Congratulations to our five juniors who all competed at the third Sussex junior chess Grand Prix this weekend in Eastbourne.
After winning the under 11 major section at Crowborough, Samuel found himself promoted into the extremely tough under 18 major section. Despite being one of the lowest seeds in the section, Sam managed a draw against a similar rated opponent and a win against someone rated nearly 300 points higher than him. Bringing home an impressive one and a half points from his first outing in the majors.
In the under 18 minor section, Sebastian Merchant and Luke Chapman both had good days. They were both on four points out of five going into the last round. Being drawn against each other in the final round, a drawn result was quickly reached meaning both boys finished on 4 and half and shared third place, winning £10 each.
Rose Burgess competed in the under 11 major section. A small but fiercely competitive section. A win, a loss and a draw came from the first three games, before it looked like Rose was on a winning streak winning in rounds 4 and 5. But unfortunately an unsuccessful final round against the overall winner meant with 3 and a half, she finished in 4th place, just missing out on a top three trophy. She did however pick up a trophy for top girl.
In the under 11 minors, Harry Morter was playing in his very first chess tournament. He made a flying start with a win in round one and a draw in round two. Unfortunately the rest of the games did not go his way, but Harry takes home a very impressive one and half points from his very first tournament! We were not the only ones impressed with Harry’s resilience and determination at his first event, it was also noticed by the arbiters and he was awarded an arbiters award for his efforts.
It’s so fantastic to see the juniors playing such good chess and enjoying themselves at these very competitive events! We are super proud of you all! Well done juniors!! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻