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These items were published before 1 December 1999
Kensington Open Congress, 27-28 November 1999
Heather Richards [Kent] with a score of 3/6 in the Open Section, was the
winner of the Ladies Prize at this event. Emma Atkins [Staffordshire] also
scored 3/6, but this was in the U75 section, so the prize went to Heather, her
section being higher.
I would like to publish other girls' scores here, but
as yet have not managed to access any crosstables.
Surrey Girls Chess Congress, Leatherhead 27 November 1999
The number of entries was slightly down this year, which was somewhat of a
disappointment, but there were two other events competing with us: the
Kensington congress attracted some of our older players, while there was also a
London Primary Schools inter-area competition on the same date, which took some
of our younger London-based players. In all, 90 players entered of whom 10
either withdrew or did not arrive, so that a total of 80 sat down to play,
broken down as follows: U18/U14, 8 (of whom 5 U14); U12, 25; U10, 38; U8, 9. One
very pleasing feature was the number of players from other Counties who were our
guests - a total number of eight Counties had representatives.
The Senior
section produced a double win for Teresa Khoo, who with an excellent last-round
win over Surrey captain Jo Hart, made sure of the U18 Elaine Saunders Cup in
addition to the U14 Kim Williams Cup. Our new Surrey player Visahli Modali
showed she is a force to be reckoned with, her 3½ points in this strong section
including a win over Kate Feld and a draw with Jo Hart.
The U12 was full of
interest because in the absence of Sarah Hegarty (on a Mathematics course)
several girls felt they had a good chance of winning, but in the end Fiona
Smailes, well known for her fierce attacking play (she consumes Rottweilers
regularly) made sure of a splendid win and the Ivory Queen trophy to take home
with her.
Teresa's sister Selina Khoo, a player of exceptional strength, was
having no argument about who was going to win the U10 Yellen Trophy, which she
did in splendid style with five straight wins.
And finally in the small U8
section, Olivia Barber was the winner of the Susan Walker trophy
To see the
positions and scores of all girls taking part, Click Here. Cross Tables are
also available here:
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Wey Valley Tournament, Woking 21 November 1999
Girls took three of the top four places in the U11 Major section of this
tournament, with Sarah Hegarty clear first on a clean-sheet 5/5 score.
For
full details of all girls' scores, Click Here.
Four Nations Chess League, Rounds 3 and 4 20-21 November 1999
Teresa Khoo, playing for BCCA, had a brilliant start to her 4NCL career with
two wins out of two games, over William Bennet of Cambridgeshire(BCF 137), and
over Elizabeth Roberts of Cheshire.
To see which girls are playing in 4NCL,
for whom they are playing, and their results so far this season, including
Rounds 3 and 4, Click
Here.
St Albans Junior Qualifier, 21 November 1999
Another excellent result for the strong Hertfordshire junior Yvette Cook, where she was placed third overall and top girl, qualifying for the London Junior U10 Major. In the U12, the very promising Surrey girl Ranjitha Modali also qualified. For full details of all girls' scores Click Here.
ECGCF Western Region Jamboree, Swindon, 20 November 1999
Captain Sarah Al-Turki, scoring 2½/3, was the inspiration for a splendid win
by Devon ahead of Wiltshire and Oxfordshire in the Western Region Jamboree. The
Devon team came from 1½ points behind going into the last round, to score 4½ in
that round and become the first winners of the new Western Region Cup, nicely
decorated in the cream ribbons of the victors. Sadly the event had to take place
without Somerset, Hampshire or Berkshire, all of whom competed in 1998, nor were
Glamorgan able to raise a team, although they had been hoping to do so. Any of
these Counties feeling able to contest the Petit Coup (for Minor Counties) will
be able to do so at a later date. As things stand, Devon qualify for the Grand
Final alongside Surrey (SE Region winners) and Middlesex (SE Region runners-up),
where they will be joined by one team from the NW Region (Staffordshire or
Cheshire) and at least one team from the Eastern Region.
To see the results
of the Western Region jamboree in detail, Click Here .
Four-year-old joins SGCL
Our youngest member ever, Ruth Cooper aged 4 years and 4 months, has just joined the SGCL. This brings our present membership to 95 - it may well increase to over 100 again, after the Surrey Girls Chess Congress on Saturday 27 November.
Hertfordshire Primary Qualifier, Bushey 14 November 1999
Twelve girls participated in a primary qualifier today (14th) in Bushey,
Herts. The winner was Yvette Cook with 5/6 which extends her lead in the
Hertfordshire Junior Grand Prix. Runner-up in the Girl's section was Leah Carvey
on 4/6. Other scores were:- Amelia Wilder and Drew Kerrigan 3.5; Eleanor Dynes,
Michaela Kerrigan, Lucy Preston, Sarah Delacey 3; Heidi Richardson 2.5; Louise
Everitt 1.5; Sophie Davies 1 and Emily Warren 0. Yvette, Louise, Sophie and
Emily are all members of Little Heath Chess Club which started in September of
this year.
It is believed that this is a record number of girls participating
in a Herts Primary Qualifier.
In December, Herts Girls play host to
Middlesex, Bedfordshire, Surrey and Cambridgeshire in a jamboree.
On December 23rd, Little Heath Chess Club is arranging a fun
tournament consisting of a six-round Swiss Christmas championship with fancy
dress (optional) and a Christmas tea running from noon until 6pm. Girls will be
especially welcome. Details from Chris Cook (01707 642027) e-mail
crdcook@cs.com .
Training on the Train, Bluebell Railway, Sussex 13 November 1999
Some 140 children, of whom around 55 were thought to be girls, took part in a
most imaginative training session at the Bluebell Railway, Sussex. The youngest
participant was a girl aged 3!
The Sussex Junior Chess organisers deserve
hearty congratulations for this venture and must feel very pleased that it was
so well supported. There were lots of happy smiling faces around, and the event
was excellent value - even a packed lunch was provided, and two round trips on a
real steam train were included. If any County needs an example of how to
organise their junior training, they need look no further than Sussex.
Sussex v Middlesex Girls Friendly Match, 13 November 1999
This match took place as a sideline to the main training event outlined above, and was over 3 rounds and 10 boards, played in a Pullman car, (for the benefit of railway enthusiasts it was Car No 73 Lilian), resulting in a 17-13 win for Middlesex. for full details of this match with individual scores, Click Here.
Richmond Junior Congress, Shene School, 7 November 1999
Out of 82 juniors who played, only 10 were girls. To see results of all girls playing, Click Here, or to see full crosstables with all the boys as well, Click Here.
Sidcup Junior Tournament, 6 November 1999
There were some 88 entrants divided over 5 sections, but of these there were
only 6 girls - and this in a County with two of the three strongest girls in
Britain!
The U8 (11 players), the U14 (16 players) and the U18 (18 players)
had no girls at all. There was one girl among the 24 players in the U10s, this
being Karen Jones who did very well, scoring 4½/6 placed 2-4. The other 5 girls
were all in the U12, (28 players in all), the best being Laura Weatherhead with
4/6 placed 7-9.
For cross-table of the U12 section showing all the girls'
results, Click Here.
U14/U90 Match, Hertfordshire v Middlesex 6 November 1999
Hertfordshire were defeated 17-7 by Middlesex in this mixed match over 12 boards. Middlesex had Danielle Gross on Board 3 and Claire Wu on Board 12, each girl scoring 1/2. Hertfordshire had Yvette Cook on Board 6 who did not score.
RGS Guildford Chess Tournament and Surrey Junior Congress 6-7 November 1999
There was a total entry of 90 for this two-day event, including 12
girls.
In the Trophy Tournament (Open U18, 2 days), out of 8 entrants Teresa
Khoo placed 2-4 with 3½/6 while Kate Feld was 5-6 with 2½. The other U18 event,
the Major U105, again 2 days, saw Fiona Smailes with 2/6 placed 9-10 out of 12
players.
All the other sections were one day only, the "A" sections on the
Saturday and the "B" sections on the Sunday, "A" and "B" being equivalent in
status. In the U14A (15 players), the only girl was Vishalakshi Modali who had
2½/6 placed 10-14, while in the U14B there was again only one girl among the 11
players: this time it was Nicole Mangion, with 3/6 placed 5-9.
The U12A had 3
girls among the 26 entrants: Best was Hannah Dale with 4/6 placed 4-6, then came
Ranjitha Modali and Lara Moffat, each with 3½ placed 7-11.
The U12B (19
players) had 4 girls: Sarah Hegarty was placed 1-2 with 5½/6 while Selina Khoo,
playnig 3 years up, was placed 3-4 with 4/6. Two other girls, C and M Wilson,
had 1 point each placed 17-19.
British Blitz Championships
Danielle Gross [Middlesex], competing in the U100 section, scored 9½/18 and was the winner of the U90 Grading Prize.
Lancashire Junior Congress, Darwen 6 November 1999
There have been two Lancashire Junor congresses recently, the first at Bispham in October, and the second as above. I never received the results from Bispham, but at Darwen several girls competed of whom five were prizewinners as follows: Black Pawns section, 1st Julie Kay 7/8, 3rd Emma Hutchinson. Bishops section, 1-2 Latifa Patel and Sophie Mason, each 5/6. Knights section, 2nd Heather Walmsley.
A Stirring Story from Staffordshire
When was the last time you can recall, when SEVEN different girls, from the
SAME chess club, won SEVEN different trophies in a County Junior Congress? Never
been done, you might well say. But it has. On 9 October, Cheddleton and Leek
Chess Club entered some 18 of their juniors into the Staffordshire Junior
Congress. Seven of them came back with trophies - all seven were girls. Here are
the girls, and the trophies they won: U16 Girls, Melanie Corbishley; U14 Junior,
Emma Atkins, unbeaten; U14 Girls, Heather Corbishley; U10 Junior, Molly Moruzzi
with 6/6; U9 Girls, Kate Smith; U8 Junior, Megan Moruzzi; U8 Girls, Anne-Marie
Moruzzi, who was just 6 years and 2 days old at the time, (thus Z year). The
seven trophies won were exactly 50% of those being contested.
This remarkable
achievement shows other Counties that Staffordshire are set to be a real force
in girls' chess, and is an outstanding example of what dedicated organisers can
accomplish with the modern, aware, and intelligent girls who are now playing
chess in increasing numbers.
Full crosstables for this event, including all
the boys, are available. Click below on the section you require, and use your
'back' button to return to this page.
U18/U16
U14
U12
U11
U10
U9/U8
1st British Junior Email Championship
You must have access to email, or you would not be reading this! For details of this exciting new tournament starting early in 2000, Click Here.