J4NCL - Junior Four Nations Chess League

Well done to those Kent juniors taking part in their first J4NCL weekend on the 4-5 October 2014 in Daventry.   This competition is a team event, with four boards per team, and comprises of five rounds of long-play games over the weekend. There are three weekends throughout the season and teams from across the country compete.

 KJCA entered two teams into the first weekend tournament. 

The KJCA Kings were made up of Michael Green (for the Sunday only) Emily Green, Ranesh Ratnesan, Rajeiv Ratnesan and a guest player from Berkshire, Nikhil Kadambadi.

The Kings started with an impressive 3½ -½ in the first round and a 4-0 win in the second round.  However, the third round proved more difficult, with a close loss of 1½ -2½ to the team that ended up in first position.

The Sunday started with a change of players, as Michael Green came into the board 1 slot and the others moved down.   Continuing their great form, the Kings won round four with a score of 4-0 and then drew 2-2 in round five.

All in all a great result for the KJCA Kings who ended the weekend in joint 3rd place and winning a trophy. They also gained a high GP score of 15 points to take into the next two tournaments.  

The KJCA Kestrels were made up of Mikey Watson, Jacob Watson, Charlie Metcalfe and Radha Ratnesan.

The young Kestrels started well with an impressive win in the first round over a team of higher graded players from the Midlands.  Rounds two and three proved more difficult, and they ended the first day a little disappointed but still able to raise a smile and enjoy a meal out together. 

Bright and refreshed on the Sunday morning, the fourth round was a great result for the KJCA Kestrels with a 4-0 win against a team from Wales.  They also managed to win the final round with a score of 2½ - 1½.  

Overall the KJCA Kestrel finished in joint 4th position with a number of other teams. Their GP score was 10 points to carry forward.

It was a fun weekend, meeting up with lots of chess friends from around the country and playing some quality games in a high level national competition. All the players are all looking forward to the next J4NCL weekend and hope to improve on their scores.

Finally a mention for Kartik Velayudham, who was also competing at the J4NCL tournament as a guest player for one of the Midlands teams, and played some quality games on their board two.

If any other KJCA team players are interested in the J4NCL weekends please contact Jo Wildman on jowildman@hotmail.com

To see the overall results of the weekend go to:    http://www.4nclresults.co.uk/static/jncl/table-div1.html