First of all – a big welcome to all those boys who joined the Chess Course for the first time this term. I hope that you enjoyed playing against your friends, and I hope also to see you representing the School in chess events in years to come.
One focus this term has been the Welsh Junior Grand Prix where boys needed to score 2 points or more to qualify for the Final in Cardiff in January. At the Monmouth Qualifier Under11 Henry was 4th, with Oliver & Greg just ½ a point behind & also qualifying, while at Under 9 Max was 2nd, Michael 4th & Edward 6th. Che , Woody, William, Joe, Mattias, Ben & Charlie also qualified for the Final, with Gabriel, Jack & Max also playing well. Gus had a great day at Under 11 at the Qualifier at Llandaff, with Owain & James just ½ a point behind. At Under 9 there were solid performances from Edward, Philip & Oliver.
The main arena this term has been the Grange Superleague, where the competition has again been intense. In Premiership 4 George took Gold & Caius Silver, which is the colour Thomas took in Premiership 3, ahead of a chasing pack of Dominic, Oliver B & Oliver C. In Premiership 2 Rory showed his class in securing Gold ahead of Silver medallist Tim. In the rarefied atmosphere of Premiership 1, which boasts many members of the Wales U11 Chess Squad, there were reminders of the considerable talents of Sam & Zu.
We rounded off the term with a Christmas Team Competition, & if I were a betting man I might have tipped Santa’s Little Helpers but alas they were 3rd behind Griff’s Polar Bears in 2nd & Teal’s Reindeer in 1st place. It wasn’t the Penguins’ year but well done nonetheless to William & Dylan.
Next term all club members will be taking part in the UK Land Challenge. We will also be preparing for several events, including the Welsh Grand Prix Final, & the Welsh Junior Championships here at The Grange & at Cardiff.
Finally – I have just seen the selection for the South Wales Junior Chess Teams due to take on the English Counties in Devon in January: five Grange boys in the U9 team, six in the U11 & four ex-Grange boys in the U14. Terrific!
Oliver’s joke: What makes a chess player happy? Taking the knight off!
A Merry Christmas to All, & to All a Good Knight.