The Ennis Shield is the third division of the Leinster Chess Leagues run by the Leinster Chess Union. Founded in 1926, it was originally the second division of the Leinster leagues with its top teams promoted to the
Armstrong Cup The Armstrong Cup is the oldest Irish team league competition and has been played every year since 1888, perhaps giving it a claim on the longest running chess competition in the world. The Club is named after William Armstrong BL (1849-1899) who pr ...
, in 1971 another league the
Heidenfeld Trophy The Heidenfeld Trophy is chess league competition in Leinster, Ireland, it is the second division of the Leinster Chess Union. Founded in 1971 with the restructuring of the division one Armstrong Cup it was named after the famous German born chess p ...
was formed as the 2nd tier of Leinster Chess. The League and trophy are named after Maj. Ennis who presented the trophy to the League. Teams in the League consist of six players, and there are twelve teams in the league. The winning two teams get promoted to the Heidenfeld Trophy and the bottom two teams get relegated to the ''
O'Hanlon Cup {{Short description, Chess league in Ireland
O'Hanlon Cup is a chess league in Ireland, it is the fourth division of the Leinster Leagues, run by the ''Leinster Chess Union''. Originally it was the third division, but since the establishment in 1970 ...
''.
The first Ennis Shield 1926–1927 season, was competed for by UCD and Irish Army GHQ (McKee Barracks) the lowest two teams in the previous seasons Armstrong Cup, they were joined by teams from Rathmines, The Jewish Union (Harrington Street, Dublin), Dublin Corporation (Ormond Quay) and Non-Commissioned Army Officers side.
Winners
* 1927 - University College Dublin
* 1933 - Rathmines
* 1934 - Rathmines
* 1936 - Jewish Chess Club
* 1958 - Phibsboro
* 1961 - Dublin
* 1967 - Rathmines
* 1985 - Kilkenny
* 1990 - St. Benildus
* 1997 - University College Dublin
* 1998 - Lucan
* 2000 - Rathfarnham/Tallaght
* 2002 - Wicklow
* 2003 - St. Benildus
* 2004 - Dublin
[Leinster Leagues](_blank)
Leinster Chess Union.
* 2005 - Jobstown
* 2006 - Curragh
* 2007 - Elm Mount A
* 2008 - Phibsboro
* 2009 - Phibsboro
* 2010 - St. Benildus
* 2011 - Rathmines B
* 2012 - Naomh Barróg
* 2013 - Lucan
* 2014 - Inchicore
* 2015 - Blanchardstown
* 2016 - Bray/Greystones
* 2017 - Gonzaga
* 2018 - Malahide
* 2019 - St. Benildus
* 2020 - Season Abandoned due to Covid-19
Leinster Chess Union Ennis Shield 2019-2020
UCD were leading the table and were promoted to the Heidenfeld Trophy along with Gonzaga for the 2022-2023 season.
* 2021 - Season Cancelled due to Covid-19
* 2022 - Season Cancelled due to Covid-19
* 2023 - Gorey
References
Chess in Ireland
Chess competitions