What's New

27 August: Lorin D'Costa won the British Land UK Chess Challenge for the 4th consecutive year. Click on the link for the crosstable and Challengers results. Before that Lorin and Aly Wilson had a challenge match against the US Woman's Champion, Jennifer Shahade. Click here for Lorin's report.
12 August: Date of Ampleforth Junior Masters and 4NCL details corrected on calendar.; Keith Fowler reports on this year's Glorney and Faber Cups where England's girls came second

10 August: Updated calendar for next year

19 July: Events page updated with most dates for next season; A report on the UK Chess Challenge Gigafinal
15 July: Various additions including UK Chess Challenge Ultimi (ie winners at the Gigafinal), BCF schools Final results, National School Teams Competition results, results of EPSCA Under 9 and Under 11 finals on results page; Full results of all the Pontins EPSCA Semifinals. (Excel spreadsheet, 228kB); England team selections for World and European Youth Championships, England selections for Glorney and Faber Cups on reports page

2 June: England South East and South West beat Wales at both U11 and U14 level. Details here.; Peter Purland reports on on the recent Junior Squad trip to Finland; As well as the challenge match, David Howell and Sergei Karjakin are giving simultaneous displays. Some boards are reserved for Supremi from Mike Basman's UK Chess Challenge. Details here. David Howell's website is worth a look.; Full results of the Brean Sands EPSCA Semifinal. (Excel spreadsheet, 199kB)

28 May: David Howell is playing an exhibition match against Sergei Karjakin to celebrate the opening of an exhibition called "The Art of Chess" at the Gilbert Collection in Somerset House. Here is the official Press Release
21 May: Winners of the EPSCA National Schools' Teams Under 9 Semi-Final last weekend at Brean Sands Pontins, Under 9 1st Hamilton (Bucks), 2nd Dulwich College (SE London); U11 1st Aldro A (Surrey), 2nd Millfield Prep (Somerset); Small Schools Competition 1st The Grange, Monmouth, 2nd Wouldham (County not known); Plate Competition 1st Wellesley Park Blue, 2nd Millfield Prep (both Somerset), full details to follow
15 May: The results page now contains EPSCA U11 Finals summary (won by Wey Valley), summary of Junior Squad Champions, and list of children who made the U11 team at last month's trial; All the scores for the EPSCA Girls Championship.

29 April: National Chess Junior Squad Championships cross-tables now available.
28 April: David Howell appears on Britain's Brilliant Prodigies on TV next Monday. Details here
27 April: Final scores at the Junior Squad Championships in Oldham.
FIDE Rated Open (incorporating U18/U21) - Craig Hanley (Lancs) , Matthew Broomfield (Surrey), Dale James (3Cs), Stephen Gordon (3Cs) 4.5/6;
U16 James Hanley (Lancs), Peter Poobalasingam (Somerset), Richard Westwood (Staffs) 5/6;
U12 Michael Keetley 6.5/7; Murray David (Northants), Callum Kilpatrick (S London), Subin Sen (Essex) 5.5/7;
U10 Nipuna Senaratne (Yorkshire), Oliver Exton (Nott.s) 6/7
26 April: Leaders after two days of the Junior Squad Championships in Oldham. Open - Leader Craig Hanley; 2nd= Matthew Broomfield, Stephen Gordon, Adam Scoular. U16 - Leader Robyn Smith.
6 April: All the leading scores for the EPSCA U11 England team trial, in Liverpool.
5 April: Some of the leading scores for the EPSCA U11 England team trial, in Liverpool. Callum Kilpatrick (Richmond) will be team captain this year.; Wey Valley won all the sections of the SCCU girls jamborees today - U18, U11 and U9. Results should be on the SCCU website shortly.
4 April: All the scores for the EPSCA U9 Final, which Hertfordshire won; All the scores for the EPSCA Girls Championship.

29 March: Wey Valley won the EPSCA Girls Championship.
28 March: Berkshire and Yorkshire have been given places in the EPSCA U9 finals next weekend.; The London Junior Finals this December will be at the same venue - Westminster University in Harrow - and date as last year
24 March: Results of other zonals of the EPSCA Under 11s.
20 March: The BCF U18 Inter-county championships is in Essex on 28th June. Peter Walker is running the event.; Chess is featured on Radio 4 tomorrow 21st March at 12:30pm. The BCF website says that Chess as a Sport is covered - it does not say that junior chess will be covered as well.
16 March: A Report on the recent Junior Squad trip to Poland - February 2003.; A Report on last year's Junior Squad trip to Poland - June 2002.
15 March: Results of the South west zonal of the EPSCA Under 11s. Please email me if you know results from other zones; Results of the NYCA U14 Champ.s.
14 March: A report on the EPSCA Rapidplay Championships in January.; Corrections to the EPSCA Under 9 zonals.; Some games from the Yateley Manor International in Jan/Feb.
11 March: Results of the EPSCA Under 9 zonals.
2 March: Some corrections to grading summaries of the South of England Junior Championships.; A report on the Junior Squad trip to Bunratty.; Winners of the Wiltshire/West of England Championships.

12 February: Final Cross-tables - both FIDE and BCF for the 4th Yateley Manor International
11 February: Results of the BWCA championships - including a FIDE rated tournament with 6 girls also on ECGCF website
9 February: SCCU Jamboree results yesterday were 1. Essex (E), 17; 2. Richmond (R), 16½; 3. Sussex (Sx), 14; 4. Hertfordshire (H), 13½; 5. Cambridgeshire (C), 9½; 6. Surrey (Sy), 9; 7. Berkshire (B), 4½. Full details on ECGCF website
7 February: Grading summaries of the South of England Junior Championships.
3 February: Some corrections to the South of England Junior Championship results and list of winners at Yateley Manor International below it.
2 February: South of England Junior Championship results

31 January: Updates to Calendar; Round 6 pairings for the 4th Yateley Manor International; There are over 240 entrants in the 6th South of England Juniors of which 62 are in the U12 and U14 closed. Results will be here next week.
26 January: Crosstable after first week of 4th Yateley Manor International

30 December: Final crosstables of London Junior Championships all sections at LJCC website
28 December: The page updates that should have gone up on the 23rd didnt as my modem software decided to not work properly.; Results of London Junior Championships second weekend after 1st day on LJCC website
23 December: Results of England v Wales matches last weekend on Results page.; Results of London Junior Championships first weekend on LJCC website; Luke McShane won Silver in the World Junior Championships. Round details on Results page.
10 December: Luke McShane is playing in the World Junior Championships which started yesterday in India. Details of his (and other British) scores on Results page.
2 December: A correction to the Results of the BCF Junior Rapidplay Championships held in Bradford.
1 December: Results of the BCF Junior Rapidplay Championships, and England Under 11 preTrial tournament, held in Bradford.; Mike Basman announces this season's British Land UK Chess Challenge
GRAND ENTRANCE FOR BRITISH LAND UK CHESS CHALLENGE

Entries are now being invited for the 8th UK Chess Challenge, which last year topped an amazing 55,000 players and 1,660 schools competing. Schools run individual tournaments in the Spring Term, where thousands of badges (with gold spots for each success) plus mascots ensure that everyone wins a prize. The tournaments are particularly popular amongst primary school children reaching down to ages as young as four, but because of the increasing number of secondary school players taking part, two additional sections have been added this year for teenagers.

The tournament is truly inclusive, with large numbers of girls as well as boys taking part. At the same time, there are a series of competitive hurdles for the best players, starting with the area Megafinals in May (last year 7,000 children played in these), the National Gigafinal in July (1,620 children reached this stage last year), and last of all the Terafinal in August. The top player in the whole competition won £1,000 and last year's winner for the third time was Lorin D'Costa of Hertfordshire. Michael Rabbitte, a nine year old from Lancashire, scooped the top U11 prize of £500 and Alexandra Wilson of Surrey was the top girl player also winning £500.

The tournament is already having a huge knock-on effect on English successes in junior international events. Because of the massive pool of talent thrown up by the tournament, England was able to put up no less than 17 high calibre players for the European Championships in September. Then, in November, a further 16 players - 14 of them completely different - took part in the World Junior Championships in Crete. Apart from David Howell's magnificent success in capturing the Bronze Medal in the U12 boys section, the group as a whole considerably improved on the scores of previous years. Nearly all these players compete in the UK Chess Challenge.

The tournament is being generously sponsored for the 4th year running by the British Land Company, one of the leading property investment companies in the UK. The Chairman, John Ritblat, personally wrote to say how delighted he was with the success of the whole event.

Schools and clubs can enrol in this event by contacting the organiser Mike Basman on 07715 041320; by post to 7 Billockby Close, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2ED; or by e mail to ukchesschallenge@aol.com There is an extensive website www.UKChessChallenge.com which covers every aspect of the Chess Challenge and allows entrants to download entry forms and to pay on line. New features of the web site are "Click on your County" which provides information about junior chess organisations in different parts of the UK and a new interactive "Lessons" facility aimed at beginners and school teachers new to the game. There is also a free booklet, "Teaching Chess, the easy way to learn", once again available to teachers new to chess.

Mike Basman, November, 2002

19 November: Scott Freeman announces the Coulsdon Chess Fellowship English Chess Challenge; Dear Head Teacher / Chess Teacher
I am pleased to introduce the ENGLISH CHESS CHALLENGE 2003 (sponsored by CCF) to you.
. ENTRY FEE AND PRIZES
Entry is 32 for up to 30 players and an extra 5 for each block of 5 players after that. Each entry fee pays for:
One winners' trophy
A pack of pairing cards (to help teachers run their school event more smoothly)
A tournament chart (for display on the school notice board if you wish)
Novelty Bugs / Older Players prize for those reaching 11 points
A 70% prize for those who reach 15 points
A guide as to how to run the competition.

(Schools with CCF trainers will have this run for them automatically as part of the training group).

HOW IT WORKS
The competition has different parts to it that start with a 7 round competition held within your school / club. Those who qualify then advance to a final which will be held in different age groups with boys and girls split. The leading boy and girl from each year group will qualify plus anyone else who has scored 17 points or more out of 21.
National Champions will be found in each age group and the event will culminate in September 2003 when the National Champions are all invited back for a play-off against each other to win prize money. Those who qualify for the final will be charged an entry fee, but those who win the finals will be invited back free to play off for the prize money.

WEB SITE DETAILS AND ENTRY FORM.
Details can be found at: http://www.ccfs.freeserve.co.uk/Chess/Junior/ccf_chess_challenge_2002.htm
Entry Form www.ccfs.freeserve.co.uk/Chess/Junior/entry_form_for_ccf_chess_challen.htm

SCHOOL CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP RUN BY CCF?
If you would be interested in doing the challenge but don't have the staff or equipment, why not invite us to come in an run it as a school chess championship? We would charge an entry fee per head and could run the event in either a morning or an afternoon.

COACHING IN SCHOOLS
A school chess coaching team is expanding rapidly. Although we may not yet have contacts in many areas, please advise us if you are interested and we will try to arrange something for you. We currently have several school in the Croydon Borough, Surrey, West Kent and London. We are shortly starting near Canterbury in Kent and near Watford in Hertfordshire. Wherever you are, register your interest in coaching and we can try and find a trainer for you.

Kind regards
SCOTT FREEMAN (CCF Manager) .
18 November: Just announced; The SCCU Under 18 jamboree will be on Sunday February 9th 2003 at St Paul's School in Barnes. ie same place and time as last season.; Latest list of entrants on London Junior Chess Championship site.
17 November: The Welsh results at the World Youth Championships are on the results page.
15 November: The World Youth Championships started today in a chaotic fashion. Read the first of team manager Peter Turner's live reports.
11 November: On Results page, results of London Primary Schools 6 Board Championship. Latest list of qualifiers and entrants on London Junior Chess Championship site.
5 November: On Results page, Cross-table of English Closed U11 Championships and full prize list for Millfield International Tournament.
3 November: Results of English Closed U11 Championships won by Kishan Lakhani and Richard Lobo.
2 November: A Final Report from Lester Millin about the Junior Squad trip to Guernsey. Last year's reports are now archived.

28 October: Final Results from Guernsey. Full details of the 3rd Ampleforth Junior Masters (won by Sam Williams on the BCF website.
21 October: Results of Millfield International Schools Tournament. Round 1 and 2 results of junior squad members in Guernsey. Last year's results are now archived.
13 October: Crosstable from last week's minisquad championships (incomplete unfortunately)
8 October: Final Report from the European Youth championships including team photograph
4 October: Today's Report from the European Youth championships has a distinctly tourist feel
3 October: Reports have been maintained daily from the European Youth championships

30 September: Reports from the first two rounds of the European Youth Championships (with some pictures)
12 September: Missing reports from the middle of the Under 16 Olympiad now included
2 September: Minor changes to events page.; Selections for the European and World Youth Championships.; Final Reports from the Under 16 Olympiad where England finished 13th; Lorin D'Costa (Hertfordshire) won the UK Chess Challenge for the third time, while Robert Heaton (Surrey) won the Challengers section

23 August: England are in 7th= place with 12 points after five rounds of the U16 Olympiad. Ukraine and China A are leading with 15 points.; Reports from team Manager Martin Howell now available as well as some photographs.
22 August: England are competing in the Under 16 Olympiad in Malaysia which has just started. They won their first match 4-0 against Australia B with victories for Gawain Jones, David Howell, Tim Woodward and Jonathan Lappage. Reports coming shortly.; The official website is http://www.thechessnetwork.net

25 July: Smith & Williamson Young Masters and UK Chess challenge Results.; London Junior Chess Championship website has been updated with details of this December's competition.
13 July: A few more EPSCA Results.
8 July: Results of recent England Primary Schools Chess Association events and other schools tournaments.; The latest FIDE rating list is at http://www.chessdaily.com.

18 June: Dates of some of the junior events for 2002-2003; Results page has details of who made the England team in April's Under 11 trial.

12 May: Wey Valley won the EPSCA Inter-Association Under 11 Championships yesterday after scoring 19/20 in the last round.

30 April: All the England Trial scores.
29 April: I still havent got the full England Trial results, but Tom Robinson has been appointed team captain.
28 April: On Results page; Richmond won the EPSCA Under 9 Championships. Eugene Geidelberg (Hants) won the England Under 11 Team Trial with 5.5/6 with Murray David (Warwickshire) and Sebastian Pozzo (Sussex) joint second.
24 April: The British Chess Federation have got their proper website back. They are now at http://www.bcf.org.uk after a number of years at the temporary address of http://www.bcf.ndirect.co.uk.
20 April: Wey Valley Surrey won the EPSCA Girls Championships for the sixth year in a row. Manchester were second as they were year. Results here.
17 April: Sussex Juniors beat Irish Juniors at Hove on w/e 13/14 April 2002. Report here and full details on Sussex Junior website.; Warwickshire won the BCF Under 18 championships on Saturday 13th. Results on SCCU website junior page.
11 April: National Chess Junior Squad Championships Cross-tables now include non-Championship Under 10 results.
8 April: Cross-tables of the Annual National Chess Junior Squad Championships.
2 April: Marc Shaw has taken over from Tony Corfe as Congress Director for the London Junior Chess Championships. A letter he has written to all the competitors is on the LJCC website.

22 March: A report on the Junior Squad trip last month to Estonia.; Some photographs from the EPSCA Inter-Association Under 11 zonal in Berkshire
16 March: All prizewinners from Wiltshire/West of England Juniors now on reports page.; Results of the EPSCA Inter-Association Under 11 zonals
11 March: The Smith and Williamson Young Masters has changed venues to Millfield School in Somerset.
10 March: NEW English Championships. BCF Under 18 finals - April 13th - added to events page.
9 March: Results of the EPSCA Inter-Association Under 9 zonals

24 February: Results of the Wiltshire / West of England Junior Championships; A report on the Junior Squad trip to the Bunratty weekend tournament.
12 February: . Surrey won both open and girls sections of the SCCU Junior Jamboree on Sunday. The link is for the SCCU website, not this one.; A summary of the results of English juniors who are playing in the International tournament at Capelle-Le-Grande. (official site)
10 February: The Andersen London Junior Chess Championships held a simul and prize giving today. Results were a win for Thomas Nixon and draws for Selina Khoo and Daniel Hall. Click on the link for full details.; A summary of the results of English juniors who are playing in the International tournament at Capelle-Le-Grande. (official site)
8 February: Cross-tables for the South of England Junior Championships.
7 February: A correction to the cross-table of the Yateley Manor International. - one of the round 3 results was wrong.; Under 7 Results of the South of England Junior Championships added.
4 February: Final Cross-table of the Yateley Manor International. 1st Colin Crouch, 2nd Peter Sowray, 3rd= Heather Richards and Robert Willmoth.
3 February: Results of the South of England Junior Championships. Report on the EPSCA rapidplay championships. Peter Sowray and Colin Crouch now on 6.5/8 in the Yateley Manor International before the last round. Full results and Xtable hopefully tomorrow night
2 February: Cross table after round 7 of the Yateley Manor International. Leading scores are IM Colin Crouch, Matthew Broomfield and Peter Sowray 5.5/7.

28 January: Cross table after the 1st week of the Yateley Manor International. Leading scores are IM Colin Crouch 4.5/5, 2nd= Matthew Broomfield and Peter Sowray 4/5.
6 January: Entry form added for the Yateley Manor International. This is a FIDE rated event over two weekends at the end of January and beginning of February, and has a paid British Championship place available.

30 December: Complete list of winners and cross tables for the Andersen London Junior Championships.
29 December: Latest cross tables after two days of the Andersen London Junior Championships.
14 December: Various additions to Andersen London Junior website, including summary of round times and complete list of competitors in the Under 10s and Under 14s which start tomorrow.; The Ampleforth group photograph now up. This would have gone up earlier, but I was getting to get a complete list of names
5 December: The Under 8's, Under 12's, Under 16's, Under 21/18 events of the London Junior Chess Championships are going to be at Chestnut Grove School, 45 Chestnut Grove, Balham, London SW12 8JZ. This venue change does not affect the first weekend, when the Under 10's and Under 14's events will remain at South Bank University as per the entry form. A map will be on the LJCC website shortly.; Other junior events listed, including ECGCF zonals and final, and SCCU jamboree and U14/90 final; Some more photographs taken at the 2nd Ampleforth Junior Masters

11 November: The English U11 Closed Championship was won jointly be Michael Keetley (Notts) and Tom Robinson (Norfolk). The cross table is on the results page. A few corrections/additions to World Youth and Guernsey results on same page.; Some more photographs taken at the 2nd Ampleforth Junior Masters
5 November: Final scores of World Youth competitors and rating performances of Guernsey competitors summarised on the results page.

25-28 October: Up to the minute information on the 2nd Ampleforth Junior Masters.
27 October: Reports page added.
24 October: The rules have changed concerning eligibility for the English Closed Under 11 championships on 10th/11th November. Details on events page.
22 October: The 2nd Ampleforth Young Masters is from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th October. 60 of the country's top Under 16s are playing.
21 October: This site started up; The World Youth Chess Championships started today in Oropesa Del Mar in Spain. The British results are being posted live from Spain at http://www.bitem.co.uk/worldyouth. English results summarised on the results page.; Members of the National Chess Junior Squad are competing at Guernsey. Their results are summarised on the results page.; The British Junior Rapidplay Championships were this weekend in Bradford. Winners also on the results page.; The National Minisquad championships were held two weeks ago in Solihull. Cross tables are still on the old site at http://www.belinfante.demon.co.uk/minisquad.htm