NYCA U14 Championship: 7th October 2007, Birmingham

Early start for Birmingham and a rendezvous with Trevor and Alex at Junction 5 (M40), everything went to plan, Trevor dropped Alex off and quickly went through a few notes for the all important Team Talk.

We arrived early and chose the room right opposite the Playing Hall, it was then an anxious wait by the Team Manager that everybody would arrive okay. Well done to the Parents and Matthew Turner who brought Rhys up from Millfield ( Somerset ) for this Competition, they all arrived on time.

On paper we knew we had a strong Team, with 11 out the 12 Players all members of the National Squad. Seven Teams were competing for the U14’s Championships Sussex , Berkshire, Yorkshire, Warwickshire, South Wales, Devon and Lancashire . Just before Round 1 I gave my Team Talk and sorting out the Board Order, (thanks to Jonathan and Trevor for this).

At the end of Round 1 Sussex were leading with 10 Points (9 Wins 2 Draws, and a loss on time) Positions: Sussex 10pts, Berkshire 8.5 pts, Yorkshire 7pts.

Round 2 and Sussex produce an even better result, (10 Wins only 1 Draw and 1 loss on time). After Round 2 Sussex maintain their lead, now on 20.5pts, Berkshire 18pts and Yorkshire 14.5pts.

Round 3 was the make and break round so we thought, with 3 of our Players playing against Berkshire, Rhys on Board 2, Shyam on Board 7, and Chris on Board 10. (Well done to each of them Rhys won and the other two drew). Although not our best Round Sussex 9.5pts (8 Wins 3 Draws and 1 Loss). After Round 3 Positions were Sussex 30pts, Berkshire 26pts, and Yorkshire 21pts.

Final Round 4 began knowing we had a 4 point cushion, over our arch rivals Berkshire, who beat us recently at the U14’s friendly. As news began to filter through Berkshire had taken a maximum 12 pts from 12 games. (A tremendous fight back by them). But we still had Chris and Thomas still playing: well done for keeping your nerve, they won both their games, so at the end of Round 4, Sussex achieved 10pts (10 Wins and 2 Losses).

Final Positions: Sussex 40pts, Berkshire 38pts, Yorkshire 26pts, South Wales 22.5pts, Warwickshire 16.5pts, Lancashire 16pts and Devon 8pts.

Then it was into Prize Giving for the trophies to each player, as Team Manager (I did have quiet word with the Berkshire Team Manager and asked him what he had said in his final Team Talk to produce such a good last round).

The Sussex Team were consistent in each Round and proved we were the strongest Team at the Championships. The Players who maintained a 100% record were Alex (Board 1), Rhys (Board 2), Ram (Board 8) and Thomas (Board 12).

Well Done to all the Players and Parents you were a credit to Sussex Junior Chess.

Andy Payne
Team Manager