The Gift of Chess

On 17 July, the National Junior Chess Squad set out on an 11-day chess trip to Andorra, where 13 of us competed in the 42nd Andorra International Open Chess Tournament.  It was a nine-round tournament featuring many titled players, including GMs.  Last year, there was a 15-way tie for second place!

On the first day, I woke up before dawn at 3:30am, bleary-eyed, and travelled to Heathrow Airport.  We flew to Barcelona before embarking on a four-hour bus journey to Andorra la Vella.  It was a long day, but everything went smoothly, and we arrived safely in Europe’s highest capital city, at 1,023 metres above sea level.  The spectacular mountain scenery was breathtaking.  Our hotel was excellent, with a cool swimming pool that we all enjoyed throughout the week.  It was a great venue for our tournament.

Before each game, one of our two chess coaches helped us prepare for my opponent.  We worked on specific openings and played practice games to help us get ready for each round.

In my first round, I played an FM, who went into a complicated line of the Max Lange Gambit.  After a long game, I accepted a draw offer in a drawn rook endgame.  This first game gave me confidence going into my next eight rounds.

On the second day, before the main tournament began, we played a blitz tournament, which also featured many titled players.  I scored 4.5/9 against strong opposition which I was very happy with, and I gained FIDE rating points.  Another member of the England team scored six points and won the rating prize.

In the second round of the main tournament, I played an IM. I made a blunder in the opening but fought back, only to lose after more than 60 moves when I ran low on time.  This was the first time I had played under a time control with added time after move 40, which gave me more time to deal with the complicated endgame.

The next day, I won my third-round game, outplaying a French player in the Smith-Morra Gambit.  However, in the fourth round the following day, I sadly made a blunder in the opening and went on to lose the game. We then had a quick meal before heading straight to another blitz tournament.  I managed to beat an FM, which was one of my strongest performances in blitz.  The England juniors finished in third and fourth place. The blitz games continued past midnight and were great fun.

In rounds five and six, I drew against two players rated in the 1870s and analysed my games with my opponents afterwards. In the next round, I played another England player and sadly lost after missing a tactic. However, I learnt from my mistake and will use the experience as an opportunity to improve.

In round eight, I played well against a Latvian player but unfortunately blundered in time trouble and lost the game. In the final round, I played an 80-year-old French player and won again in the Smith-Morra Gambit.

Everyone on the England team faced strong opponents and played very well.  Some of our team members even scored wins against titled players, including IMs and FMs, while another player drew against an IM.  This was one of the strongest tournaments I have played in, and I gained a lot of valuable experience.

Outside of chess, we had lots of fun activities in the mornings before the games started at 2:30 p.m. These included swimming, football, basketball, laser tag, mountain activities and many more.  Each evening after the games finished, we would also take part in fun chess activities such as bughouse and Hand and Brain.  One evening, I even went to see Cirque du Soleil, which was great.

Overall, the entire trip was extremely exciting and a very memorable experience. I really enjoyed being part of the National Chess Junior Squad. I learnt a lot from playing against such strong opponents and gained valuable experience that I hope will help me in future tournaments.

Callum Hill