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John Francis O'Donovan

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A03		Bird's Opening (2 games)
A02		Bird's Opening (2 games)
E23		Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann (2 games)

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JOHN FRANCIS O'DONOVAN (died Nov-05-1999) Ireland (federation/nationality Argentina) [what is this?] John Francis O'Donovan At the end of 1930s, he was one of the strongest Irish chess players. John O'Donovan played Board 2 (de facto Board 1 after O'Hanlon returned home after the preliminary stage) for the Irish team at the 1939 Olympiad. He won the 1936 London Boys' Championship (30 Dec 1935 – 4 Jan 1936 to be precise) and played for Cambridge University in the annual varsity match with Oxford in 1937, 1938 and 1939 (in the final year he was President of Cambridge University Chess Club). He also played with success in the subsidiary sections of some of the major English tournaments of the late 1930s (e.g. Margate 1937, BCF Championships Blackpool 1937, BCF Championships Brighton 1938). John Francis O'Donovan played for Ireland in the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires. He remained in Argentina after the end of the Chess Olympiad due to the outbreak of World War II. He taught English at the Engineering School in Buenos Aires for 26 years. http://www.irlchess.com/2011/06/23/... Last updated: 2025-05-13 16:04:17

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page 1 of 1; 17 games    Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. J F O'Donovan vs A J Peters   1-0 17 1937 61st Oxford - Cambridge Varsity m A03 Bird's Opening 2. J F O'Donovan vs C Poulsen   0-1 59 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3 C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed 3. P Vaitonis vs J F O'Donovan   1-0 54 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3 E00 Queen's Pawn Game 4. J F O'Donovan vs S Morales   1-0 41 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3 C18 French, Winawer 5. A de Groot vs J F O'Donovan   ½-½ 36 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3 C77 Ruy Lopez 6. L Piazzini vs J F O'Donovan   1-0 57 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3 E23 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann 7. A Asgeirsson vs J F O'Donovan   ½-½ 23 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3 E34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation 8. J F O'Donovan vs H Cordova 1-0 26 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-B A02 Bird's Opening 9. N Ponce Miranda vs J F O'Donovan   0-1 33 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-B A47 Queen's Indian 10. J F O'Donovan vs E Rojahn   1-0 40 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-B A06 Reti Opening 11. A Tsvetkov vs J F O'Donovan   1-0 28 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-B E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 12. J F O'Donovan vs A Ismodes Dulanto   1-0 35 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-B A02 Bird's Opening 13. B Moller vs J F O'Donovan   0-1 26 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-B E23 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann 14. J F O'Donovan vs E Rotunno   ½-½ 60 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-B A03 Bird's Opening 15. J Morrison vs J F O'Donovan   ½-½ 64 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-B C83 Ruy Lopez, Open 16. J F O'Donovan vs J S Diaz Perez   1-0 39 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-B E94 King's Indian, Orthodox 17. G Vassaux vs J F O'Donovan   1-0 55 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-B E24 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch  page 1 of 1; 17 games

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Aug-11-12    GrahamClayton: One of the lesser-known players who stayed in Argentina at the conclusion of the 1939 Olympiad: http://www.irlchess.com/2011/06/23/...

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