UK Chess News
Chess Rising Stars

THE ENGLISH CHESS CHALLENGE SEMI-FINALS (ECC)
This is tournament was set up in 2001 to provide a tournament of its own type where ALL of CCF’s trainees (plus others who wish to enter) can take part with a properly accountable structure and where no legitimate qualifiers would be excluded from semi-finals and finals they had qualified for. Click the above link to go to the English Chess Challenge home page.

In most cases, pupils will qualify through a competition held in their school during the Spring Term. In addition, the CCF Junior Club runs a qualification event and these 2 open events are there for those at other schools who want the chance to qualify plus anyone that wants a 2nd or 3rd chance. Anyone qualifying twice provides another entry for others (usually players from their own school).

The finals are in age groups with boys and girls split:

UNDER 18 BOYS……..UNDER 18 GIRLS (Years 11-13)
UNDER 15 BOYS……..UNDER 15 GIRLS (Years 9-10)
UNDER 13 BOYS……..UNDER 13 GIRLS (Years 7-8)
UNDER 11 BOYS……..UNDER 11 GIRLS (Year 6)
UNDER 10 BOYS……..UNDER 10 GIRLS (Year 5)
UNDER 09 BOYS……..UNDER 09 GIRLS (Year 4)
UNDER 08 BOYS……..UNDER 08 GIRLS (Year 3)
UNDER 07 BOYS……..UNDER 07 GIRLS (Year 2)
UNDER 06 BOYS……..UNDER 06 GIRLS (Year 1 & below)

* School years are listed as a guide. Those who are not in the year their date of birth should put them in will be adjusted accordingly for the purposes of the competition.

Following the semi-finals in early June, we move onto the finals on the August Bank Holiday Monday.

A 7 round competition open to anyone under 18 on 31 August 2016. Everyone plays in one big section and the leaders boys and girls from each age group will qualify for the semi-finals.
English Chess Challenge Qualifier @ 84-90 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon
Jan 29 @ 10:45 am – 6:00 pm
Contact: CCF Email: chess@ccfworld.com
Website

UK FIDE Tournaments Registered for 2017

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Southern Gigafinal @ Sandown Park Racecourse

Over 700 players, including 18 Chess Rising Stars students, took part in the Delancey UK Chess Challenge Southern Gigafinal on 20th and 21st July. Sandown Park Racecourse was a fitting choice of venue for such a substantial junior tournament. We were treated to a massive tournament hall, plenty of room for parents indoors, plus outdoor space for the kids.

Chess Rising Stars coaches Maria, Chris and Vinay came along to support our students. It was a challenging tournament with 7 rounds of 15+10. We had entries in the U8B, U8G, U10B, U10G, U12B, U12G and U14 categories! From these were several exceptional achievements:

Aden scored 6/7 in the U10 Boys section, improving on his Northern Gigafinal score by 0.5. Aden managed to qualify for the Terafinal after winning a tense blitz play-off. It is the second year in a row that he has reached this prestigious tournament to be held at Blenheim Palace.

Tauyekel (U8B) and Noah T (U12B) both qualified for the Challengers with 5/7 each. Neither have reached that stage of the competition before and both are looking forward to tackling their next obstacle.

Up next in the UK Chess Challenge 2024 is the Online Gigafinal, followed by the Challengers and we conclude with the Terafinal – which is scheduled for October.

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Strong Turnout at EJCOA Zonal Wimbledon

The EJCOA Zonal Tournament brought together 74 children aged 6 to 13 for a highly competitive day of chess at the Everyday Church in Wimbledon.

The tournament reached full capacity three weeks in advance (soothing the nerves of the organisers for our first tournament!). The length of the waiting list was clear evidence of the growing enthusiasm for junior competitive chess in London.

For many of the participants it was to be their first experience of an in-person chess tournament. Remarkably, the appeal of the EJCOA National Finals places on offer meant several families travelled more than two hours to attend.

Qualification Pathway

The event served as a qualifying tournament for the English Junior Coaches and Organisers Association (EJCOA) National Youth Championships Finals, to be held at Nottingham High School in July. The EJCOA Finals provide a valuable opportunity for the top young players across the UK to compete in a FIDE-rated standardplay environment.

Experienced Arbiters

On the day, our ECF-qualified team helping the children were:

The additional support of venue helpers Sara and Emilia, ensured a welcoming environment for players and their families.

Sportsmanship

Across the playing hall, concentration was intense and both the standard of play and level of focus were impressive. The section arbiters noted the excellent attitude of the participants throughout the whole day.

Every player received a commemorative Chess Rising Stars pen and a multi-coloured chess piece to keep as a souvenir.

Results

Congratulations to the EJCOA National Finals Qualifiers:

U8 Boy = Ezra C (5/5)
U8 Girl = Aakruthi R (3/5)

U10 Boys = Liantai L & Dias N (4.5/5)
U10 Girl = Lara M (4/5)

U12 Boys = Theodore T & Reidan M (4.5/5)
U12 Girl = Ellene A Z (3/5)

U14 Boy = Fedor B (3/5)

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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.

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