This weekend (18th & 19th September) saw the penultimate round in the Delancey UK Chess Challenge, The Challengers round in which young chess players competed for a second chance to make it into the Grand Terafinal at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire.

The Challengers was the first round that had been held face to face over the board and was hosted at the Daventry Court Hotel, Daventry. The competition was tough with many junior players having ratings well in excess of 2000 (Lichess).

In the U12 age group, Larissa Cuthbert played exceptionally well with a 1929 tournament rating performance. She scored 4.5 out of 9 and came 32nd equal out of 63. At the beginning of the tournament, she was ranked 54th.

Taking part in the U18 section was Merlin Cork who also faced tough competition. Merlin was the lowest-rated player by some distance in his section with the next highest rated player being a WCM and started the tournament ranked 16th out of 16. He finished with a score of 3.5 out of 9, coming 9th with a performance rating of 2082. He twice played on Board 2. Below is a photo of Larissa provided by her father, Adrian, at the Daventry Court Hotel assessing the playing venue! The set up looks very professional and, in total, there were 196 players all playing in the same room ranging from U8 to U18!

Very well done to both Larissa and Merlin, we are extremely proud of your achievements.