Saturday 29th March - no CJCC but much chess

There was no chess club on Saturday 29th March because I was organising the English Chess Federation Primary Team Challenge at Brentwood Prep School.

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/primary-team-chess-challenge-2024-25/

On the same day the Essex Under 11 team (minus those at Brentwood) were taking part in the Inter-Association National Finals in Bolton. Essex would finish an excellent 4th. 

There were plenty of CJCC players involved in both events.

Brentwood Prep School won the Primary Team Challenge ahead of St Cedd's. 10 teams from 6 schools took part.

George (St Cedd's) vs Edward (Widford Lodge) - both CJCC players.

Round 1 underway.

Brentwood Prep vs St Cedd's - the deciding match. Adi on the right is board 1 for St Cedd's but Brentwood Prep ran out the winners.

The official U11 team photo. Plenty of CJCC players (including Veer and Vidwath making their Essex debuts).

Relaxing between games - 5 of the 6 are part of CJCC.

Back to the club next Saturday (5th April) where we can celebrate everyone's chess.

Best Wishes

Robin (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Essex Under 19 School Final

The Essex U19 Final was between KEGS and Brentwood School. 

The winners would qualify for the National Final of the English School Championships in Nottingham in June.

There were current and former CJCC players on both teams (7 out of the 12 players) which gives the excuse to post this picture here.

Brentwood ran out 4-2 winners in a high quality and sportingly contested match. Congratulations to them.

Best Wishes

Robin (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Closed Dates in March and April

Please note that Chelmsford Junior Chess Club will be closed on Saturday 28th March and Saturday 19th April.

We are open on all the other Saturdays in April and May.

9th Brentwood Junior Tournament Sunday 2nd March

 It was great to see CJCC so well represented at Brentwood. 

This is the biggest junior tournament in Essex with 130+ players across 5 sections. 8 rounds at 10+5 so over 500 games of chess in the day.

Here are a few photos of our players in action.

Thomas (Year 3) on the left.

Tekshan on the left of the picture with the white pieces.

Arjun on the right with Ezara next to him.

Misha and Sachith in the Under 18 Minor.

Edward on the right who would go on to win a chess medal.

Best Wishes

Robin (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Club Photos from 1st March

 Here are a few photos from Saturday 1st March.

Best Wishes

Robin (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

A Couple of Photos and Brentwood School

We've had a busy and fun few weeks at the club. 

Below are a couple of random photos taken in 2025 when my iPad wasn't in use for ChessKid or Lichess.

I put together some chess photo boards at Brentwood School last week to showcase how much chess we do. We have the 9th Brentwood Junior Tournament on Sunday 2nd March.

Last year's Blog - https://britishchess.co.uk/blog/8th-brentwood-junior-tournament

This year's tournament - https://britishchess.co.uk/events/

Best Wishes

Robin (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Colchester Tournament 26th January 2025

I made it 30 players from Chelmsford Junior Chess Club taking part in the Colchester Junior Tournament at the University of Essex on Sunday 26th January.

There were some great results across the 4 sections (U9, U11, U14, U18). 

Congratulations to everyone who took part whatever their score. These tournaments are a great learning experience.

Here are 3 of our trophy winners together - Jacob, Digby and Joshua. Their trophy collections are growing!

The next junior tournament in Essex will be at Brentwood on Sunday 2nd March. This was the biggest junior tournament in Essex in 2024 with 140 players.

8 rounds at 10+5 split into 4 sections based on age and experience.

Entry and details via https://britishchess.co.uk/events/

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)