Sussex Closed Under 8 Championships, Lindfield Primary School, 5th November 2011

More than 30 children aged 5 - 8 descended on Lindfield aiming for the title of Sussex U8 Champion; many competing for the first time. The event was hard fought and the arbiters were very pleased with the concentration of the players which gave rise to many long and high standard games for this age group. Top honours went to an encouraging mix of new and experienced players - well done to Calum Salmons, Oliver Manchester and Alec Hedger who have already built reputations as players to watch for the future, and also to newcomers Zevon Rustom, Roland Bourne, Michael Banks and Giovanni Currah.

The school team element of the day was very closely contested. It was very encouraging to see sixteen different schools represented, but in the end only three had enough players (3) to constitute a team. It is a testament to the strength of the competition that only 2½ points separated first from third place - worthy winners all.

Thanks to Lindfield Primary for the very spacious venue which accommodated both the tournament and a training day. As usual, catering was run very smoothly by Ed, Debbie and Derek. Thanks to the tournament control team of Sue Howell, Gary McCulloch, Brian Stockham, Colin Harding and Will Graham. The tournament had an uneven number of players so in each round one player was awarded a bye, along with a long wait until the next round. Thanks need to go to Elizabeth Finn, the youngest member of one of our Sussex chess-playing dynasties, who bravely stepped-in so that the players with byes could be offered friendly matches.

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