Sussex Junior Chess

Jonathan Finn competed in the 1-day rapidplays. Warming up on the Saturday he was unbeaten and shared first place with Surrey's Luke Barry...and followed up by winning Sunday's event outright with 5½ out of 6!

There was a lot of pressure in the U12 section as this was the section where aspiring U11 England Squad members needed to score 3½ to earn a 'half-norm'. Congratulations to our highest placed player in this section, Josh Higgs - who earned his place in the squad last year - in an excellent 2nd place amongst a very strong field. Joseph Allin gained his all important 2nd half-norm, securing his invitation to the U11 trial in April.

In the U9s, Oli Howell flew the Sussex flag with another 2nd place. Daniel Finn was awarded a controller's prize for finishing just outside the prizes having played prizewinners (in this case - Oli!). Matthew Finn also had a good tournament, scoring over 50% with 3½.

Completing a good weekend for the Howells, Matthew scooped a controllers' prize in the U14 Minor - again, for good chess finishing just outside the prizes having played prizewinners.

WWofE photo 2012

WWofE Photo 2012

WWofE photo 2012

15th - 19th February - e2e4 Brighton International

The e2e4 organisation brought it's popular 9-round, FIDE-rated, all-play-all format to Brighton over the half term break.

Matt Payne, 17, who has recently been helping the U9s at our training days, finished joint first in the Major A section with 6½ out of 9; and a TPR for the tournament of over 2000. In the same event 14 year old Morgan Blake scored 4½, putting in a tournament performance nearly 300 points above his current FIDE rating.

Brian Tarhon chose the tough Challengers B section where he was the youngest player, and David Liu gained his first FIDE grade in the Major C. Both performed above their grades for the tournament.

28th-29th January - South of England Championships, Yateley

The South of England Championships are always popular with Sussex players, being not only relatively local, but also a stop-off on the NCJS (National Chess Junior Squad) circuit with many other sections catering for all ages from Under 7 to Under 18.

This year was no exception with no less than 29 of our players attending - the youngest being twins Oliver and Thomas Manchester in the under-7s, and the oldest Will Graham in the Under-18s.

Results are still reaching me, so apologies if i've missed anyone out, but highlights so far.....

Jonathan Finn - Joint winner in the U13 section (4/5)

David Liu - prizewinner in U12 Closed section (3½/5)

Cassie Graham - winner U11s (4½/5)

Freya Finnegan, Freddie Coleman, Edward Critchley all securing half-norms in the U11s

Oliver Thorne - joint 3rd in the U10s (3½/6)

Lucy Bennet-Stevens - winner U9s (5½/6)

Oliver Manchester - 4th in the U7s

Thanks to Jonathan Tuck, Mike Forster and Dave Graham for support and coaching during the weekend.

Full crosstables are available here.

28 December - 5 January - Hastings International CC

Pairs at the Pig winners Alongside SJC alumni GM David Howell and IM Thomas Rendle, Amy Hoare and Ollie Willson both entered the 9-round Masters event. Both played against higher rated opposition, achieving positive performance ratings. Amy drew with one player 200 points above her and two players 250 points higher.

Hastings has many evening events, one of which is a 'pairs chess' tournament named "Pairs at the Pig". For the second year running Amy partnered IM Jack Rudd in the winning team.

Parents also got in the act - Ollie's Dad Gary shared 2nd place in the New Year Morning Tournament C section, and Oli and Matthew Howell's Dad Chris shared 1st place in the Christmas A section.

Matthew and Oli both played in the Christmas D section - Oli winning a game overcoming a 40 point grading difference.

The intrepid Josh Higgs set the standard for chess endurance; moving from the London Junior to the Hastings Weekend Minor and then the SJC Hastings GP - 19 games in 6 consecutive days!

Well done to all.

28th-30th December - LJCC Part 2

Jamie LJCC U12 Minor winner Sandwiched between Christmas and New Year it was the turn of our Under 8s and Under 12s to face some of the toughest opposition in the region. This event is prestigious and high standard because players have to qualify to compete in it.

Star of the show was Jamie Ward who won the U12 Minor convincingly with an amazing 7½ out of 9. Seb & Alistair were also spotted having fun mid-table at this event - in fact, Alistair was typically seen leading the Sussex charge at the head of the queue for breakfast!

The U12 Major was a hard place to be. Josh Higgs, already a member of the England Squad, led Sussex from the front finishing on 6 out of 9 - just a half point outside the prizes. Next came under 11s Callum Brewer and Cassie Graham on 5½ - enough for Cassie to secure the SCCU U11 Girl title. Commiserations to Joseph Allin (U10) and Thomas Finn who just missed the England Trial qualification bar of 5 points this time.

Finally, our lone ranger in the Under 8s was Calum Salmons who achieved over 50% (4 out of 7) in his first out of County experience - well done.

The local press picked up on Jamie's win - read more and again, this time in the Crawley Observer.

LJCC U12 Group Sussex

SJC Bootcamp

U12 Major - The Sussex between-rounds bootcamp!

17th-18th December - LJCC Part 1

The prestigious LJCC started this weekend with the Under 10s and Under 14s competing over two days.

Leading the Sussex pack was Robert Fitzgerald who finished 2nd= in the U14 Major with 4½ out of 6 - the only player to take a half point off the eventual winner. Brian Tarhon, still only U11, scored over 50% against a very tough and experienced field.

Brothers Matthew and Oli Howell both had a great weekend - Matthew scored 4 out of 6 in the U14 Minor, only just out of the prizes in 6th place - while Oli, only U9, secured an impressive 8th place in the U10 Major with 5 out of 7.

The Finn family were out in force - Jonathan and Thomas (only U11) both securing 50% in the U14 Minor. Daniel Finn (U9), along with the rapidly improving Matthew Forster, both scored an excellent 4 out of 7 in the U10 Major. A quiet day this time for U9 Lucy who only started competing seriously this season - just qualifying for the Major is an achievement in itself.

Finally to the U10 Minor - well done to Oliver Thorne our top-scorer in the U10 Minor with 4 out of 7; Madeleine Liu and Matthew Finn just missed the 50% bar this time.

Well done all - the London is always a tough event, but great experience before the team events start in the New Year.

17th December - Copthorne Prep 5th at IAPS Rapidplay

IAPS Rapidplay photo SJC regulars Daniel Gooda, Gabriel Jones and Amardip Ahluwalia led the Copthorne Prep school team to 5th place at the IAPS Rapidplay hosted by Aldro School. Amardip had a particularly good day, scoring an excellent 4½ out of 5 securing second place in the U9 category. Daniel and Gabriel both won medals with 3½ and 3 points respectively.

10th - 11th December 2011 - Cuckfield Christmas Tree Festival

The Sutton Family have once again decorated a Christmas Tree on a chess theme as part of Cuckfield Holy Trinity's annual festival. I believe that 2 years ago, a certain Borland family became aware of SJC through visiting this event......what will this year bring?

3rd - 11th December 2011 - The London Chess Classic

Sussex juniors and Windlesham House pupils Eleanor and Philippa Beckwith-Smith were chosen to make the ceremonial first move in round 1 for GMs Aronian and Kramnik at The London Chess Classic:

With thanks to Brendan O'Gorman for the right to publish these photos.

25th - 27th November 2011 - Brian, Matthew and Amy at e2e4 Brighton Congress

The e2e4 organisation have rapidly gained a reputation for well run FIDE rated congresses, the latest being held in Brighton.

11 year old Brian Tarhon and Amy Hoare bravely entered the Open section and both turned-in impressive performances. Brian finished in 11th place with 3 out of 5, earning himself a TPR of 2215 and a £50 improved performance prize. Amy also had a good weekend with 2.5 from 4 games; a TPR of 2278.

In the Major section, Matthew Payne also had a great weekend, finishing 6th with 3.5 and a TPR of 2157.

17th - 27th November 2011 - World Youth Chess Championships, Brazil

World Youth 2011 team photo Back in the Spring, Cosima Keen was invited to attend a trial to become part of the England team at the World Youth Chess Championships....and was duly selected as our Under 12 Girl representative.

After several months of hard work, the team arrived in Brazil. Cosima got off to a flying start, forging through to 4½ out of 6. This success took it's toll as it then propelled her to the upper regions of the draw and some fearsome opponents! Still - a fantastic performance to be proud of - 50% against the best in the World.

Update 1: 23rd November: Isabel writes....

"Internet here functions a bit like there is a man on a bicycle in the basement turning a
dynamo. Imagine the speed when everyone turns on to find out the pairings. The only time you get service is about 3am!

Cosima however appears to be on great form. R1 black against Norway, she was generally nervous about the whole tournament, and maybe hadn't quite got over the 27 hour journey. Playing for more than 5 hours and the last players in the hall she drew! R2 white against Wales. A quick one, as her opponent blundered her knight! R3 black against an under-rated German, had Cossie quite scared due to the
sheer number of games on the FIDE website! That was another really long game 4 hours 40 mins which she won leaving her practically no time at all to
prepare for R4 on this the double day.

WYCC At this point Trevor became invaluable. Hastily texting lines for the opening, and telling us other players pairings as nobody could get online to
see. R4 She's drawn against the top seed Indian chess prodigy Ivana Maria Furtao (2094)! Rated 380 points above Cossie it proved to much. Her minority attack was too early for Cosima who launched an attack which...failed!

Rest day - saw the closure of the water park which is teasingly between our 'hotel' and the venue. The children could not quite believe it. Neither
could we! However it gave an opportunity for a bit of a rest and more importantly extra time for training with Jovanka Houska, who has been an incredible
support to the girls. Staying up late and waking early to try and get Internet connection to download games for their preparation.

R5 black against Columbia (1870). Again almost the last one out. It was drawn all the way through and then she managed to put her endgame skills to
the test and won putting her on 3.5/5. Now up there with Yang-fan, Ravi and Akshaya all on 3.5/5. She is doing us proud, and Jovanka says she playing really good chess.

As I write this she has just returned from R6 with a win in two hours against Ms Venezuela (sounds like a beauty contest!)(1829) . We are in shock
(Matthew, Trevor and I). She is cool! Jovanka is ecstatic. She's off now to her room for a bit of post game analysis.

We have a fixed routine. Breakfast, then Cosima prepares on her own while Jennifer has coaching, then they have one hour swimming or relaxing, while Katherine trains, then Cossie's preparation with Jovanka from 11 until lunch. After lunch, then she prepares all her drinks, snack, her little gift for her
opponent and then we walk down at 2.30 for a 3pm start. Usually she returns whilst everyone else is eating, then after supper the girls go back up to Jovanka's room and find pairings, play chess and chat.

Cosima is so lucky to have had such a great opportunity and to be able to share it with such lovely people. She and Jennifer Ehr U16 get on really
well and it makes such a difference. The days are flying by, and I can't believe there are just three rounds left. The tough ones I guess!"

19th November 2011 - British Rapidplay Championships, Leeds

This popular event has many sections over two days. Several SJC families made the trip to compete:

Congratulations to Callum Brewer whose 3½ out of 5 in the U11 England squad qualifier on the Saturday earned him another 'half-norm', thus securing his place at the Trial in April. Callum then followed up this success by sharing 1st place in the U12 Junior Rapidplay on Sunday!

It would be interesting to tot up the chess miles of the Keen family. The female section were in Brazil at the World Youth Championships whereas the male contingent were all in Leeds. Congratulations to Charlie Keen who earned an early birthday present in the form of his 2nd half-norm - his passport through to the England squad - and a grading prize.

Also good to see SJC alumni 17 year old Rhys Cumming and 18 year old David Grant (now at Uni in Leeds) taking part.

Finally, Josh Higgs took on the adults in the Intermediate (U155) section of the 2-day event and added to his lifetime earnings with a grading prize.

Well done all.

13th November 2011 - Edward Critchley 2nd in Barnet & Finchley Junior Congress

Congratulations to U11 Edward Critchley who came 2nd in the Barnet and Finchley 14th Annual Junior Congress U12 section with 5 out of 6; earning qualification to the LJCC U12 Major.

6 November 2011 - Jonathan and Thomas Finn in the prizes at Oxford LJCC qualifier

Oxford LJCC photos Five Sussex Juniors completed a busy weekend travelling to Oxford. Two Finns came back richer than they left with cash prizes for Jonathan (2nd in Under 14s) and Thomas (3rd in Under 12s and securing a Major Qualification for London).

In a tough Under 10 competition Daniel Finn secured another London qualification supported by determined efforts from Madeleine Liu and Matthew Finn, who were unfortunate to just miss out on qualification for London.

25-30 October 2011 - Jude, Amy and Brian compete in e2e4 Gatwick Premier

e2e4 events regularly attract very strong fields offering 'norm' opportunities and the Gatwick Premier was no exception. Spurning the Major section Jude Lenier, Amy Hoare and Brian Tarhon all chose to rub shoulders with the Grandmasters in the Open. All played some good games and gained valuable high-level experience. Jude had a particularly good tournament (5 out of 9) playing a Grandmaster, an International Master and drawing to two Fide Masters. Amy was a popular guest trainer for the SJC Girls teams last season - look out for her at Lindfield on November 5th.

29 October 2011 - Graham-Higgs excursion to the Oxford Rapidplay

Oxford Rapidplay Will Graham and Josh Higgs travelled to Oxford today to compete in the 8th Oxford University Rapidplay, hosted by St Hugh's College. In a tough competition Will scored 3.5/6 and Josh 2.5/6, both playing in the U170. Thanks to John Higgs who is rapidly earning the title of SJC Team Transport Manager.

16 October 2011 - Finn and Howell families scoop prizes at Coulsdon

Concluding an excellent weekend for our juniors, the Finn and Howell families travelled to Coulsdon to compete in their LJCC (London Junior Chess Championships) qualifying event.

The star of the day was 12 year old Matthew Howell who won the U18 section, with Jonathan Finn coming fourth. Over in the U12 section, Thomas Finn (U11) was placed a very creditable third, earning qualification for the LJCC U12 Minor. Finally, in the U10 section, Oli Howell (U9) was a close second with Daniel Finn (also U9) fourth; both securing qualification for the LJCC U10 Major. Well done to all.

15-16 October 2011 - English Closed Championships, Nottingham

Regulars will know that in order to qualify for the Under 11 England squad, candidates need to attain a threshold score at a number of designated qualifying tournaments.

This season saw Joseph Allin (U10), Callum Brewer, Freya Finnegan and Cassie Graham (all U11) start their campaign with a trip to the English Closed Championships in Nottingham, where the target score was 3 out of 5.

While other candidates retired early to their hotels to swot up on opening novelties, our quad chose to undertake a crawl of pizza venues in Nottingham. Still - it appears to have been a successful strategy as all four achieved their first half norm - well done all!

Joseph and Cassie both finished on 4 points which was enough to earn Cassie Top Girl title. Particular mention to Freya who fought back from a difficult first day to win convincingly in Round 4. That left both Freya and Callum needing to win their last round to qualify but neither buckled under the pressure and emerged with their half-norms.

10 September 2011 - Jude Lenier, Hastings simul

Hastings simul Jude Lenier, only 15, is the current Hastings Chess Club champion. This is no mean feat, for as well as being one of the oldest chess clubs in the country, Hastings is certainly one of the strongest in Sussex.

As part of Hastings Borough Council's 'Heritage Open Days', Jude has been invited to give a simultaneous display against 20 players. He was interviewed by BBC Radio Sussex and very kindly gave us a plug.

Click to listen to Jude's interview

3 September 2011 - Godalming Open Junior Tournament

Several Sussex players ventured over the border to Surrey to play in the event - one of the first of the new season. Congratulations to Edward Critchley whose season got off to an excellent start with 4/5 in the U11 section - earning him 2nd place. Scott Borland shared 3rd place in the U18s and Hannah Sutton also played well to score 3/5 in the U10s.

3-4 September 2011 - England U12 vs. Flanders U14

Eng U12s Billy Twigge-Molecey, England U12 vs Flanders Brian Tarhon, David Liu and Josh Higgs were all selected to represent England in this 2-day International held in Swiss Cottage, London.

Day 1 featured a two-round 20-board team match with England emerging the winners 22.5 to 17.5.

Day 2 took the form of an individual rapidplay tournament, which England also won 49 to 45.