These News Items relate to November 2000

RGS Guildford One-Day Tournament, 26 November 2000

In spite of competition from other events, this well-established tournament attracted a very good entry of some 136 players, of whom not surprisingly a large majority consisted of boys. The U18 Trophy and Major sections were combined as one 23-player Swiss event and Sarah Hegarty, Surrey's leading U12 girl, did very well coming joint second just half a point in front of Kate Feld who was joint fourth.
There were no identifiable girls in the U14, but six in the U12 of whom the best two were Yasmin Ball of Berkshire and Surrey's Reyana Fayyaz. Also doing well were the very young Katie and Stephanie Hale (the latter only 5 years old) of Essex.
For all girls' results, Click Here.

Four Nations Chess League, Rounds 3 and 4, 25-26 November 2000

The girls' results of Rounds 3 and 4 for all Divisions are to be found Here, In Round 3, Alex Kelly [Surrey] continued her excellent 4NCL record by defeating another 2000+ player. Alex is the ONLY female to have played through all the eleven rounds of a season for a 4NCL team, (Kings' Head in 1999-2000 and with an excellent 6½/11 score) and looks set to repeat or even improve on this feat this season!

Barnet Girls Congress, 26 November 2000

31 girls played in this event: The winner of the U14/U12 section (4 players) was Anneka Treon [Middlesex]. The U11/U10 (12 players) was won by Claire Wu [Middlesex], and the U9/U8 by Sandra Colter. Full cross tables can be found (but link may now be dead) at the Barnet Knights website.

Surrey and South Eastern Counties Girls Congress, Leatherhead 26 November 2000

In spite of competition from 4NCL, Surrey Junior congress, and Barnet Girls congress, some 77 girls played in the four sections of this event. We were especially pleased to welcome two players from Ireland, the very first ever to cross the Sea to take part in our Congress.
In the U14/U18 section, the winner was Danielle Gross [Middlesex] with 4½/5; the U12 was won by Selina Khoo [Surrey], still only a U10, with a straight 5/5; the U10 went to the talented new U9 star Louisa Ellis [Surrey] with 4½/5; and the U8, which attracted no less than 16 girls, was shared four ways between Sheila Dines, Rosalind Isaacs, Christina Maddock and Jessica Thilaganathan [all Surrey], each with 4/5. For crosstables, click on U8 or U10 or U12 or U14/18.

ECGCF Western Region jamboree, Swindon 25 November 2000

By the narrowest of margins, on board count Oxfordshire were the winners of the Western Region cup in this 3-round cross-paired event. Team scores were Oxfordshire 12, Wiltshire 12 and Somerset 3. Full details Here.

National Rapidplay Championships, Leeds 18/19 November 2000

In the top two sections, no girls took part, but in the U136, Teresa Khoo [Surrey] had 7½/11 while Sabrina Chevannes had 7/11. This gave Teresa two more Prixette points and she now JUST leads Sarah Hegarty [Surrey] by the slenderest-possible 0.1 point margin. It was a very successful weekend for the Khoo family, for sister Selina Khoo played in the England U11 Trials qualifier on the Saturday, and finished joint second with 5/6, then on the Sunday she went on to become the winner of the U10 Section of the British Junior Rapidplay championships!
Re. the Prixette - a warning word to the junior players: the WGMs will be on the warpath between now and Islington, so you will need every 0.1 point you can get. Hunt around for the best value tournaments, even if it means paying late fees and travelling miles! See the Calender of Events above, (courtesy BCM). Meanwhile another round of 4NCL is this weekend, this will not, unfortunately, get you any Prixette points!

Wey Valley Winter Tournament, Epsom 19 November 2000

Some 110 players, including 21 girls, took part in this event at Blenheim School. Katie Houston did well, winning the U11 Minor, whilst Nicola Smith was third in the same section.
For the complete results of this tournament, Click Here.

The 2001 BWCA National Girls Chess Championships

For the first time ever, the National Girls Championships will be held in Yorkshire in 2001, the dates being 17-18 February 2001. The prestige venue is Elm Bank House, The Mount, York and is within easy walking distance of York railway station, which has an excellent service of fast trains from London Kings Cross taking no more than 2 hours for the journey. Overnight accommodation at the hotel will be at very moderate discounted rates - details later.

Counties Map In Colour

If you want to have a look at a map of Britain showing the Real Counties of England, Scotland and Wales, as used by UK Chess Challenge and ECGCF, Click Here

Sussex U11 Championship

Jonathan Tuck, Sussex Junior organiser, writes:"Although disappointing in terms of the lower attendance, both the individual and school trophies in the under 11 championship were nail biting affairs with neither being decided until the end of the last round. The winners of the schools trophy was eventually determined by taking into account extra players where normally only the top three count. Holy Cross, Uckfield were eventually declared the winners. The individual title also went to the last game with Stephanie Barraclough coming from behind to take the trophy in a close fought match with second placed Charles de Nicolay. Stephanie therefore made history (again!) by being the first girl to win a Sussex individual age group title.
There were also fine performances from Andrew Tucker, Eleanor Hayden and Joe Richardson with 5/6, and also from Joe Fraser and Abi Fryer with 4½/6 . The prospects for retaining the EPSCA under 11 trophy next spring look promising."

Full details of this event can be found on the Sussex junior website.

Terence Chapman Group Prixette - Sarah Hegarty in the Lead!

Hampshire Open, Eastleigh 11-12 November 2000

Jessie Gilbert [Surrey], playing in the Open section, scored 3½/6 with a performance grade of 186.

Barnet and East Finchley Junior Tournament, 11-12 November 2000

Poppy Aarons [Middlesex] was the winner of the U12 section, with 5½/6. Next weekend, Poppy will travel to Yorkshire to take part in the Leeds rapidplay event.

Hertfordshire Junior Tournament, Bushey 12 November 2000

Hertfordshire girls' organiser Chris Cook writes:Yvette Cook wrapped up her third tournament win in the Hertfordshire Primary Tournaments on 12th November held at Ashfield School, Bushey. Yvette scored her second 6/6 to take a strong lead in the Herts Junior Grand Prix. However, only four girls competed out of 34 Under 11s and Under 9s. Lucy Preston won the Girls section with Sophie Davies and Laura Griffiths as joint runners up. So far, victory in the Under 11 section has been exclusively the preserve of the girls with Celia Carr having won the previous tournament. However, this may change for the next competition as Yvette will be playing in the Surrey and South Eastern Counties Girls Chess Congress on 26th November. Is there any other county where the boys are being consistently outplayed by the girls?
Little Heath Chess Club are again running their Christmas Fun Tournament on 23rd December 2000. Entrants are welcome to play in fancy dress. Half of the profits from the event will be given to the Paddington Action Club (Action Research). More details from Chris Cook - (crdcook@btinternet.com).

Sidcup Junior Championships, 11 November 2000

Girls known to have taken part: in the U12s, Kimberley Hirst-Jones [Essex] 3½/6 placed 6-7; in the U10s, Elizabeth Mills [Kent] 4/6 placed 6-7, and Jennifer Martin [Kent] 3½/6 placed 8-11.

Sussex win NYCA U14 Championship, 11 November 2000

I predicted some time ago that the excellent training regime in Sussex would produce excellent results: well, this has occurred, because the U14 team now are National Champions, winning by a margin of no less than three points. Sussex had Stephanie Barraclough on Board 6, who scored 3/3 and Georgina Draper on Board 10 with 2/3. I do not know which other counties used girls in their teams, so this information would be welcomed.
Full scores on the Sussex website, available thorugh our Links page.

LPSCA Six-Board Championships, 11 November 2000

Full results may be viewed at the LPSCA website, accessible from our Links page. However, only one girl took part: she was Poppy Aarons [Middlesex], and she won all of her games!

New Website for London Junior Chess Championships

The LJCC now has its own website, which already contains a list of this year's qualifiers, plus some archival material, more of which will be added as time allows. You can access the website from our Links page, but if you want to have a look now, click Here.

34th Chess Olympiad, Istanbul, Turkey 28 October - 12 November 2000

The England women's team finished 7-9 out of 84 teams, the best Olympiad result they have ever had, and the first time they finished as high as the men (also 7-9). It was a splendid performance, and especially by Jovanka Houska who, although she did not actually win a medal, was placed fifth in the medal list for Board 3, having scored 8½/12. Also deserving of much praise were Harriet Hunt who played no less than 13 of the 14 rounds, and Peter Wells for his captaincy of the team.
Details of this event can be seen Here.

Richmond Junior Chess Congress, 5 November 2000

Some 19 girls took part in this popular event which was also a London Junior qualifier. However, no girl succeded in finishing in a high position. Three girls with 3½/6 in the U10s qualified for the LJCC Minor U10 final. To see all girls' results, Click Here.

Hertfordshire Primary Tournament, Hemel Hempstead 5 November 2000

Chris Cook writes: The third of six Hertfordshire primary tournaments was held at Nash Mills C of E school in Hemel Hempstead on Sunday 5th November 2000. The result of the Under 11 section was a personal triumph for Celia Carr who scored 100% with 6/6. So far, the girls have dominated this section winning all three competitions and finishing second in three of them. Four girls scored 4/6, Drew Kerrigan, Michaela Kerrigan, Emma Williams and Yvette Cook. Lara MacCrimmon and Eleanor Dynes scored 3/6 and Lisa Jolly scored 1/6. No girls competed in the Under 9 section.
The Girls final in January should be a closely fought event.

Central London Rapidplay, 4 November 2000

Several Surrey girls took part in this event as follows: In the U150, Teresa Khoo scored 2/6; In the U120, Sarah Hegarty had 5/6 placed joint second, Chantal Sirisena had 3/6 and Selina Khoo had 2/6.

Coulsdon LJQ, 4 November 2000

Strong W-year (U10) player Hannah Dale [Surrey], playing in the U12 section was placed first, with an excellent 5/6 including a win over Fiona Smailes. two years her senior, to qualifiy for the U12 Major in the London Junior Chess Congress. Click for Other Results.

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