On Saturday the 20th of May, several Bexhill juniors traveled to Worthing to compete in the final Grand Prix of the Sussex junior chess season.
It was a wonderful day with some fantastic achievements. 120 juniors battled it out in four sections. The tournament is a six-round rapid play with a time control of 25 + 5. It is also the sixth and final event in the Grand Prix calendar.
In the Under 11 minor section we had 2 juniors playing in their first Sussex tournament, Albion Haughton and Jaxson Foster. Both boys finished on 2 points showing tremendous talent and resilience and received arbiter’s awards in recognition of this. Well done, boys!
In the under 11 major section, Harry Morter had his first taste of chess at the major level. It’s a tough challenge but Harry battled valiantly with 1 win, 3 draws and only 2 losses. He finished in 10th place with 2 and a half points. In the same section, Rose Burgess had an incredible day, remaining unbeaten with 5 wins and a draw. She finished joint first with five and a half points. Congratulations, Rose!
In the under 18 minors, Sebastian Merchant finished on four out of six, putting him on joint 8th.
In the under 18 majors, Samuel Merchant and Luke Chapman both had great days taking 3 points each and finishing joint 15th. Anh Nguyen managed 1 point more and with a strong tie break score finished in third place.
At the end of the tournament, points were tallied for the season. Samuel Merchant was second place under 10, Rose Burges was third place under 11, Luke Chapman was top under 12, and Sebastian Merchant was second place under 14.
We are so proud of all our juniors. You’re all amazing. What a fantastic end to a fantastic season. It’s so nice to see you all being rewarded for your hard work. Have a wonderful summer and we all look forward to doing it again next season.
