Junior chess players from across Dorset, plus a few from Hampshire, took part in the annual Dorset Junior Chess Championships at Bournemouth School for Girls on Saturday 8th of February, with over 50 participating.

It was an amazing day of chess, full of energy and enthusiasm with junior chess definitely the winner. Matches were often hard fought and competitive but all took place in a calm, enthusiastic and friendly manner.  It as so encouraging to see so many young chess players enjoying the game.

A special mention to Max Teverson from year 2 (Under 7) who was by far the youngest player in the championships and won 4 games and drew 1 game against Year 3 and year 4 opponents.  We hope to see you next year Max.

There were so many highlights from the day: juniors enthusiastically playing and practicing between rounds; friendships made across the chessboard; the clamour to be the first at the pairings board; numerous happy smiling faces and only a very few tears.  It was a day to remember.

And a very important ingredient in keeping everyone happy: the fantastic hot food supplied by Martin Simons.

Feedback from one of the parents summarises the day:

We would like to congratulate you and the entire committee of Dorset Chess Tournament 2020 for organising such a great event. It was so well structured.

Parents and the children enjoyed it in equal magnitude. My sons are leaving with smile on their faces.

Food and hospitality has been icing on the cake :-). We are already looking forward for the next year.

By year group and age group the winners were:

Year 2                        Max Teverson

Year 3 / Under 8      Leonardo Camopy

Year 4 / Under 9      Woody Whiting-Mawby

Year 5 / Under 10    Romeo Giovannini and Jack Baskett

Year 6 / Under 11    Larissa Cuthbert

Year 7 / Under 12    Ramiar Chowdhury and Alex Stephenson

Year 8                        Jamie Doyle

Year 9 / Under 14    Josh Leggatt

Year 10 / Under 16 Ted Paul and Varun Neelamraju

Year 11 / Under 16  Anthony Goodwin

Full results by school year group and age group trophies are given at the bottom of this report.

Photo gallery can be found at https://www.facebook.com/dorsetchess/

Not only was it the Dorset Junior Championships, but for juniors up to U12 / Year 6, it was also a Delancey UK Chess Challenge qualifier, the first ever in Dorset. To qualify, a player must be Top Boy or Top Girl in their age group or score a minimum of 15 points (calculated as 3 for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss and 0 for default)

As the final rounds approach, the intensity heighted as the race to achieve minimum points was on. In the event, a fantastic 21 juniors qualified for the next round in the event, the Megafinal. We wish them lots of luck.

Some of the happy Delancey UK Chess Challenge qualifiers who have made it through to the Megafinal round: