Junior League Gives Rise to Fighting Chess

Shropshire junior chess players from across the County came together to do battle over the board on Saturday 27th April at Trinity School, Ford.  Lots of hard fought games took place, with the teams representing Thomas Telford School (2 teams), Idsall School, Condover Primary School and the Shropshire Junior Chess Academy (2 teams).

It was clear that the battle for first place was going to be between Idsall and Shropshire Chess Academy A team, as both teams had won all their matches leading up to the lunch break.  In the head to head clash after lunch, experience prevailed, with Shropshire juniors  winning on all four boards.  Both teams won their final remaining match to finish clear first and second overall.

All the participating teams deserve credit and some gutsy performances  were achieved by many players, including some who were considerably younger than the rest.  So well done and keep working at the chess!

Thank you too, for parents, teachers and organisers who make school and other clubs possible by their hard work and dedication.

The event also doubled up as a UK Chess Challenge qualifier and a number of players will be travelling down to Hereford next weekend to take part in  the Megafinal competition, competing against junior players from other areas who have qualified in similar events.

Final Table of Results

Position	Team	Match Points	Game Points
1	Shropshire Junior Chess Academy A	10	58
2	Idsall School	8	48
3	Thomas Telford A	6	41
4	Shropshire Junior Chess Academy B	3	38
5	Thomas Telford B	3	34

Junior chess league - Sat 27 April

Look forward to seeing you all at the junior chess league event on Sat 27 April.

We will also combine the event with a qualifier for the UK Chess Challenge. Registration at 9.30am, first round at 10am and should be complete before 1.30pm.

See you there!

CANCELLED: UK Chess Challenge 23 March 2013

TODAY'S CHESS HAS BEEN CALLED OFF BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER CONDITIONS - NEW DATE FOR UK CHESS CHALLENGE TO BE ADVISED SOON

This Saturday’s junior chess session will be a competition, which is a qualifier for the “Megafinal” of the UK Chess Challenge.

We have run these for a number of years now and they always prove popular with the players. Registration is 9:30-10:00, with the play starting at 10:00, or shortly after. There will be at least six rounds and prizes are awarded for success (badges, gonks and gold dots, primarily!) We should be finished by around 1:00pm.

 Please spread the word around friends and schools and hope to see you on Saturday.

Shropshire Junior Chess League Confirmed

Thanks to all the schools who have already registered an interest in the new junior chess league we are launching.  The date for the first league day has now been set - Saturday 27^th April 2013.

How will it operate? Teams of 4 players will compete against each other on a league basis. 

Download the flyer here for full details and register your team now!

And check out the calendar for details of other Shropshire Junior chess events.

Junior chess Sat 26 Jan

The next junior chess session takes place this Saturday 26 Jan at Trinity School, Ford, 10am-12pm.

All welcome!

New Junior Chess League to be Launched

The Shropshire Junior Chess Academy is planning to launch a junior chess league in 2013.  This is an exciting opportunity for schools and junior chess players to compete as members of a junior team against other similarly-minded chess enthusiasts.

How will it operate?

Teams of 4 players will compete against each other on a league basis.  Matches against other teams will be scheduled to take place once a term, on a Saturday.  The exact nature of the league will reflect the composition of teams entered but it will generally be based around year groupings / age.

Our school doesn’t have a chess club but would still like to enter a team

That’s fine.  If the school has a number of keen young chess players, they may wish to form their own team(s).  Alternatively, you may like help in setting up a school club, in which case, please get in touch to discuss; we may be able to help.

Is there a cost?

As this is the first year of operation, we are not making any charge at all to enter teams.  We do ask that you supply us with contact details of a single team captain / organiser, who will need to be an adult.  Also, you will have to arrange your team’s own transport to and from the venue (currently, we have access to venues in Telford and Shrewsbury and it is anticipated that we will alternate between these two centres).  The Junior Chess Academy also has its own equipment, so that’s also taken care of.

Are there prizes?

Definitely!  Our experience of running junior chess is that the participants appreciate small tokens of their achievements (rosettes, badges etc) and we will award a trophy to the winning team(s) at the end of the year.  The intention is also to reward individual achievement with special prizes, which will be decided as the league develops.

I want to register an interest – what do I do now? 

Email us now stating: 

• School name
• School contact details (address, telephone number, email)
• Team captain / organiser contact name
• Team captain / organiser  contact details, if different from 2
• Likely numbers of junior players (grouped by ages / year group)\

francis.best@gmx.com

steve.rooney@busandcoach.com

Good luck to the Gigafinalists

Well done to all those Shropshire juniors who qualified for the UK Chess Challenge gigafinal and best of luck to all of you for the next stage on 7-8 July.

U10 Boys
Chris Coull, St Giles Primary, Shrewsbury
Luca Evola, St George's Primary, Shrewsbury
Jonathon McMahon, Castle House, Newport

U11 Boys
Heath Pearson, Oxon School, Shrewsbury - Won his section with 6/6!

U12 Boys
Lewis Clarke, Castle House, Newport

U13 Boys
David Forster, Bridgnorth Endowed

U14 Boys
Gareth Gower, Abraham Darby, Telford

U15 Boys
Athar Mehmood, Wrekin College

U16 girls
Rebecca Davis, Abraham Darby, Telford

U18 Boys
James Sloan, Idsall School, Shifnal

Gearing up for the Megafinal

Our next session will take place on Sat 28 April 2012 at Trinity School, Ford and will be an invaluable "warm-up" for those who qualified for the UK Chess Challenge megafinal as well as a great fun coaching session for everyone.

We will cover some basic checkmates (without stalemating), how to avoid Scholar's mate as well as tips  on winning more games and how to bounce back after losing!


Hope to see lots of your there!

UK Chess Challenge 2012

A Shropshire qualifying event for the UK Chess Challenge takes place on Sat 3 March 2012

Shropshire juniors have a chance to compete once again in this fantastic UK-wide competition that involves around 70,000 children from 5-18.

The UK Chess Challenge gives everyone a chance to win a prize and the chance to qualify for regional and even national levels of the competition as it progresses towards identifying the best UK junior chess players of each age group.

The Shropshire qualifying event is open to chess players of all abilities and takes place at Trinity School, Butts Lane, Ford, nr Shrewsbury on Sat 3 March from 9.30am - 1.00pm.

No-one goes away empty-handed with lots of fun prizes on offer!

The entry fee is £3, payable on the day. For more information call Steve Rooney on 01694 723724 or Francis Best on 01743 821220.

Next junior event 4 February

Saturday 4 February is our first meeting for 2012. It will be at the usual venue, Trinity School, Ford from 10am to 12.00pm.

See you there.

UK Chess Challenge

Enter now for this year's UK Chess Challenge. This fantastic tournament involves more than 65,000 children each year and claims to be the largest chess tournament in the world. The first stage begins in the spring term held in schools or local junior clubs.

We will be running a qualifying event at the Junior Chess Academy in February/March 2012, but schools can get involved directly by holding their own events. There are lots of fun prizes supplied as part of the entry pack and children can qualify for a Regional Megafinal and National Gigafinal and Terrafinal where there are some serious csh prizes!

For more information see the new UK Chess Challenge website - http://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com.

If your school in Shropshire needs any assistance with equipment, or advice from local chess coaches please get in contact us on 01694 723724.

Junior chess club gets underway

The first junior chess club session of the season starts on Saturday 17 September - 10am -12.00pm at Trinity School, Butts Lane, Ford.

All abilities welcome for some fun games, puzzles and 'light' chess coaching.

Cost £3, just turn up and pay on the day.

further dates for the autumn term -
Sat 5 November
Sat 3 December

See you there ...

Four trophies at Megafinal!

A trip down the A49 to the Megafinal in Hereford saw Shropshire juniors return with four trophies and a number of qualifiers for the next stage of the UK Chess Challenge.

Six Shropshire juniors won their sections to be declared Supremos and qualify for the Northern Gigafinal that takes place in July. Two Shropshire junior academy members - Heath Pearson and Francis Rooney - won all their games at the Megafinal. Ten-year old Heath swept aside all opposition in his section to take the Supremo slot, and Francis Rooney won all six of his games in the tough combined section for 14-18 year-olds and was under 16 Supremo.

Photo - back L-R: James Sloan, U17B Supremo; Matthew Best, U15B Supremo; Francis Rooney, U16B Supremo; and front: Heath Pearson, U10B Supremo.

Shropshire winners at 2011 Megafinal:

Under 7 boys supremo Billy Hudson, Castle House School

Under 9 boys runner-up Luca Ebola, St George's School

Under 10 Supremo - Heath Pearson, Oxon School who scored 6/6

Under 10 girls runner-up Rhiannon Wilson, Radbrook School

Under 13 boys runner up Morgan Warcroft, Abraham Darby

Under 15 Supremo - Matthew Best, Mary Webb School - 4/6 Under 15 boys runner-up Ben Spicer, Bridgnorth Endowed

Under 16 Supremo - Francis Rooney, Church Stretton School - 6/6

Under 17 Supremo - James Sloan, Idsall School - 5/6

Under 18 girls Supremo - Jade Bonner, Abraham Darby School

Under 18 boys Supremo - Ben Treadwell, Abraham Darby School

Winners of rosettes for those who scored at least 3.5 points from their 6 matches were: Ella Mates, St Lawrences U11G; Alfie Deal and Ben Sutton, Castle House U10B; Oscar Stone and Duncan Parry, St Georges U11B; Darren Ward, Abraham Darby U12B; Matthew Taylor, Idsall School U13B.

Shropshire schools represented at the Megafinal were: Abraham Darby, Bridgnorth Endowed, Castle House, Church Stretton, Idsall, Mary Webb, Radbrook, St George's, St Lawrences.

(Apologies if I have missed any of the Shropshire juniors from the results or got any names wrong, just leave a comment with corrections and I'll edit.)

Megafinal this Saturday

Just a reminder that the UK Chess Challenge megafinal takes place this Saturday 7 May. As a result we have cancelled our normal monthly session and will meet again in June. Results from the megafinal will be posted when available.

Shropshire juniors to take part in Megafinal

The Megafinal stage of the UK Chess Challenge takes place on Sat 7 May at Thruxtone School, Hereford. those that have qualified for this stage of the event should have received entry forms, if you haven't sent yours in, then do so without delay! Look forward to seeing lots of you there!

UK Chess Challenge 2011

It's UK Chess Challenge time once again!

Shropshire juniors have a chance to compete once again in this fantastic UK-wide competition that involves around 70,000 children from 5-18.

The UK Chess Challenge gives everyone a chance to win a prize and the chance to qualify for regional and even national levels of the competition as it progresses towards identifying the best UK junior chess players of each age group.

The Shropshire qualifying event is open to chess players of all abilities and takes place at Trinity School, Butts Lane, Ford, nr Shrewsbury on Sat 5 Feb from 9.30am - 1.30pm. There are lots of prizes and no-one goes away empty-handed!

The entry fee is £3, payable on the day. For more information call Steve Rooney on 01694 723724 or Francis Best on 01743 821220.

Wrekin congress success

Four Shropshire juniors took part in the Wrekin Chess Congress last weekend in Telford and all four ended on the same points and shared the junior prize for the tournament.

Heath Pearson (9) was the youngest competitor in the tournament and following a win in his very first competitive game he finished on 2.5 points along with Matthew Best, Peter Mellor and Francis Rooney.

Congratulations to all of them. Heath's first win is shown below.

The diagram above shoes the final position after 24 ...Kxf7.

Graham Toone (109) - Heath Pearson [ug] Wrekin Minor, 08.01.2011 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 c6 Heath has learnt the Scandanavian Defence ... 5.Nf3 Qc7 6.Be2 Nf6 7.Bg5 Bf5 8.Ne5 e6 9.g4 h6 An aggressive response, but that's the way he likes to play! 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3 Qb6 A little too aggressive, leaves the Bishop on f5 en prise. 12.Nc4 Qd8 13.gxf5 exf5 14.Be5 Bb4 15.Qd3 f4 16.Qf5 Nbd7 17.Nd6+ It's looking a bit tough for black here, but don't panic ... 17...Kf8 18.Bh5 Qa5 19.0-0 Bxd6 20.Bxd6+ Kg7 21.Rfe1 Both players have missed the unprotected queens, so ... 21...Qxf5 ... and now white has lost the leader of his attack. 22.Re7 Rae8 23.Rxf7+ Kg8 24.Be2 The final error, the bishop is heading for c4 where for a discovered check, but white has forgotten that the rook on f7 is now unprotected. 24...Kxf7 Heath gets a win against a 109-graded player in his first competitive game! 0-1

Left to right: Francis Rooney, Heath Pearson and Matthew Best (Peter Mellor had to leave before the prizegiving.)

New monthly chess Grand Prix

A series of monthly Grand Prix chess events kicks off on Sat 2 October at Trinity School, Ford.

The event is open to chess players of all abilities and will involve a monthly tournament with prizes for each event and end of season series prizes.

It takes place on first Saturday of each month from October to December 2010 and then February to July 2011.

A poster is attached, please feel free to distribute this and display it in school etc.

Puzzle time

Here's a challenging puzzle for you all.

It was set by Andrew Martin IM at the recent coaching session. White is about to queen its c-pawn but has to be careful about that black bishop!

White has the move, how can he force a draw? It's a very tricky solution but very beautiful. If you can find it, leave your answer as a comment here.

Star coach for Shropshire juniors

International Master Andrew Martin conducted a fantastic coaching session for Shropshire juniors on Saturday 12 June. The event was organised by Shropshire Junior Chess Academy.

Local juniors worked through a tough series of challenges set for them by Andrew and in the prixze competition Sam Eardley and Laura Newey won special prizes of Andrew's chess DVDs.

The session was a great success and we look forward to all the juniors putting what they have learnt into practice in the forthcoming season.

Following the coaching session there was a simultaneous match involving Andrew playing 19  opponents at the same time. The juniors did very well at this as well with Matthew Best getting into a winning position only to be squeezed out by a mating attack and Heath Pearson being one of the last to finish.

The final result of the simul was Andrew Martin 17.5 Shropshire 1.5 with Peter Kitchen, Shrewsbury getting a striking win and Andy Tunks getting a well-deserved draw.