Sussex Closed Under 8 Championships, Lindfield Primary School, 6th November 2010

This was always going to be a busy day as we had maximised this spacious venue by offering a training day and also an Under-14 County team match in addition to the Under 8 tournament. And so it proved as we welcomed 34 players: most were veterans of last June's under 7 event but some were competing for the very first time.

Special mention should go to the teams from host school Lindfield, and also St. Lawrence. All of the Lindfield team and two-thirds of the St. Lawrence team were Under 7 or Under 6 - what a great basis for the future! The arbiters tell me the standard of chess was very high for this age group with good long games being played - indeed, chess clocks were introduced onto the top 4 boards as the tournament progressed.

All events are subject to administration notices and rules, followed by the inevitable "Any questions........"? This cohort were noticably enthusiastic to get going and frequently a sea of hands would go up causing the arbiter's heart to sink until she realised that all the questions were simply "Can we start now?!"

Our thanks to SJC stalwart and ex-Lindfield parent Jacquie Fitzgerald who continues to help with this event even though her children are now teenagers. Also to Josh and John Higgs who arrived early to help set up.

As usual, plaudits for the catering team - Ed, Derek and Debbie. Special thanks to tournament controller Sue Howell, who, aided by husband and fellow ECF arbiter Chris, coped admirably in the face of failing computer technology. Board stewards for the day were Colin Harding, Brian Stockham and Trevor Norton.

Headline results are below, a full cross table here and a photo gallery here.