3 Feb
Congratulations to Leo Tsoi.  In the Under 14 section of the South Of England Championship, held in Surrey last weekend, Leo scored 4/5.  That gave him equal first place with three other players.

Leo's success means he now has a half norm towards being able to play in the European or World Youth.  A Similar success in a similar tournament will mean he is eligible to play in those events.

Well done Leo!

8 Jan
Well, we all make mistakes.  But when a mistake goes on a website like this everyone can see it.

Junior Squad Championship
Anyone interested in the Junior Squad Championships being played in April should note that the details shown previously on the calendar page and the Junior Squad Championship page were WRONG!!! They have both now been corrected.
Excuse me while I hang my head in shame

The date for the event is 14 and 15 April, not as shown, and the venue where it will be played has still to be confirmed, but likely to be Kingston upon Thames.  The contact for the tournament was also wrong - you should contact Marc Shaw if you would like more information.
It just wasn't my day.
Please miss, can I go home now?

But seriously, very sorry about the mix up, and if you're taking part, Good chess!

3 Jan
Looks like quite a few of you have an eye on the England Under 11 Chess Team Trials Qualifiers.

Jacob Boswell
As I told you recently, Jacob Boswell is half way to qualifying for the England U11 chess team trials.  At the British Rapidplay in Halifax he scored 4 out of 5.  In December, Jacob went to London, to compete in the London Junior Championships.  He played really well and scored 4 points.

Ashwin Kalyana
Another well done must go to Ashwin Kalyana, who also competed in the London Junior Championships.  Ashwin scored 6 points.

Two more players also competed in the British Rapidplay, Aroun Kalyana and Neddy Tsoi.  Both played really well.

British Rapidplay results
London Junior Championship results

3 Jan
A very happy new year to everyone.  I trust you all enjoyed a really good time over the Christmas break.

For Parents, Teachers and Coaches, just a reminder that if you're interested in entering a team in the Primary Schools Championships (also called Pontins Chess), you still have time to enter a team.  The first round can be played nearby, and a number of teams from from each first round tournament then qualify for the semi finals, played on the coast during the summer.

Traci has all the details, or you can find out more here, or download an entry form.  First round matches will be held across the country between January and March.

17 Dec
You may have mixed feelings towards Maths, but you should know that a quadrangle has 4 sides.  That means it's a type of square.  In the same way, the quadrangular chess tournament is a competition between 4 parts of the country, Scotland, Wales, Midlands and North.

Since many of the players in the Midlands team play or have played for Staffordshire, both Traci and myself thought you might be interested.  The regional matches were played in Liverpool College on 10 and 11 December.

Under 12 section
In the Under 12 section, Midlands finished first with 22½ points, ahead of Scotland on 19, Wales on 10 and North on 8½.

Under 14 section
In the Under 14 section, North finished first with 24½ points, ahead of Scotland on 17, Midlands on 15½ and Wales on 3.

Under 16 section
In the Under 16 section, North finished first with 14 points, ahead of Scotland on 8½, Wales on 7½ and Midlands on 6.  Although Midlands finished fourth, our team held second place Scotland to a draw.

Some players did better than others, but EVERY PLAYER who took part was important.  Well done to all of you.

Also, thanks to the parents and everyone else involved with the Midlands team.

17 Dec
Congratulations to Jacob Boswell.  Jacob is now half way towards qualification for the
England Under 11 team trials.

I haven't included the tournament details yet, but Well done Jacob.

24 Jan
I've just been chatting with Traci, who was delighted to tell me that Jacob Boswell has now secured a place in the England Under 11 team trials qualfier to be played in April.  If he does well there, Jacob can become part of the England Under 11 Chess team.

If you are interested in how to show you might be good enough to play for the national team, click here There are details of which tournaments you can compete in to show how good you are.

Well done Jacob
and Good Chess everyone!

24 Jan
This year's Staffordshire Congress lasts two days.  It starts on Saturday 14 April and finishes on Sunday 15 April.  It is open to players of all ages.  Some of the players taking part will be young (like you), others will be adults.  During the weekend you play 5 games.  One game is played on Saturday evening.  If you prefer not to be there for that game, you can take a bye.  A bye means you get half a point for a game but don't have to play.
Full details

Entry forms
Entry form

Entry form

Contact:
David Anderton
Tel: 07970 986373
Email: .

8 Jan
Two young players are rapidly ensuring that the Staffordshire Terriers chess team is a force to be reconed with in the Midlands.  Yesterday afternoon the team played its third game of season.

Karthik Selvan
Karthik plays at Bloxwich Juniors.  In the first game of the season (last October), Karthik beat a player graded 54 from Nottingham.  In November, he was beaten by a player from Mercia Chess Club, and yesterday he beat a player graded 98.  Denis Nesbitt, the Terriers team captain said in yesterday's match, Karthik was the last game to finish and he beat a more experienced opponent.

Alex Cartlidge
Many of you will be familiar with Alex's name.  Alex plays at Cheddleton & Leek Chess Club.  In the team's first match of the season, Alex was on board 4 and lost to a player graded 109.  In the second game, he was on board 7 and beat David Buckley from Bushbury.  In yesterday's game he played on board 5 and drew against a player graded 115.

Many of the players the Terriers face in Inter-County chess are adult players, so very well done to Alex and Karthik for your success.  The Terriers have now won two of their three games this season.
Terriers team home page

17 Dec
In the tables below
W - result against the Wales opponent
N - result against the North opponent
S - result agains the Scotland opponent.

Under 16 section

	W	N	S	Pts
Henrik Stepanyan	1	½	1	2½
Leo Tsoi	0	0	1	1
Arun Maimi	1	0	½	1½
Alex Cartlidge	0	0	0	0
Dominic Taylor	0	0	0	0
Sam Beardmore	0	-	-	0
Alex Fergusson	-	½	½	1

Under 14 section

	W	N	S	Pts
Akito Oyama	1	1	½	2½
Harry Croasdale	0	1	1	2
Marcus Rose	1	0	0	1
Sarras Mehan	0	½	½	1
Isaac Stables	1	0	0	1
James Kenyon	1	0	1	2
Owen Robinson	1	½	½	2
Jack Healings	1	0	0	1
Sam Beardmore	-	0	1	1
Jacob Cartlidge	-	0	0	0

The team also scored two points because of default wins.

Under 12 section

	W	N	S	Pts
Mark Kenyon	1	0	½	1½
Aloysius Lip	1	1	½	2½
Stephen Whatley	1	1	1	3
Matthew Fergusson	1	1	½	2½
Aswin Kalyana	1	1	1	3
Jacob Boswell	½	1	0	1½
Seth Tsang	1	1	1	3
Alex Jarvis	1	1	1	3
Daniel Holland	½	½	0	1
James Kearney	½	1	0	1½

Well done all of you!