Latest News:
A round up of recent scores and achievements by junior county players
08/08/2023
British Championships
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This year the British Championships too place just over the border in Leicester, and a number of local players made the short trip to be part of this occasion.
Daniella Dairi played in the under 8 section, William Calvert in the Under 10 section, and George Calvert and Zac Paintin in the under 12 section. They all gave it their best, but the two outstanding performances were from Ramsey Dairi, who won the under 12 section, and Mihir Sharma, who won the under 1450 grade Rapidplay. Congratulations to all these players, but especially to Ramsey and Mihir - well done to you both. In the actual Championships, in which many Grand Masters took part, Toby Cox and an "old boy" from Northamptonshire, James Jackson, played. Meanwhile another old boy, Chris Gibson, played in the Major Open. Also, not to be left out, Toby's father David played in the under 1450 grade Weekend Congress. You can see all the results of all the sections from the British Championships by following this link to the dedicated website here. Again, well done to everybody who took part. |
Ramsey Dairi - winner of the under 12 section at the British Championships 2023
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05/07/2023
East Midlands FIDE Congress
This is an event that we have become aware of recently, and which we think some of you may be interested in, which is taking place in Wellingborough next month. Simply follow this link to find all the information and to enter online should you wish to attend.
04/07/2023
End of season report
Dear all
The NSCA chess program for the current school year is now complete and we are all looking forward to a summer break. Your Executive committee work very hard to organise Congresses that will prove beneficial to the children and both enjoyable and comfortable to all. The progressive increase in the number of attendees suggests that we are making good progress. Our link with Stowe School has been extremely successful and I am please to say that Stowe will be hosting both of our Major Championships in 2024.
The signs for growth are really good and we will be placing a strong emphasis on the primary sector this year as this is the building Block for our growth in the 12-18 section.
We are hoping to arrange some additional primary events.
We need your help
Whilst the executive committee works well, we would very much value some additional assistance, particularly at our congresses. It would be beneficial if we had a larger team in the actual chess rooms.
If you feel that you would like to become involved with the Association would you please contact me directly by email at a.baileychess@gmail.com or by telephone on 07892 719916.
I would like to thank everyone who assists us in various ways during our chess year and hope you all have a very nice summer break.
Kind regards
Alan Bailey (NSCA Chairman)
The NSCA chess program for the current school year is now complete and we are all looking forward to a summer break. Your Executive committee work very hard to organise Congresses that will prove beneficial to the children and both enjoyable and comfortable to all. The progressive increase in the number of attendees suggests that we are making good progress. Our link with Stowe School has been extremely successful and I am please to say that Stowe will be hosting both of our Major Championships in 2024.
The signs for growth are really good and we will be placing a strong emphasis on the primary sector this year as this is the building Block for our growth in the 12-18 section.
We are hoping to arrange some additional primary events.
We need your help
Whilst the executive committee works well, we would very much value some additional assistance, particularly at our congresses. It would be beneficial if we had a larger team in the actual chess rooms.
If you feel that you would like to become involved with the Association would you please contact me directly by email at a.baileychess@gmail.com or by telephone on 07892 719916.
I would like to thank everyone who assists us in various ways during our chess year and hope you all have a very nice summer break.
Kind regards
Alan Bailey (NSCA Chairman)
19/05/2023
Stowe School Championships
There was another good turn out for the Stowe School Championships which recently took place. Well done to everybody who participated, but special congratulations to the winners on the day, who were:
Under 8 - Aaryan Ragham
Under 9 - Wolf Sharp
Under 10 - Arseni Korzun
Stowe Junior Champion - Loic Kunze
Under 12 - Dragos Carpovici
Under 14 - Holly Wang
Under 16 - Mihir Sharma
Stowe Senior Champion - Robert Layter
Under 8 - Aaryan Ragham
Under 9 - Wolf Sharp
Under 10 - Arseni Korzun
Stowe Junior Champion - Loic Kunze
Under 12 - Dragos Carpovici
Under 14 - Holly Wang
Under 16 - Mihir Sharma
Stowe Senior Champion - Robert Layter
19/05/2023
Leicestershire Junior Congress
The Leicestershire Junior Congress, incorporating the Leicestershire Junior Chess Championships, is being held on Saturday June 3rd in Mountsorrel.
All the details, and online entry, can be found on their website here.
All the details, and online entry, can be found on their website here.
04/05/2023
Northampton FIDE Rapidplay
Following on from the successful Rapidplay tournament held at University of Northampton another touranament is taking place this coming Sunday at the same venue. With the Stowe Chess Championships taking place only a week later this could prove to be very good practice and experience for those choosing to enter. All the details and how to enter can be found on the dedicated website here.
21/03/2023
Under 11 county team
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For the first time since the pandemic we were very pleased to enter a team into the EPSCA inter-association under 11 competition.
This year we chose to enter the north zonal, which took place in Bolton. The initial "goalposts" for qualification for the final were changed quite late in the day, and as a result we sadly just failed to qualify. However, we did have a very young team who performed magnificently, who all looked very good in their county jumpers, and our EPSCA adventure has happily restarted again and the future is looking very bright. You can view the players scores and all the team scores from the day here. |
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17/03/2023
Stowe School Championships
We are pleased to announce that we will again be working with Stowe School, who are going to be holding the Stowe School Championships on Sunday 14th May.
You can download an entry form here and we look forward to seeing many of you there on the day.
You can download an entry form here and we look forward to seeing many of you there on the day.
08/02/2023
County Championships 2023
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It was great to be able to hold our annual County Championships back in its usual February slot again after the disruption of the past few seasons, and it was also great to have a new venue to hold it in. We were however blown away by the incredible response we had from everybody resulting in one of the largest entry list we have ever had, certainly for many years at least.
The Obelisk Centre in Northampton was our venue for this year, which also meant the return to Northampton itself after some years away. With such a large turn out the day did get quite hectic at times, but everybody seemed to have a good day, and the tournament was a great success. So, our new County Champions are: Under 8: Jerome Justin Under 9: Wolf Sharp Under 10: Hugo Singlehurst Under 11: Arsenii Korzun Under 11 Girl: Abhidhya Mishra Under 12: George Calvert Under 14: Mihir Sharma Under 14 Girl: Eira Collacott Under 16: Bayley Northern Under 18: Samuel Cates Photos from the day can be viewed here. |
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10/102022
Website and email update
We are in the process of changing our website hosting provider, meaning that some of your saved links may not behave as usual, but hopefully that will soon be rectified.
We do however now have a new contact email address which we will be using in the future for sending out tournament entry forms and other relevant information.
Our new address is info@northantsjuniorchess.org
We do however now have a new contact email address which we will be using in the future for sending out tournament entry forms and other relevant information.
Our new address is info@northantsjuniorchess.org
17/11/2022
November Congress
In our continuing efforts to get back to a fuller calendar we recently made it back to Wellingborough School for the NSCA November Congress. On this occasion this was played over five rounds instead of our usual six, but everybody still had a very enjoyable day, and the turnout was extremely encouraging.
Well done to all those who took part, and many congratulations to all the winners. Those, and the runner-ups, can be viewed here.
We are endeavouring to get our calendar back to its usual full complement of tournaments, and once we have further dates of other NSCA held competitions we will be sure to let you know.
Well done to all those who took part, and many congratulations to all the winners. Those, and the runner-ups, can be viewed here.
We are endeavouring to get our calendar back to its usual full complement of tournaments, and once we have further dates of other NSCA held competitions we will be sure to let you know.
19/10/2022
Roll of Honour
We have been gathering a list of all the various County Champions from over the years, and this has culminated in a new page on our website - the Roll of Honour. Here you will be able to view the names of County Champions past and present. It is not yet fully complete, but you can view those currently available here.
17/10/022
NSCA November Tournament
Hot on the heels of a very successful tournament at Stowe, we have managed to arrange another tournament, this time back at Wellingborough School.
This will be the NSCA November Congress, and is another step towards hopefully arranging a fuller calendar post Covid restrictions.
You can download an entry form here.
This will be the NSCA November Congress, and is another step towards hopefully arranging a fuller calendar post Covid restrictions.
You can download an entry form here.
17/10/2022
Stowe Autumn Congress
Following on from our successful collaboration with Stowe School earlier in the year, another Chess Congress was held at the school on 16th October, and was again very well attended. Details of the winners and runners-up can be viewed here, along with photos from the day.
22/06/2022
Stowe Tournament
Well done to everybody who participated in the Stowe Chess Tournament which took place on 22nd May 2022 at Stowe School.
This was the first collaboration between the NSCA and Stowe School, and the event was extremely successful, and we very much look forward to working together in the years to come.
Many congratulations to the overall winners, who were:
Owen Shum, Jeshwin Jayakumar, Pooja Koripalli, Zac Paintin, George Calvert, Ramsey Dairi, Xerxes Gulabani, Vanyk Singh and Toby Cox.
A selection of photos from the day and the award presentations can be seen here, with many thanks due to Abhirup Mishra for providing these.
This was the first collaboration between the NSCA and Stowe School, and the event was extremely successful, and we very much look forward to working together in the years to come.
Many congratulations to the overall winners, who were:
Owen Shum, Jeshwin Jayakumar, Pooja Koripalli, Zac Paintin, George Calvert, Ramsey Dairi, Xerxes Gulabani, Vanyk Singh and Toby Cox.
A selection of photos from the day and the award presentations can be seen here, with many thanks due to Abhirup Mishra for providing these.
31/05/2022
County Champions
Many congratulations to our new County Champions, who are:
Jeshwin Jayakumar, Wolf Sharp, Hugo Singleton, Pooja Koripalli, Zac Paintin, George Calvert, Scarlett Metcalf, David Richards, Dengiz Primkul,
Eira Collacott, Xavi Nylaende and Alexander Richards.
A selection of photos from the award presentations can be seen here, courtesy of Abhirup Mishra.
Jeshwin Jayakumar, Wolf Sharp, Hugo Singleton, Pooja Koripalli, Zac Paintin, George Calvert, Scarlett Metcalf, David Richards, Dengiz Primkul,
Eira Collacott, Xavi Nylaende and Alexander Richards.
A selection of photos from the award presentations can be seen here, courtesy of Abhirup Mishra.
25/05/2022
Local tournament success
We are very pleased to report that the first two local tournaments held recently proved a huge success, with great turn outs at both Wellingborough School for the County Championships, and at Stowe School for their first competition to be held there.
It was a welcome return for the County Championships after having to miss last years due to the Covid situation, and although we had to hold the tournament slightly later in the year as opposed to its traditional February slot, attendance was very good and it is great to have our latest group of Junior County Chess Champions.
Many thanks to Wellingborough School for their support in getting us back into hosting competitions, and also many thanks to Abhirup Mishra who very kindly provided us with many photos of the day, which can all be viewed here.
The following weekend we were very pleased to be helping at nearby Stowe School, where they were holding their first chess tournament. This was also a great success. Many thanks to them for their wonderful facilities, and we very much look forward to future collaborations with Stowe School over the coming years.
It was a welcome return for the County Championships after having to miss last years due to the Covid situation, and although we had to hold the tournament slightly later in the year as opposed to its traditional February slot, attendance was very good and it is great to have our latest group of Junior County Chess Champions.
Many thanks to Wellingborough School for their support in getting us back into hosting competitions, and also many thanks to Abhirup Mishra who very kindly provided us with many photos of the day, which can all be viewed here.
The following weekend we were very pleased to be helping at nearby Stowe School, where they were holding their first chess tournament. This was also a great success. Many thanks to them for their wonderful facilities, and we very much look forward to future collaborations with Stowe School over the coming years.
28/04/2022
New local tournament and collaboration
The NSCA is very pleased to announce an exciting development, after our re-start following the Covid lockdown.
Stowe School near Towcester have approached the NSCA to discuss a possible collaboration in the organization of junior Chess within the county. As a result of some initial discussions, we can confirm that we will be working on some joint projects next year. In addition to boosting participation in our events, the Stowe School will be delighted to host some joint events during 2022/23.
We have had a good response to our upcoming County Championships on the 14th May and we are very grateful for the continued support of both the parents and children concerned. It shows that there is still significant interest in junior Chess, in and surrounding Northamptonshire.
We have an immediate opportunity to build on the foregoing. The school are very keen to commence their involvement in chess and have arranged a test event in readiness for next year. Stowe School is in a fabulous location.
For the children who are taking part, this will be a new congress with many new faces, and the chess will be played in a nice peaceful atmosphere. Lunch will be provided for all participants and there are plenty of prizes to be won.
It offers a wonderful day out for parents who will be made welcome and comfortable within the school, and have the opportunity to enjoy the fresh air as you wander around permissible areas of the extensive grounds. In addition, there will be complimentary light snacks and drinks provided.
There is no entry fee for this event, and an entry form can be downloaded here.
Stowe School near Towcester have approached the NSCA to discuss a possible collaboration in the organization of junior Chess within the county. As a result of some initial discussions, we can confirm that we will be working on some joint projects next year. In addition to boosting participation in our events, the Stowe School will be delighted to host some joint events during 2022/23.
We have had a good response to our upcoming County Championships on the 14th May and we are very grateful for the continued support of both the parents and children concerned. It shows that there is still significant interest in junior Chess, in and surrounding Northamptonshire.
We have an immediate opportunity to build on the foregoing. The school are very keen to commence their involvement in chess and have arranged a test event in readiness for next year. Stowe School is in a fabulous location.
For the children who are taking part, this will be a new congress with many new faces, and the chess will be played in a nice peaceful atmosphere. Lunch will be provided for all participants and there are plenty of prizes to be won.
It offers a wonderful day out for parents who will be made welcome and comfortable within the school, and have the opportunity to enjoy the fresh air as you wander around permissible areas of the extensive grounds. In addition, there will be complimentary light snacks and drinks provided.
There is no entry fee for this event, and an entry form can be downloaded here.
05/04/2022
Updated Entry Form
We have now updated our entry form for the County Junior Chess Championships, to include details to allow for online payments for those that wish to pay in this way, as we are aware that many people do now. You will still need to post or email the entry form to Nigel Mapletoft, but all the details can be found on the new updated form, which can be viewed here.
28/02/2022
Northants County Junior Chess Championships 2022
YES! We now have our first tournament for two years lined up, and it is the Northants County Junior Championships which will be taking place at Wellingborough School on Saturday 14th May. We are asking players to enter as early as they can, so that we can have a good idea of the numbers that are likely to be happy to start attending our competitions again - the past two years have been difficult for everybody, and we fully understand that some people may feel a reluctance to start playing over the board chess again, and all the socialising that goes with it. We also understand that times have been difficult financially too for some people, and with this in mind we have reduced the entry fee for this first tournament.
We hope to see many of you there, and you can download an entry form with all the details here.
We hope to see many of you there, and you can download an entry form with all the details here.
01/02/2022
STOP PRESS: Over the board chess to return to Northamptonshire!!!!
We are very pleased to announce that we now have a provisional date for our first over the board in person chess tournament in two years, with the Northants Junior County Championships due to be held on Saturday May 14th 2022 at Wellingborough School. An entry form will be available for this competition very soon, and if you are on our mailing database then you should receive a copy in your inbox in the next week or so.
We very much hope that this competition manages to go ahead, and would like to thank Wellingborough School for making this possible, though of course we can't absolutely guarantee anything as in these strange times we never seem to know what next is just around the corner, but fingers crossed we can crown some County Champions again before too long, and that this will just be the first of more tournaments to come.
Keep checking back for an entry form to download, and hope see you all again soon!!!
We very much hope that this competition manages to go ahead, and would like to thank Wellingborough School for making this possible, though of course we can't absolutely guarantee anything as in these strange times we never seem to know what next is just around the corner, but fingers crossed we can crown some County Champions again before too long, and that this will just be the first of more tournaments to come.
Keep checking back for an entry form to download, and hope see you all again soon!!!
05/10/2021
Thank you Amelia!
A young local chess player, Amelia, has informed us of a very useful chess website that she and her mother have been using recently. It is called
"A Kid's Guide To Playing Chess", and it has a lot of helpful information which includes a great breakdown on chessboard set up, special moves,
strategy, and how to begin and end a game etc. You can view the website here, or follow the link from our useful chess links page.
We would like to thank Amelia for this very useful information, and if you should have anything that you think we might be interested in, be it anything from another chess website to perhaps some chess that you have been involved in recently, then do drop us a line via the contact us page.
"A Kid's Guide To Playing Chess", and it has a lot of helpful information which includes a great breakdown on chessboard set up, special moves,
strategy, and how to begin and end a game etc. You can view the website here, or follow the link from our useful chess links page.
We would like to thank Amelia for this very useful information, and if you should have anything that you think we might be interested in, be it anything from another chess website to perhaps some chess that you have been involved in recently, then do drop us a line via the contact us page.
05/10/2021
Still no chess?
Hello everybody. I hope we find you all well. Unfortunately, as we type, there is still no news on when we will be able to start any of our competitions again due to the continued ongoing pandemic situation. However, rest assured that as soon as we have managed to arrange anything that you will all be informed on here, or if you are on our database then direct to your inbox. Should you wish to be added to our database please let us know via the contact us page. In the meantime please stay safe and well.
29/05/2021
Karen skydives for Cynthia Spencer
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Many of you will remember John Warren from our chess tournaments in the past. For many years John was the NSCA chairman as well as organising the county teams and also running various after school chess clubs in the County. Without John the NSCA would most definitely not be what it is today.
Sadly though John lost his long battle with cancer over a year ago now, and Karen, his wife, recently completed a sponsored skydive to raise money for the Cynthia Spencer Hospice in Northampton who gave great support to John and his family. Karen was also a very familiar face at many of our tournaments, as she used to provide almost all of us with teas, coffees, and other refreshments at our competitions, supporting John. By doing this amazing feat of 'jumping out of a plane' she has managed to comfortably reach her target and has so far raised over £1600. Many congratulations to Karen on this achievement, and Karen would like to thank all those who so kindly sponsored her on this challenge. If you wish to read more of her story you can visit her Just Giving page here. |
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21/04/2021
Online tournament
Hello everybody. I’m sorry that you’ve not heard much from us recently, but with the way things have been over the past 12 months unfortunately there has not really been very much to report.
Looking ahead the situation is still very vague as to how things will progress, but I can inform you all that coming up soon, on Saturday May 1st, our neighbours over the border in Leicestershire have organised an online event which includes junior sections.
You can find further details here, and enter online here.
We hope that many of you will consider entering this tournament, and we wish the best of luck to all those that do.
Hopefully you will hear from ourselves again before too long now, but in the meantime keep safe and stay well everybody.
Looking ahead the situation is still very vague as to how things will progress, but I can inform you all that coming up soon, on Saturday May 1st, our neighbours over the border in Leicestershire have organised an online event which includes junior sections.
You can find further details here, and enter online here.
We hope that many of you will consider entering this tournament, and we wish the best of luck to all those that do.
Hopefully you will hear from ourselves again before too long now, but in the meantime keep safe and stay well everybody.
04/01/2021
Happy New Year!!!?
Hello again everybody.
First of all, the NSCA would like to wish every single one of you the very best for 2021, and we hope that all of us will get to have a much better year going forward.
With regards to chess matters I am sure that you will fully understand that we are still unable to give you any idea as to when our local tournaments might resume, but do rest assured that as soon as we have anything to report we will let you know.
Meanwhile stay safe, and we hope to be in contact again soon.
First of all, the NSCA would like to wish every single one of you the very best for 2021, and we hope that all of us will get to have a much better year going forward.
With regards to chess matters I am sure that you will fully understand that we are still unable to give you any idea as to when our local tournaments might resume, but do rest assured that as soon as we have anything to report we will let you know.
Meanwhile stay safe, and we hope to be in contact again soon.
28/09/2020
Season update...
A quick note just to say that sadly there is very little to report - unfortunately with us still being in the grips of the Covid-19 pandemic there is no in county junior chess activity due to take place as yet. We do not know when this is likely to change either, but rest assured that if there is any news to pass on it will appear here, and will also be forwarded to those who are currently on our mailing list.
However, if you should have anything to report yourselves then we would love to hear from you - either contact us direct or via the contact us page.
In the meantime stay safe, and we will hopefully be in contact again soon.
However, if you should have anything to report yourselves then we would love to hear from you - either contact us direct or via the contact us page.
In the meantime stay safe, and we will hopefully be in contact again soon.
01/07/2020
Looking ahead - strange times
As a result of the current situation throughout the country in relation to the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, all current chess information is very fluid and consequently the timetable for the season ahead is still rather unsure.
Within Northamptonshire we hope to run our usual 4 individual junior tournaments, and ideally around the same dates and at the same venues as usual, but this will very much depend upon what restrictions remain in place, both with regards to the actual holding of such events, and also that apply to the various schools that we are normally able to use for our tournaments.
The NSCA AGM has now been postponed, having originally been due to take place in mid July. This will now hopefully take place nearer to the end of the summer holidays when information may be such that we can clarify which events will take place, and on what dates and at which venues. As soon as we have any information with regards to this we will pass it on both here, and also via email should you be on our mailing list.
We would very much like to thank you for your patience during this time. However, if you should have any questions at all, please do feel free to contact us via the contact us page, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
For now though, stay safe, and we look forward to seeing many of you once the situation allows.
Within Northamptonshire we hope to run our usual 4 individual junior tournaments, and ideally around the same dates and at the same venues as usual, but this will very much depend upon what restrictions remain in place, both with regards to the actual holding of such events, and also that apply to the various schools that we are normally able to use for our tournaments.
The NSCA AGM has now been postponed, having originally been due to take place in mid July. This will now hopefully take place nearer to the end of the summer holidays when information may be such that we can clarify which events will take place, and on what dates and at which venues. As soon as we have any information with regards to this we will pass it on both here, and also via email should you be on our mailing list.
We would very much like to thank you for your patience during this time. However, if you should have any questions at all, please do feel free to contact us via the contact us page, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
For now though, stay safe, and we look forward to seeing many of you once the situation allows.
30/05/2020
Megafinal/Gigafinal/Terafinal update
Hello everybody.
We hope we find you all well during these very strange times, and that life for all of us will move to the “new normal” sooner rather than later, including the holding of chess tournaments.
However, during this period, Delancey UK Chess, who arrange the Megafinals and all the events that follow, have organised for this years challenge to now be completed online, via the website www.lichess.org
You would need to each enter as individuals through the Delancey website here should you wish to participate.
For those who do enter we at the NSCA would like to wish you all the best of luck.
Hopefully come the next school year we will be able to begin again a full program of events for juniors in Northamptonshire, but in the meantime may we wish you all the very best, stay safe, and look after each other.
We hope we find you all well during these very strange times, and that life for all of us will move to the “new normal” sooner rather than later, including the holding of chess tournaments.
However, during this period, Delancey UK Chess, who arrange the Megafinals and all the events that follow, have organised for this years challenge to now be completed online, via the website www.lichess.org
You would need to each enter as individuals through the Delancey website here should you wish to participate.
For those who do enter we at the NSCA would like to wish you all the best of luck.
Hopefully come the next school year we will be able to begin again a full program of events for juniors in Northamptonshire, but in the meantime may we wish you all the very best, stay safe, and look after each other.
18/03/2020
POSTPONED - Megafinal
Following on from our announcement of the cancellation of our Last Chance Saloon, the overall organisers of the UK Chess Challenge have announced the postponement of all Megafinals and Gigafinals until later in the year. We will pass on more details as to new dates when these should become available, or you can get further information from the UK Chess Challenge website here.
17/03/2020
CANCELLATION - Last Chance Saloon
Due to the current situation it has been decided to cancel the Northamptonshire Last Chance Saloon for 2020. This would have been a qualifier for the UK Chess Challenge Megafinal Indeed in light of how things are the Megafinal and all chess tournaments and matches are now in question. We will update you as and when we have any further relevant information.
17/02/2020
County Championships
Our 2020 County Champions have now been crowned!
Despite the approaching Storm Dennis, there was an excellent turnout for this years championships, which took place at Wellingborough School on 15th February. No less than three players all had a perfect day with six wins from their six games, with George Calvert in the under 9s, Mihir Sharma in the under 11s, and Toby Cox in the under 18s all finishing the day on maximum points. Congratulations to these, and all the winners on the day, and well done to everybody for a wonderful days play.
You can see some of the best players from the day here, whilst all the scores from all the sections can be viewed here.
As before this tournament also formed the third part of the current NSCA Grand Prix, and with one more tournament to be played (the charity congress in June) most of the sections are very close; none more so than the under 9 section where three players are all tied on 14.5 points!
You can see the latest leaders and their scores in the Grand Prix here.
Despite the approaching Storm Dennis, there was an excellent turnout for this years championships, which took place at Wellingborough School on 15th February. No less than three players all had a perfect day with six wins from their six games, with George Calvert in the under 9s, Mihir Sharma in the under 11s, and Toby Cox in the under 18s all finishing the day on maximum points. Congratulations to these, and all the winners on the day, and well done to everybody for a wonderful days play.
You can see some of the best players from the day here, whilst all the scores from all the sections can be viewed here.
As before this tournament also formed the third part of the current NSCA Grand Prix, and with one more tournament to be played (the charity congress in June) most of the sections are very close; none more so than the under 9 section where three players are all tied on 14.5 points!
You can see the latest leaders and their scores in the Grand Prix here.
06/02/2020
South of England Championships
Well done to all the players who made the journey down to Yateley Manor School in Surrey for the 2020 South of England Championships, which also forms a qualifying tournament for the England under 11 team.
In the Under 11 section Mihir Sharma scored 3 out of 5, in the under 12 closed section Alexander Richards scored 2.5, as did Lucian Cox in the Under 14 closed.
Meanwhile in the Under 16 closed section Toby Cox scored a very impressive 4.5 out of 5 making him the joint top scorer!
All the results from all the sections can be viewed via the dedicated website here.
In the Under 11 section Mihir Sharma scored 3 out of 5, in the under 12 closed section Alexander Richards scored 2.5, as did Lucian Cox in the Under 14 closed.
Meanwhile in the Under 16 closed section Toby Cox scored a very impressive 4.5 out of 5 making him the joint top scorer!
All the results from all the sections can be viewed via the dedicated website here.
21/01/2020
John Warren
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It is with great sadness that we have to report the passing of our previous chairman and great friend John Warren, after a long battle with cancer.
John really was Mr Chess in Northamptonshire, and had such a passion in encouraging young children throughout Northants to take up the game. There are many many chess players that would not have got into and improved their chess had it not been for John. His enthusiasm for children from all backgrounds to get involved was boundless, and even during his recent illnesses he was always wanting to know how chess was progressing within Northants and beyond. The establishment of our current events program, and the opportunities for children in Northants to represent their county are just two of his many achievements. Last February we were very pleased that despite his ill health John was able to make our County Championships, and presented all the trophies too - here you can see him handing over the recently introduced John Warren Trophy which is for the best older player in the county. We will all miss John greatly, and Northants Chess is much the poorer for his passing. Our heartfelt sympathies go to John's wife Karen and all their family. |
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21/01/2020
Junior County Championships
Following on quickly from our 1st Primary Congress, the 2020 Junior County Championships are coming up at Wellingborough School on Saturday 15th February. Entries are now being taken, and you can download an entry form here.
21/01/2020
1st Primary Congress
This season we replaced our Christmas Congress with a new Primary Congress, taking place in January rather than between Christmas and the New Year. Pleasingly there was a really good turn out for this new event, which is for primary school age children only, so giving us an under 11 section and an under 9 section.
There was also a training element to the day, with the NSCA chairman Alan Bailey, and under 16 county player Manasi Mehta both helping these younger players to improve their games.
A magical interlude also took place, in the form of David Miller, who as well as being a long time chess parent to England player Max Miller is an accomplished magician, being the Northants Grand Prix Champion of Magic. It made for a very entertaining break, and I for one just can't work out where all those drinks went to!!!!?
You can now view some of the best players from the day here, whilst all the scores from the days chess can be found here, and with this tournament also forming the second part of this season's NSCA Grand Prix, the latest leader board update can now be found here.
There was also a training element to the day, with the NSCA chairman Alan Bailey, and under 16 county player Manasi Mehta both helping these younger players to improve their games.
A magical interlude also took place, in the form of David Miller, who as well as being a long time chess parent to England player Max Miller is an accomplished magician, being the Northants Grand Prix Champion of Magic. It made for a very entertaining break, and I for one just can't work out where all those drinks went to!!!!?
You can now view some of the best players from the day here, whilst all the scores from the days chess can be found here, and with this tournament also forming the second part of this season's NSCA Grand Prix, the latest leader board update can now be found here.
02/12/2019
British Rapidplay Championships
These were held recently at Pudsey in Yorkshire, and a number of local players were in attendance. Toby Cox was taking part in the actual Open section (won by a Grand Master!) and achieved a highly impressive 7th place overall with 6.5 out of 11. Toby's brother Lucian was playing in the Minor section, and played equally well to finish 4th with a score of 7.5 out of 11. Mihir Sharma also played well, in the England under 11 qualifying section, and finished with a very good 2.5 out of 5.
Many congratulations to all three of these players on an impressive weekends play against some very tough opposition.
You can read more about this event, with links to all the cross tables of all the section, here.
Many congratulations to all three of these players on an impressive weekends play against some very tough opposition.
You can read more about this event, with links to all the cross tables of all the section, here.
11/11/2019
!!! Christmas Congress replacement !!!
A note from our chairman, Alan Bailey:
The above congress has now been held over the Christmas period for several years and we believe that it is now outdated. Christmas is a family time and hence attendance at the above can prove inconvenient for all. We have therefore taken the decision to remove the Christmas Cracker from our schedule of events with immediate effect and I suspect that this decision will prove popular to all concerned.
We do intend to replace the congress with something better. It is our intention to hold a new Primary congress on January 18th 2020 and this will be specifically targeted at the u7-u11 age groups. It will be a normal congress but will incorporate some element of Teaching. It will form part of our Grand Prix for these age groups.
The above congress has now been held over the Christmas period for several years and we believe that it is now outdated. Christmas is a family time and hence attendance at the above can prove inconvenient for all. We have therefore taken the decision to remove the Christmas Cracker from our schedule of events with immediate effect and I suspect that this decision will prove popular to all concerned.
We do intend to replace the congress with something better. It is our intention to hold a new Primary congress on January 18th 2020 and this will be specifically targeted at the u7-u11 age groups. It will be a normal congress but will incorporate some element of Teaching. It will form part of our Grand Prix for these age groups.
04/11/2019
40th Northants Junior Congress
Our traditional first tournament took place at Wellingborough School in the shape of the Northants Junior Congress.
There was a particularly good turn out for this event, especially taking into account that we were up against the rugby world cup final, but there was much better play in Wellingborough than in Japan with some excellent chess games in all sections.
You can view photos of some of the best players from the day here, whilst all the scores from the tournament can be viewed here.
Being the first tournament of the season this was also the first leg of this season's NSCA Grand Prix, and so the first update to that can
also be viewed here.
There was a particularly good turn out for this event, especially taking into account that we were up against the rugby world cup final, but there was much better play in Wellingborough than in Japan with some excellent chess games in all sections.
You can view photos of some of the best players from the day here, whilst all the scores from the tournament can be viewed here.
Being the first tournament of the season this was also the first leg of this season's NSCA Grand Prix, and so the first update to that can
also be viewed here.
02/10/2019
Terafinal and Challengers
Following on from the Gigafinals earlier in the summer, a number of local players qualified for either the Terafinal or the Challengers
sections of the UK Chess Challenge.
The Challengers took place first, one for the northern area and one for the southern. The northern took place first in Manchester with three local players all performing well - in the under 12 section Lucian Cox scored 4 out of 6, and Vanik Singh 3, whilst in the under 8 section Risara Senadhipathy also scored 3 out of 6. Good performances all round. All northern section scores can be found here.
In the southern section, which took place in Harrow, Alexander Richards played in the under 12 section, finishing with a very good 4.5 out of 6, whilst in the under 10 section many congratulations to Mihir Sharma who scored a wonderful 5.5 and won the section thus enabling him to take part in the Terafinal which took place much closer to home, in Daventry. All southern section scores can be found here.
Four local players were in action at the Terafinal - along with Mihir also Rion Ray played in the same under 10 section, whilst Toby Cox and Samia Sheikh played in the under 14 section. The Terafinal had a new format this year, comprising of 10 rounds, but after the first 6 rounds had been played the top 4 players in each section then played a mini knockout tournament to determine the winners.
In the under 10 section a score of at least 4.5 was required to move onto the knockout section, which Mihir Sharma narrowly missed out on. Mihir finished the event on 5 out of 10, and Rion finished with 3.
In the under 14 section however, both Samia and Toby qualified, being in third and fourth places respectively after the first six rounds. They both narrowly missed out on the final however, but Toby finished the tournament in 3rd place overall, and Samia was the top girl.
All Terafinal scores can be found here, with an official write up here.
Well done to the four players at the Terafinal, and also those who played in the Challengers, as well as all the players who have given their all in every stage of the UK Chess Challenge, from the initial Megafinal qualification process and beyond.
sections of the UK Chess Challenge.
The Challengers took place first, one for the northern area and one for the southern. The northern took place first in Manchester with three local players all performing well - in the under 12 section Lucian Cox scored 4 out of 6, and Vanik Singh 3, whilst in the under 8 section Risara Senadhipathy also scored 3 out of 6. Good performances all round. All northern section scores can be found here.
In the southern section, which took place in Harrow, Alexander Richards played in the under 12 section, finishing with a very good 4.5 out of 6, whilst in the under 10 section many congratulations to Mihir Sharma who scored a wonderful 5.5 and won the section thus enabling him to take part in the Terafinal which took place much closer to home, in Daventry. All southern section scores can be found here.
Four local players were in action at the Terafinal - along with Mihir also Rion Ray played in the same under 10 section, whilst Toby Cox and Samia Sheikh played in the under 14 section. The Terafinal had a new format this year, comprising of 10 rounds, but after the first 6 rounds had been played the top 4 players in each section then played a mini knockout tournament to determine the winners.
In the under 10 section a score of at least 4.5 was required to move onto the knockout section, which Mihir Sharma narrowly missed out on. Mihir finished the event on 5 out of 10, and Rion finished with 3.
In the under 14 section however, both Samia and Toby qualified, being in third and fourth places respectively after the first six rounds. They both narrowly missed out on the final however, but Toby finished the tournament in 3rd place overall, and Samia was the top girl.
All Terafinal scores can be found here, with an official write up here.
Well done to the four players at the Terafinal, and also those who played in the Challengers, as well as all the players who have given their all in every stage of the UK Chess Challenge, from the initial Megafinal qualification process and beyond.
13/09/2019
First tournaments of the season
Our first tournament of the season will be the 40th Northamptonshire Junior Congress, taking place on Saturday 2nd November at
Wellingborough School. You can download an entry form here.
As in recent seasons this will also form the first part of the NSCA Grand Prix, details of which can be found here.
Meanwhile, before that, our neighbours in Leicestershire are holding a tournament on Sunday 13th October. This has graded sections, and also a junior section. You can see details and enter that online here.
Wellingborough School. You can download an entry form here.
As in recent seasons this will also form the first part of the NSCA Grand Prix, details of which can be found here.
Meanwhile, before that, our neighbours in Leicestershire are holding a tournament on Sunday 13th October. This has graded sections, and also a junior section. You can see details and enter that online here.
Read news from the 2018-2019 Season
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