Bournemouth Junior Chess — Update 6th June 2026
It is truly rewarding and great to see so many junior players coming along to learn and play chess every week. Yesterday we had a bumper total of 26 players.
The diversity of ages from 6–15 and all the different nationalities add to the occasion. It is also pleasing to receive the consistency of attendance every week. It’s also great to welcome new people every week and yesterday Jim came along for his 2nd lesson.
Schedule for June & the Summer
- 13/6 – Last week of the Ladder Board
- 20/6 – 8 second buzzer competition
- 27/6 – All play all competition followed by prizes & medals for ladder board winners, winners of the day’s competition & certificates for all players
- Summer Break
- Start of Autumn season – 12/9/26
Highlights from Yesterday
Tony had a full house of 8 Advanced players and reviewed previous weeks lessons.
Graham’s lessons consisted of 3 puzzles (see below) and he concentrated on the Rook (Castle) to quote the correct term. The time and movement of the Rook, only using it during open play, the power of the rook in the end game, the advantage of taking control of open files and also on the 7th rank. Doubling the rooks whenever possible is a big advantage, always being aware of the back rank and leaving the King exposed.
Steve and Eric went through reviews with the beginners. It is nice to see Arini moving from the beginner section to the intermediate and showing real progress. Others in this group are progressing and we hope Omer will be next to move up.
In the intermediate section we can see much progress especially with Milan & Sarah.
Photos from the 1st Session
2nd Session
2nd session numbers are always smaller so this gives us the opportunity of spending more one-to-ones and seeing those players that need more time and others that are progressing.
Eric had a game with Ram (15) who played an excellent game and went very close to taking a scalp – only really losing due to time control. Well done Ram.
Graham repeated the lesson from the 1st session with a nice group of Nilay, Manvik, Koko & William.
Photos from the 2nd Session
Results from the Ladder Board Games
1st Session: Peter 1–0 Nicolas, Neil 1–0 Nathaniel, Jake 1–0 Rafan, Hektor 0–1 Harvey, Atlas 0–1 Markas, Kit 0–1 Nirvan, Milan 1–0 Sarah, Omer ½–½ Jack, Erin 0–1 Cooper.
2nd Session: Nilay 0–1 William, Koko 0–1 Manvik, Ram 1–0 Coach, Jim 0–1 Emmanuel.
Ladder Board Standings
Advanced (1st Session)
| Name | P | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicolas | 15 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| Peter | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 11.5 |
| Nathaniel | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| Neil | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Harvey | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 7.5 |
| Hektor | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6.5 |
| Rafan | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Jake | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
Intermediate (1st Session)
| Name | P | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nirvan | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 8.5 |
| Kit | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 8.5 |
| Markas | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 7.5 |
| Milan | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Pavina | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5.5 |
| Jack | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5.5 |
| Sarah | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Beginners (1st Session)
| Name | P | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arini | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| Omer | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 8.5 |
| Erin | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Atlas | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| Amaury | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
2nd Session – Intermediate/Beginners
| Name | P | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Nilay | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 7.5 |
| Manvik | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7.5 |
| Koko | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 6.5 |
| Mariusz | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Ram | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Cooper | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Emmanuel | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Jim | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Highlights from the Games
Peter beating Nicolas gave him an outside chance of catching Nicolas who still has a 1½ point lead going into the final round. Another notable win was Neil who played a good game with a King-side attack against Nathaniel, finding a checkmate.
Milan beating Sarah was a good game — he has an excellent record in the intermediate section, however Kit and Nirvan share top position on 8.5 pts.
The beginner section is led by Arini on 9 pts with Omer on 8.5. They should play each other on the final day.
In the 2nd session Intermediate group — William has taken the lead on 8 pts with a good win over Nilay who is on 7.5 pts equal with Manvik. So, all to play for in the final round next Saturday.
Graham’s Puzzles
Have a go at these three puzzles — click each link to try and solve them on Lichess!
| ♟ Puzzle 1 | ♟ Puzzle 2 | ♟ Puzzle 3 |
Each link takes you to a random Lichess puzzle — see how many you can solve!
As always, I need to thank Steve, Graham and Tony for supporting the club and I look forward to seeing another full house next week.
Remember — chess is a skill for life.
Eric Sachs