Kent fight back to take 4^th in the EPSCA U11 Final held in Northampton on the 12^th of May.

The team in alphabetical order were: Anantha Anilkumar, Francesco Bernardini, Nii Akwei Carty Bing-Pappoe, Harry Chathli, Ryan Cherian, Jay Chitnavis,  Imogen Duke, Ben Gardner, Isabelle Gilbert, Michael Gilbert, Emily Green, Arul Gupta, Joelle Hakim, Girinath Haridas, Thomas Hooper, Gaurav Kocher, Ronit Nair, James Proaspatu, Kiran Shiatis, Ethan Staunton, Kartik Velayudham and Jackson Wen

KJCA Kings: 4NCL Division 3 2011-12: Hinckley, Leicestershire.

Round 9 v North-East England: Saturday 5 May 2012;

Round 10 v AMCA Rhinos: Sunday 6 May 2012;

Round 11 v Cheddleton 2: Monday 7 May 2012.

The KJCA Kings team entered the final weekend of this season’s 4NCL campaign with its best ever chance of gaining one of the 4 promotion slots to the national Division 2. We went into the weekend as leaders of national Division 3 with only one team level with us (North-East England) on 14 match points (out of 16) but behind us on tie-break (sum of opponents’ match points) and one team one point behind  (AMCA Rhinos) and 3 further teams 2 points behind (Wessex, e2e4 2 and Anglian Avengers 2).

On the Saturday, we were drawn against our co-leaders, North-East England. We were slightly outgraded by an average of 66 points per board (FIDE) (ECF equivalent: 8 points). We knew that if we won, we would be in a strong position to win the division but that a draw would keep us on track for promotion. However, our opponents had not lost all season, so it was bound to be tough. The team gave a very determined display and kept the pressure on our opponents throughout. In the end, they just managed to hold out for a 3 – 3 draw after a 6-hour+ marathon effort by William Jones on board 3 to try to force a win in the final game.

This kept us at the top of the table, still ahead of North-East England on tie-break but with Wessex and e2e4 2, only one point behind. On the Sunday, we were drawn against AMCA Rhinos, who were now the only team 2 points behind us after losing on the Saturday. We were again slightly outgraded by an average of 37 points per board (FIDE) (ECF equivalent: 5 points). A draw would bring us very close to promotion; a win would make it almost certain. However, this turned out to be our only real off-day of the season. Although we did have a few chances, we were generally on the defensive and were left licking our wounds after a 1 – 5 defeat. 2 of our players suffered their first and only defeat of the season.

This left us in 3^rd place going into the last day of the season behind Wessex and e2e4 2 by one point and ahead of North-East England and AMCA Rhinos only on tie-break. 2 other teams (Cheddleton 2 and Hackney) were one point behind us. This meant that, if we won, we would be promoted in second place at worst but would be top if the 2 leaders drew their last-day match against each other. A draw would mean relying on other results. We were drawn against Cheddleton 2 and realised immediately that our opponents would need to beat us to have a chance of promotion. Tactics were worked out and agreed and the team went in very determined. We were only marginally outgraded by an average of 7 points per board (FIDE) (ECF equivalent: 1 point). The team gave a very strong performance and were on top throughout. An early win by Robert Maguire on board 5 helped everyone to settle down. By the 1^st time control, after 4 hours, a 4.5 – 0.5 winning advantage had been achieved and a draw was agreed in the final game to give us a resounding 5 – 1 victory and promotion to national Division 2.

e2e4 2 won the final match against Wessex to win national Division 3 with us one point behind ahead of North-East England on tie-break. Wessex claimed the last promotion place, one point further behind. Having missed out on promotion narrowly, during the final weekend, for the last 3 seasons, the team was extremely happy and relieved to achieve their longstanding goal. The whole squad should be very proud of their achievement. To reach the second tier of the national league is a superb effort, which has been gained by consistent displays by everyone to a very high standard. A continuation of these standards consistently next season should enable the team to become well-established in national Division 2.

Pride of place over the final weekend goes to Victor Jones, with 2 wins, and Francis Rayner, on his debut for the team, and William Jones, who both remained unbeaten in winning one game and drawing two.

First of all, let me congratulate all those of you that did so well at the UKCC Qualifier that we ran during GP5.  The GP results have been posted for a while, but it has taken me a little longer to sort out who qualified for what, why and which MegaFinal they should attend.  Ideally our event would have been a little later in the season, but as this was the first year we put it together we weren't clear on the timing when we set up the calendar and we had the event before the MegaFinal info had been locked down.  This meant we weren't able to hand out the invitation letters at the event - lesson learned for next year, we'll put it on a little later.  Still, now that the MegaFinals are all scheduled we can tell you where you should go (please see the info on the bottom of this article).  First, let's get down to naming and congratulating our winners and our qualifiers:

Section Winners:

• U7 Boy: Remy Rushbrooke
• U7 Girl: Navienaah Haridas
• U8 Boy: Ben Barton
• U8 Girl: Isabelle Wistow
• U9 Boy: Leon Wolanski
• U9 Girl: Isabelle Gilbert
• U10 Boys: Anantha Anilkumar and Thomas Hooper
• U10 Girl: Emily Green
• U11 Boy: Jackson Wen
• U11 Girl: Joelle Hakim
• U12 Boy: Alexander Selway
• U12 Girl: Naomi Wei
• U13 Boy: Owen Messere
• U13 Girl: Jessica Wen
• U14 Boys: Patrick Smith and Rohan Bansal
• U14 Girl: Mary Scott
• U15 Boy: Nicholas Clanchy
• U16 Boy: Billy Sargent
• U17 Boy: Allison Conrad
• U18 Boy: Duncan Bell

Other Qualifiers (in alphabetical order):

• Cherian, Ryan
• Chesworth, Benjamin
• Codogno, Vittorio
• Datta, Rohan
• Gilbert, Michael
• Green, Michael
• Haridas, Girinath
• Kisat, Zeeshan
• Morton, Thomas
• Nair, Ronit
• Pike, Louis
• Proaspatu, James
• Rushbrooke, Tibo
• Velayudham, Kartik
• Warsop, Zakary
• Watson, Mikey
• Willats Isaac
• Yip Ryan

So know you know that you are qualified, what happens next?  Well you should enter the correct MegaFinal...the complete list of them is here and you can go to any one of them if you need to, but number 2 or 3 on the list are the most logical if you are a Kent resident.  It is worth noting that Mike Basman (who organises the UK Chess Challenge) uses a different Kent boundary to determine eligibility for the MegaFinal trophies than the boundary recognised by EPSCA so if you are in an area that isn't clearly "Kent" you might want to drop the organiser an email to check first.  You will be allowed to qualify for the next round (the GigaFinal) regardless of which event you go to, but if you are not in the right residential area you may not be able to win the trophy on the day.

As we were unable to get the physical letters out to you all at the event, I will drop the organiser of the two remaining Kent MegaFinals (John C Adams) a note listing all the above qualified players (including the section winners of course) confirming that you are indeed qualified.  At that point he should be able to take your application by email (click here for his email address).

Once again, congratulations to all who played so well and best of luck if you choose to carry forward to the MegaFinal!

A big well done to all the children who successfully completed their Institute of Chess exams this season! We will be handing out certificates at the next GP at Sutton Valence on the 3^rd of June.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible!

Many thanks to all the Kent children and parents who came along to the EPSCA U9 final held at the Malcolm Arnold Academy in Northampton. There was a fantastic team spirit and some superb chess was played by all.

Kent finished a credible 6^th in the end, having regrouped and bounced back from a groggy start leaving us in 11^thplace after round 1. The children showed good fighting spirit, scoring a resounding 9 out of 12 in round 2; a promising sign for future events to come as they continue to play chess and progress up through the age groups. There were some excellent performances by all the players and a full report will follow.

A huge thank you to the team managers, Rachel Gardner and Krishna Shiatis, and to GM Chris Ward our coach, all of whom put in a lot of hard work for this event and did an excellent job in bringing the team together and encouraging them on the day. 

A big thank you also to Northamptonshire, who as always provided a fantastic venue and put on a well organised and slick event.

In the end it was Barnet's day and many congratulations to them for winning the final, having led all the way from start to finish. Sussex were second with Wey Valley just a further 2 pts behind in third.

Final placings and scores were:

1 Barnet 30 points

2 Sussex 28.5 pts

3 Wey Valley 26.5 pts

4 Nottinghamshire 24 pts

5 Wiltshire 21.5 pts

6 Kent 19 pts

7= Buckinghamshire 18.5 pts

7= Berkshire 18.5 pts

9= Manchester 16.5 pts

9= Yorkshire 16.5 pts

11 Hertfordshire 16 pts

12 Northamptonshire 15.5 pts

13= Oxfordshire 15 pts

13= Richmond 15 pts

15 Oldham 12.5 pts

16 Essex 11.5 pts

17 Cheshire & North Wales 11 pts

18 Lancashire 8 pts