Conor Murphy’s performance at the Chess Olympiad was ‘not just good, it was phenomenal’

In a historic performance, Ireland chess player Conor Murphy has made his second “grandmaster norm” at the 44th Chess Olympiad. Murphy placed fifth on his board against many super grandmasters and achieved a 2,700 rating.

“It was an outstanding and remarkable performance and we are delighted. This is another significant milestone,” says Desmond Beatty, chairman of the Irish Chess Union.

“Conor’s performance in Chennai is not just good, it’s phenomenal. Not only did he get a grandmaster norm, his performance against the grandmasters that he played, who would be much stronger than him, was great,” Beatty says.

A grandmaster is a tier higher than an international master. To earn a grandmaster title, a player must achieve three grand norms in tournaments. Murphy beat four grandmasters and made his second grandmaster norm in Chennai.

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He played against six grandmasters in total and beat four of them and drew with one. Murphy lost his final game against Swiss grandmaster Georgiadis Nico. Murphy was unbeaten until the final round and had already secured his norm by then.

The 23-year-old Cambridge graduate, born in England to Irish parents, won the Irish Chess Championships in 2019. He became an international master last year and now needs just one more norm to become a grandmaster. Murphy has reached these milestones in a short time and is soaring in his chess career. International chess master Levy Rozman said in a YouTube video: “It might be too early to say this but that man might be the greatest chess player in the history of Ireland.”

In the Guardian, Leonard Barden said this “was the finest Olympiad performance by an Irish man, more significant than the long ago victory by Brian Reilly against the world ranked Reuben Fine at Warsaw 1935″. Murphy, Barden wrote, “has the potential to become Ireland’s best ever player”.

The 2022 Chess Olympiad was held in India from July 27th to August 9th, ending on Tuesday with a surprise win by the 14th seeded team from Uzbekistan, who edged ahead of the three-time winners Armenia, and India. More than 1,700 players and 180 countries took part.

The Ireland Open Team and Women’s Team secured 60th and 59th rank respectively.