"We begin this month with a trip across the Irish Sea and
call on TICA, short for The Irish Chess Archive. Irish chess is not much reported
in the UK, and its heroes, give or take the odd MacDonald or Mason, are mostly unsung.
TICA challenges this neglect via historical summaries of every significant Irish event
since the Dublin Congress of 1865 (won by Steinitz), a series of biographies
(excellent, and with some zesty anecdotes from today's top players), a complete record
of Irish participation in international team tournaments, and a database of over 700
games featuring Irish players. Enjoyable extras include an evocative photo gallery and
a pair of interactive quizzes, on Irish chess and chess in general, which rather
quickly exposed my ignorance of both subjects. This summary barely scratches the
surface of a site which is as strong on content and factual accuracy as on ease of
access, and on all these criteria sets a standard for other national sites to aspire
to."
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