London Junior Chess Championships: December 2005

As usual, Sussex had a major turnout at both sessions of the London Junior Championships.

During the first weekend (U10 and U14 championships) Jude Lenier took the title of U10 Major Champion on an impressive 7 out of 7, with Shyam Mohan securing the prize for top U9.

During the 2nd weekend, the Sussex success continued. Robert Fitzgerald shared the title in the U8 Championship, only losing one game on the second day. The U12 Major championship, a qualifier for the England trials, saw 5 Sussex players appearing on the top boards over the tournament. At the end of day 1, Alex Galliano was on an impressive 3 out of 3, with Rhys Cumming, chasing an England place, on 2.5. Alex and Rhys met in the 5th round and drew their match. Alex then went on to win his final match of the day leaving him on 5 out of 6, whilst Rhys took a strategic bye to leave him on 4.5 and needing 1.5 points on the last day to secure his place in the England squad. Jude Lenier, Joe Quinn and Ben Blundell were also performing well, with Ben also chasing the 6 points required for entry into the England Squad.

The final day saw some tough matches on the top boards. Alex, who had met most of the major players, entered the last round on 6 points, and a meeting with Craig Whitfield to put him in the places, but unfortunately failed . Rhys, having taken two draws, needed a draw against Louis Thrumble to secure his England place, and he readily accepted a draw offered by his opponent after 30 minutes. Jude Lenier also entered the last round on 5.5 points and also drew his match to leave all 3 Sussex players on a 6 points out of 9, taking joint 6th place. Joe Quinn and Ben Blundell finished with a creditable 5.5 and 5 points respectively. Jude and Joe both receive half norms for the England trial.

Sussex players also put up strong performances in the U12 Minor with George Galliano finishing in equal 5th place on 6 points. Bed Silverstein and Matthew Payne both finished on a creditable 5.5. Joe Fraser competed in the Open and scored 3.5 from 6.