♟ Bournemouth Junior Chess Update
Saturday 28th February 2026
We had the pleasure of looking after 25 juniors that came along to learn, play and enjoy chess.
We welcomed Amaury and Aurelia for the 1st time and were pleased to see Jack and Mariusz continue after their initial lesson last week.
Lesson of the Week – Rook and Pawn Endgames
This week’s lesson focused on one of the most important topics in chess: Rook and Pawn Endgames, and specifically King and Rook vs King and Pawn.
Two key rules were covered:
- If the king and rook can cover the queening square in time — it’s a win.
- The rook should be used to cut off the opposing king from helping the advancing pawn.
Cutting the King Off Series
The diagrams below illustrate the key idea perfectly. In the first position, White needs exactly 5 moves to cover the queening square and wins with the move — any delay and it becomes a draw. The three positions progress from “cutting off is decisive” through to “cutting off is useless” — a great lesson in how small positional differences can completely change the outcome of an endgame.
The second diagram shows a practical example of using the rook to cut off the black king — a vital technique every junior should have in their endgame toolkit.
1st Session
Tony took the Advanced session and went through the lesson with the above.
Paul reviewed a recent league game he played with the Intermediate group. It was an interesting opening which developed into a French Defence — I hope the group use some of the tactics employed by Paul.
Eric went through an opening and middle game tactics with Jack, who is showing real promise.
Once the lessons were finished Eric highlighted our 13 juniors who are competing in the Dorset Junior Championships and wished them all the very best of luck. Eric is sure all will enjoy gaining experience in competitive chess — many for the 1st time. Players entered are:
Manvik / Nicolas / Omer / Peter / Erin / Atlas / Nilay / Rafan / Arini / Kautum / Neil / Sarah & Esilia — 13 in total!
Eric also mentioned the Judit Polgar documentary just released on Netflix, called The Queen of Chess, and recommended everyone to have a look.
We would also like all our juniors to look at our upgraded website for all things chess. This includes games, puzzles, openings, middle games, endgames and other tactics. The site is updated weekly after our Saturday session and we are sure all will benefit from using it.
2nd Session
The 2nd session had smaller numbers and was split into the Intermediates and Beginners.
Paul reviewed his game again with the Intermediate group. Eric played a game with Mariusz and Andres and I hope they achieved some value from the session. Steve spent time with Esilia and newcomer Aurelia — I am hoping they will both continue to progress.
Ladder Board Results – Week 5
1st Session –
Harvey 1 Hektor 0 / Neil 1 Rafan 0 / Peter 0 Nicolas 1 / Kautum 1 Pavina 0 / Markas 1 Jack 0 / Kit 1 Nirvan 0 / Arini 1 Erin 0 / Omer 0 Atlas 1.
2nd Session –
Teo 1 Manvik 0 / Koko ½ Coach ½ / Andreas ½ Esilia ½ / Mariusz ½ Aurelia ½.
Ladder Board Tables
1st Session – Advanced
| Name | Played | W | D | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicolas | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 |
| Hektor | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3.0 |
| Nathanial | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.5 |
| Kautum | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2.5 |
| Peter | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 |
| Harvey | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Neil | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Rafan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.5 |
1st Session – Intermediate
| Name | Played | W | D | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nirvan | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3.0 |
| Kit | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3.0 |
| Markas | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 |
| JH | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 |
| Jack | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Pavina | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.5 |
1st Session – Beginners
| Name | Played | W | D | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3.5 |
| Omer | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 |
| Arini | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Erin | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1.0 |
2nd Session – Intermediate & Beginners
| Name | Played | W | D | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nilay | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3.0 |
| Teo | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3.0 |
| William | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 |
| Andres | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2.0 |
| Manvik | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Marousz | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Sepanta | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Jake | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Esilia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Koko | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.5 |
| Aurelia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Liam M | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
We look forward to seeing you all again next Saturday, 7th March, with some good news from the Junior Championships!
Bournemouth Junior Chess Club – Where Young Minds Learn to Think Ahead
Eric Sachs
