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John Francis O'Donovan
J F O'Donovan 
 

Number of games in database: 17
Years covered: 1937 to 1939
Overall record: +8 -5 =4 (58.8%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games.

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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)

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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  PGN Download 
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. J F O'Donovan vs A J Peters  1-017193761st Oxford - Cambridge Varsity mA03 Bird's Opening
2. J F O'Donovan vs C Poulsen  0-1591939Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed
3. P Vaitonis vs J F O'Donovan  1-0541939Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3E00 Queen's Pawn Game
4. J F O'Donovan vs S Morales  1-0411939Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3C18 French, Winawer
5. A de Groot vs J F O'Donovan  ½-½361939Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3C77 Ruy Lopez
6. L Piazzini vs J F O'Donovan  1-0571939Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3E23 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann
7. A Asgeirsson vs J F O'Donovan  ½-½231939Buenos Aires Olympiad qual-3E34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation
8. J F O'Donovan vs H Cordova 1-0261939Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-BA02 Bird's Opening
9. N Ponce Miranda vs J F O'Donovan  0-1331939Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-BA47 Queen's Indian
10. J F O'Donovan vs E Rojahn  1-0401939Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-BA06 Reti Opening
11. A Tsvetkov vs J F O'Donovan  1-0281939Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-BE02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4
12. J F O'Donovan vs A Ismodes Dulanto  1-0351939Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-BA02 Bird's Opening
13. B Moller vs J F O'Donovan  0-1261939Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-BE23 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann
14. J F O'Donovan vs E Rotunno  ½-½601939Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-BA03 Bird's Opening
15. J Morrison vs J F O'Donovan  ½-½641939Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-BC83 Ruy Lopez, Open
16. J F O'Donovan vs J S Diaz Perez  1-0391939Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-BE94 King's Indian, Orthodox
17. G Vassaux vs J F O'Donovan  1-0551939Buenos Aires Olympiad Final-BE24 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch
 page 1 of 1; 17 games  PGN Download 
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | O'Donovan wins | O'Donovan loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
Aug-11-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  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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