What a spectacular finale to our season! We had an incredible turnout of 20 players for our final week of the term, competing in a 5-round, all-play-all tournament. Matches kicked off right on time at 10:00 AM with a rapid 10-minute time control (no increments).
It was wonderful to witness such exceptional sportsmanship across the board. Every single junior player demonstrated true chess etiquette—shaking hands before games and starting their clocks without any prompting from the controllers. Their behavior was absolutely flawless throughout the morning!
📊 Summer Competition Tournament Tables
The field was divided into two balanced sections. Here are the final point tallies compiled directly from the tournament ledger:
🧠 Advanced Section
Rafan took a brilliant early lead by winning his first 3 rounds, but was eventually caught by joint-winners Nicolas and Peter. Great efforts from Hektor, Rafan, and Ram (who missed the first two rounds but still clawed back to a podium spot)! We look forward to Ram and William joining the Advanced group permanently when we return in September.
| Player | Pts | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Nicolas | 4.0 | 🥇 Joint 1st |
| Peter | 4.0 | 🥇 Joint 1st |
| Hektor | 3.0 | 🥈 Joint 2nd |
| Ram | 3.0 | 🥈 Joint 2nd |
| Rafan | 3.0 | 🥈 Joint 2nd |
| Harvey | 1.5 | – |
| Jake | 1.0 | – |
| William | 0.5 | – |
🚀 Intermediates & Beginners
An exceptional performance here, with every single player getting on the scoreboard! Sarah was the undisputed star of the day, securing a perfect 5/5 score. Nirvan and Milan pushed hard to lock down a joint 2nd-place finish, while Cooper and Emmanuel showed immense progress.
| Player | Pts | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Sarah | 5.0 | 🥇 1st Place |
| Nirvan | 3.5 | 🥈 Joint 2nd |
| Milan | 3.5 | 🥈 Joint 2nd |
| Arini | 2.5 | – |
| Manvik | 2.5 | – |
| Kit | 2.5 | – |
| Nilay | 2.0 | – |
| Cooper | 2.0 | – |
| Emmanuel | 2.0 | – |
| Jack | 1.5 | – |
| Omer | 1.5 | – |
| Pavina | 0.5 | – |
(See the full photo gallery of the tournament match play below!)
🎉 Grand Prize-Giving & Annual Awards
Following the final round, our 20 players—fully supported by an amazing crowd of parents and guardians—stayed behind for our end-of-term awards ceremony, presented by Eric with stellar assistance from Graham and Lynsey.
Eric shared a few words thanking our players for their incredibly consistent attendance and extending our deep gratitude to the parents. Supporting junior chess is immensely valuable, providing kids with vital critical thinking and educational skills that help them far beyond the chessboard.
⭐ Special Club Thanks
- Our Dedicated Coaches: A massive thank you to Steve, Graham, and Tony for giving up their time every single week. The club quite literally could not operate without their dedication!
- Lynsey: Thank you for your wonderful periodic support throughout the season.
- Dee: Thank you for organizing our refreshments and constantly working behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly.
📣 A Request for Parents: If any parents or guardians would be able to volunteer to help teach our absolute beginners from time to time, please let us know! Extra hands would allow us to expand our individual coaching time significantly.
🏅 End of Season Awards List
Alongside certificates of attendance given to every single player, the following major awards were handed out:
- Weekly Ladder Board Prizes (Cash & Medals): Nicolas, Nathaniel, Peter, Kit, Nirvan, Arini, Omer, William, Manvik, Nilay, and Cooper. (Prizes for Markas, Erin, Atlas, and Mariusz will be held safely to be handed out over the summer).
- Most Improved Player: Harvey
- Best Female Player: Arini
- Summer Competition Winners: Nicolas, Peter, Sarah, Milan, and Nirvan.
🌐 Summer Action: Moving Online with Lichess!
Just because the school doors are closing doesn’t mean the chess has to stop! Graham shared details regarding our upcoming online club setup on Lichess.
We will be posting a full joining guide by the end of July, with online casual events and ladders running through August and early September. We highly encourage all our players to join in and keep their skills sharp!
Have a wonderful, restful summer break, everyone! We can’t wait to welcome all of our returning players back on Saturday, September 12th, 2026.
Best wishes,
Eric Sachs