CRS London Academy, UK Chess News
Chess Rising Stars

It is our pleasure to present the UK Chess Challenge U10 Girls Terafinal 2023 Champion, Sheng Lu.

Sheng first joined Chess Rising Stars back in the Summer of 2021 and, through her sustained effort both on and off the board, has made excellent progress. To support her chess development, she has been an active member of our Elite Club Online and received private lessons with us. Notably, Sheng was one of three Chess Rising Stars students to secure a spot in the U10 Terafinal.

Terafinalists and their families in the grounds of Blenheim Palace

The tournament followed a challenging 12-player Round Robin format with 8 boys and 4 girls vying for the titles. Sheng achieved 3.5 points, including a perfect score of 3/3 against the other girls in her section. Sheng’s final round win against her closest rival secured the U10 Girls Champion title.

Chess Rising Stars coaches WFM Maria Manelidou and Chris Russell were in attendance at the Terafinal to provide pre-game preparation and encouragement. We were keen to support our students at this prestigious event. They all competed fiercely and exceeded our expectations!

Chess Rising Stars students and coaches at the Terafinal

Sheng’s journey to the Terafinal reflects her extensive tournament experience, which spans across England, Germany, and the USA. She secured her place as the Top Girl in both the Online Megafinal and Gigafinal and carried this winning momentum into the Terafinal.

At Chess Rising Stars, we are committed to promoting and empowering girls in chess. As part of our ongoing efforts, we will launch a Girls’ Online Chess Club in November 2023. For further details, please refer to our website here.

We are looking forward to finding out what’s next for Sheng!

Sheng before her 7th round game

Tags:

Related Post

Chess Articles, CRS London Academy, UK Chess News
Feb 27, 2024

Breaking Barriers: Growing The Game

The Chess Rising Stars Girls’ Online Chess Club is now into its second term. Supported by lead coach WFM Maria Manelidou, our active community of girls taking part in chess lessons continues to grow.

In its 2019 publication ‘Development of Women’s Chess – Progress Plan’, the English Chess Federation identified that “there will need to be cultural change at all levels of chess in England which will require engagement from clubs, counties, unions, schools and individual members”.

In support of this aim our club is free to enter for girls who already have chess lessons with us.

“Chess has played an important role in my life and I am keen to share that. I moved to Greece when I was a young girl but I didn’t speak any Greek. Joining the local chess club changed my life because chess has its own language. It helped me to make friends and become more confident.”

WFM Maria Manelidou – Founder at Chess Rising Stars London Academy

We are keen to promote and create opportunities for girls to play chess with us. Our Girls’ Chess Club Online is another step in this direction.

Read More
CRS London Academy
Aug 28, 2023

CRS London Academy hosted its first cross-continental chess teaching collaboration

Chess Rising Stars London Academy had the great pleasure to host its first ever cross-continental chess teaching collaboration on Saturday 26th August. This online event brought us together with the Chess To School initiative for an exciting afternoon of chess.

Chess To School is a non-profit organisation, dedicated to harnessing the power of chess to educate children in the slums and schools of Lagos, Nigeria. Their commitment to equipping underprivileged children with valuable life skills through chess is inspiring to witness and we recommend following their progress.

Photo by @Chesstoschool

WFM Maria Manelidou opened the event by demonstrating one of her own games. The depth of understanding exhibited by the children during the ensuing analysis demonstrated their obvious chess potential.

Following her lesson, the competition came alive in a tightly contested 3v3 match. Excellent sportsmanship was displayed throughout and, despite some unsteady internet connections, we were able to complete a 6-game match.

We are grateful to the Chess To School team for sharing this experience with us. Their enthusiastic participation and shared vision for a better future through chess resonated with us. This event would not have been the success it was without their involvement.

Our gratitude goes out to Chess To School for their enthusiastic involvement. We eagerly await our next encounter!

Read More
UK Chess News
Oct 12, 2024

Global Chess League – London

Magnus Carlsen summed up the mood of many chess fans when he posted, “We’re not a serious sport unfortunately,” after a chaotic moment in the Global Chess League. The game between Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Vidit Gujrathi turned farcical when reaching a K+R v K ending without increment, as pieces were frequently knocked over in the frantic time scramble. To make matters worse, FIDE shared the “dramatic draw” video on social media, unaware that this mess could overshadow the event for the wrong reasons.

Magnus Carlsen post-match interview

Despite this misstep, drawing inspiration from the eSports community, chess clearly can host modern events that appeal to a broader audience with a focus on online streaming, fan engagement and fast-paced games. The Chess Rising Stars students and coaches who attended were made to feel welcome. Fresh off her win for Alpine SG Pipers in a fiercely competitive match, the legendary Hou Yifan was kind enough to take a photo with Chess Rising Stars founder, Coach Maria. Putting women centre stage, events like this are paving the way for the next generation, showing girls everywhere that they belong in this game.

Maria Manelidou and Hou Yifan

Behind the scenes, GMs Gawain Jones, David Howell, and Shreyas Royal contributed in supporting roles, but it was a disappointment for English chess that no local players were invited to compete. We hope the recently announced London Chess Classic, starting in November, won’t replicate this mistake and will stick to its tradition of including and promoting English GMs.

Hosting back-to-back major events, London is busy staking a claim as a global chess hub and we’re here for it!

Read More