. Indeed in early Joycean Dublin the dreaded Writers Block was often remedied by a dip into the visionary sea that is the experience of a fine Irish whiskey. Indeed I personally have felt these effects first hand, but in scientific terms, eye witness testimony can never be relied upon. In light of this and through deep diliberation and brainstorming, the Founding Fathers have brought together The Old Stand Mullingar and a team of scientists from the NCSI (Nootropic Cognitive Science Assoc. of Ireland) to sponsor a 'Whiskey Promotion' on the night for a selection of Irish Whiskies. The Knights will, in effect be lab Rats in experiments to discover if Irish Whiskey 'Uisce beatha' (water of life) does indeed create either visionary experiences or cognitive enhancement of any kind. *Stay tuned for updates* *Paddy Powell Bookmakers* P. Powell is formulating the odds for those Knights already signed up. 12 competitors of varying abilities including; Derek 'White Snake' O'Connor at evens favourite. Andy 'The Trojan Horse' Yeoman - going out to 3/1 as of this evening. A few good outside bets include Kev 'The Killer' Kilgallon and indeed the often gentle but just as often highly volatile Nik The 'Pink Panther' Carr and 'The Hammer' Niall o Connor, all at 8/1. We have Bobby 'The Butcher' Acton at 16/1, the Buddha Pearson also at 16/1 (great outside bet). Peter 'Mad dog' Gibson is at 20/1 alongside Jonnie 'The dictator' Geoghegan. The Sinnots, Colm and Maurice are both along way off at 25/1 and 30/1 respectively and last but not least Martin 'The Black Panther' Heduan at 1000/1 - if he drinks the 'water of life' and if not, he'll surely be seen as favourite to take the title. *Stay tuned for updates as registration commences* -TO ANNOUNCE YOUR AVAILABLITY IS TO SIMPLY LIKE OR COMMENT ON THIS POST- Any questions just place in Facebook Chatroom and one of the Founding Fathers will respond. 'Play With Honour' Signing off GB

Timeline Photos

The Whiskey tasting results are in! The criteria was simple. Enjoyment! What were the whiskeys, in order, that you found most enjoyable with the night that was in it. Whiskey is as much about the environment and company as much as taste, so in this light we began our journey. The results are as follows. No.3 Jameson Caskmates (Aged in Craft Beer Barrels - Stout Edition) No.2 Aberlour (Double Single Malt - 16 year) (Oak & Sherry Barrels) Knappogue Castle (Single Malt Irish Whiskey - 12 year) (Bourban Cask) No. 1 *Winner* Writers Tears (Pot Still Irish Whiskey) It was no surprise that the 'Writers Tears' was the most popular for all-round drinkability and was top of the list for all but one of the participants - Yours truely! and all-beit by One point. For me it was in 3rd position behind Knappogue and Aberlour. Somewhat controversial, but maybe not. Each to their own and indeed whiskey has such a wide appeal and is so diverse in character and complexity that there are always going to be varying opinions. It can also be mood dependant too which perhaps aligns it with that of the art forms. If that's bringing it too far then get some friends together and try a whiskey tasting? An art form there is no doubt! One things for sure they were all super whiskeys. We would highly recommend 'Writers Tears' for those new to the world of whiskey particularly (Pretty much all of the Knights), although to our credit we've made a fair attempt over the last year to make our way through the wide selection of whiskeys on offer in the Old-Stand Mullingar. and indeed attempted to process the excellent advice given by both Fergus and Eddie Walsh. We became aware that the tasting selection was slightly mis-matched with the introduction of the Aberlour 16-year Scotch. Not so much in terms of quality per se but it was a scotch and maybe was at a disadvantage/advantage when compared with Irish whiskeys. We'll need some expert advice!. It was a magnificent rich and smooth whisky and my personal favourite. The Knappogue Castle was a joint second for all participants. This magnificent bottle was donated by Michael Carr of the 'Irish Whiskey Museum' so very much appreciated Michael! A lightly spiced whiskey balanced with a sweetness. We were trying to find out what was that distintive nose. It turns out that it was 'biscuits' of all things. Great whiskey, Great price too. The Knights would like to thank in no particular order: Fergus Walsh (The Old Stand Mullingar) for supplying the Aberlour, Writers Tears & Jameson Casmates Michael Carr (Irish Whiskey Museum) for donating the Knappogue Castle And lastly for coming through for us on the Trophies and engravings - Niall Maher BB-Awards Ltd. Signing off GB

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'Play with Honour'....... Remember that Martin Heduan, there is an etiquette!

The inaugural 'Knights of the Hill' House Cup took place on the 28th Dec. 2015. For the un-initiated the tournament takes place over a single evening at a venue chosen by the appointed host. A Mr. Gareth James Butler Esq. aka Grey squirrel. Attendees must bring a moderate to expensive bottle of Whiskey as entrance fee. The Chess Tournament is run co-jointly with a traditional Whiskey tasting. The winning whiskey being carried through to the following year. Chess Format: Championship boards, clocks and pieces are used. The games are 10 mins in duration with each participant playing each opponent twice. This constitutes what has been historically known since ancient times as 'The League of Justice'. This is a ruthless speed chess tournament. If you survive the war on the boards and indeed being plyed with copious amounts of top quality Irish whiskey you will enter the final arena. To battle it out for 'The House Cup' or if you complete the double. I.e the League and then the Final. The winner will enter the Hall of Fame as well as receiving the illusive 'Golden Pawn' 'The League of Justice' Format: 1st + 2nd play for the House Cup. 3rd + 4th play for the Plate 5th + 6th play for the Wooden Spoon Any remaining players serve drinks and attend press interviews as required. Results: Points: 1/win 0.5/draw 0/loss League of Justice Final Standings: 1st Gareth Butler (Grey Squirrel) 2nd Derek O'Connor (Silver fox) 3rd Martin Heduan (Black Dougine) 4th Niall (The Hammer) O'Connor 5th Nick (Pink Panda) Carr Winners: Golden Pawn: none. House Cup: Derek o Connor League of justice: Gareth butler Plate: Niall O'Connor Wooden spoon: Nick Carr Derek (silver fox) O' Connor has drawn first blood. It is indeed a privilege to be crowned the winner of 'The Knights Of the Hill' inaugural Chess and Whiskey Tasting Festival. Derek performed admirably throughout the competition and showed excellent all-around chess ability. He was the unofficial favourite entering the tournament but we always believed that the pressure would be this would-be champions downfall. But to no- avail. After a slow start he quickly got into the pawns and slowly edged his way towards the final. The big game of the night was surely the showdown with his brother Niall and indeed there is a controversial video evidence that needs to be scrutinised but I think it's safe to say the right man won on the night. Derek won the final with a clean sweep, 2/0. The young Gareth butler had nothing to say after the final which was disappointing to all present. I can only think that it was one of two things. Either he really thought he was a better chess player and was just a sore looser or he was just plastered. Both are plausible. Meanwhile Derek performed an especially prepared victory dance so stay tuned for that exclusive expose. Our media department are finding it difficult to remove Martin Heduans loud and abrasive manner and general unruly behaviour from all footage. But stay tuned, it promises to be a real treat. Lastly I have to say that it really was an amazing night. Definitely one I will never forget and indeed I think that all the participants whole heartedly agree. Hopefully the first on many 'Knights of the Hill' tournaments. During the year we will be having a series of tournaments, alcohol will be involved so anyone looking for a laugh please feel free to message us. P.S None of us are brilliant at chess. We genuinely all have varying abilities. Under the time pressure and of course a Whiskey influence it really is anybody's tournament.

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Till next year my brothers!

War on the boards. Derek stands in between the two waring factions to settle the dispute. Martin has a tendency to dispute every game but in this instance he was on the winning side. Niall needs another game to stay in contention for the House Cup.

Niall o Connor v The Panther Round 2 The League of Justice Commentary: your truly Background idiocy: Derek o Connor, Nick Carr

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Game over between Derek (Silver Fox) O'Connor and Martin (Black Panther) Heduan. Rather tentative handshake.....