Sussex Juniors at Richmond International event (23 Jul 00)
Six Sussex Junior players were honoured to be invited to compete in an International rapidplay event this weekend at Richmond. Eight of the Czech Republic’s rising stars were in a field that also included 16 of the Richmond Junior club’s strongest players and six from other home counties. With an average estimated grade of over 100, this tournament was always going to be hard going. The Sussex Juniors performed exceptionally with Sebastian Pozzo scoring 4/6 and picking up the grading prize, closely followed by Theo Penty, Grant Bucher and David Barraclough on 3½ /6. Stephanie Barraclough scored 3/6 and James Asquith 2½/6. The event was won by the top seed Andrew Bigg (Kent) with 6/6.
Many thanks to the Richmond club for their superb hospitality and for organising such a splendid event.
Sussex Junior plays for EPSCA England team (2 Jul 00)
Stephanie Barraclough played for the EPSCA England girls under 11 team at the weekend which won handsomely 14½ – 1½ against a Welsh Under 13 girls team in Chepstow.
| Wales | England | Wales | ||
| Suzie Blackburn | ½ – ½ | Colleen Halpin | 1 – 0 | Sara Brynon-Thomas |
| Sara Brynon-Thomas | 0 – 1 | Katie Martin | 0 – 1 | Suzie Blackburn |
| Hannah Stapknill | 0 – 1 | Fiona Smailes | 1 – 0 | Sioned Rees |
| Sioned Rees | 0 – 1 | Maria Walker | 1 – 0 | Hannah Stapknill |
| Emma Hopkins | 0 – 1 | Naomi Miller | 1 – 0 | Roxanne Tabatabai |
| Roxanne Tabatabai | 0 – 1 | Stephanie Barraclough | 1 – 0 | Emma Hopkins |
| Gemma Whyley | 0 – 1 | Charlotte Hughes | 1 – 0 | Rhiannon Williams |
| Rhiannon Williams | 0 – 1 | Amelia Duncanson | 1 – 0 | Gemma Whyley |
| ½ – 7½ | 7 – 1 |
Result – England 14½ – Wales 1½
Sussex players perform well for SE England against Wales (3 Jun 00)
Seven Sussex players played for South-East England under 14 and under 11 representative teams against Wales in Chepstow, with both teams winning handsomely.
| Under 14 | ||||
| Wales | S.E. England | Wales | ||
| D Spencer | 0 – 1 | M Healey | 1 – 0 | S Blackburn |
| S Blackburn | ½ – ½ | C Hansell | ½ – ½ | D Spencer |
| L Johnson | ½ – ½ | T Winston | 1 – 0 | O Smith |
| O Smith | ½ – ½ | T Khoo | 1 – 0 | L Johnson |
| H Wakefield | 0 – 1 | J Yardley | 1 – 0 | S Carpenter |
| S Carpenter | 1 – 0 | T Penty | 1 – 0 | H Wakefield |
| H Llewellyn-Waters | 0 – 1 | S Alley | 1 – 0 | R Harris |
| R Harris | 0 – 1 | C Linford | 1 – 0 | H Llewellyn-Waters |
| J Jones | ½ – ½ | D Barraclough | 0 – 1 | M Davies |
| M Davies | 1 – 0 | N Campion | 1 – 0 | J Jones |
| P Benyon-Thomas | 0 – 1 | I Dunkeld | 0 – 1 | J Baker |
| J Baker | 1 – 0 | R Gratwicke | 1 – 0 | P Benyon-Thomas |
| 5 – 7 | 9½ – 2½ |
Result – S.E. England 16½ – Wales 7½
| Under 11 | ||||
| Wales | S.E. England | Wales | ||
| I Rees | 0 – 1 | R Heaton | 1 – 0 | G Johnston |
| G Johnston | 1 – 0 | Anton Chernikov | ½ – ½ | I Rees |
| N Hassell | 1 – 0 | Alexei Chernikov | 0 – 1 | A Farrell |
| A Farrell | ½ – ½ | J Asquith | ½ – ½ | N Hassell |
| J Robinson | 0 – 1 | K Khorasanee | 1 – 0 | G Owen |
| G Owen | ½ – ½ | N Baranga | ½ – ½ | J Robinson |
| D Lovell | 0 – 1 | P Makepeace | ½ – ½ | S Rees |
| S Rees | 0 – 1 | J McKeever | ½ – ½ | D Lovell |
| D Jenkins | 1 – 0 | S Barraclough | 1 – 0 | A Spencer |
| A Spencer | 1 – 0 | B Bamberger | ½ – ½ | D Jenkins |
| S Benyon-Thomas | 1 – 0 | C Fry | 1 – 0 | S Rees |
| S Rees | 0 – 1 | G Bucher | 1 – 0 | S Benyon-Thomas |
| 6 – 6 | 8 – 4 |
Result – S.E. England 14 – Wales 10
Junior Squad/Mini Squad Championships (18/19 Apr 00)
Thirteen juniors from Sussex entered the National Junior and mini Squad championships held at Millfield School, Street, Somerset as a dress rehearsal for this summer’s British Championships. Whilst no-one came away with a prize, all the Sussex players performed well, and there were some excellent individual results. In the exceptionally strong under 16 event, Charlie Linford scored 2½/6 , and managed to put in a grading performance of over 100. Well Done!
It should be noted that all the events included a compulsory ½ point bye to allow the competitors to use the excellent sporting facilities. It was therefore a great shame that the weather put paid to most of the outdoor events, and the organisers managed to time the swimming pool opening times to clash with the start of chess rounds. Better luck in August !
The largest section was the under 12’s with 6 Sussex entrants, three of whom scored an excellent 5/8. In the largest section of the tournament, it was also disappointing to have Sussex players paired against each other in the final two rounds.
The mini squad was split into three sections, with Sussex players in each. Best performance was from Grant Bucher in the under 10’s with 5/8. Special mention must be made of Simon Tucker who stepped in at the last moment to make an even draw in the youngest section, and managed to be on the right table at the right time to get his photo taken by the visiting press. We hope to see him on the front cover of all good chess publications soon!
| Under 16 | |
| Charlie Linford | 2½/6 |
| Under 12 | |
| David Barraclough | 5/8 |
| Nick Campion | 5/8 |
| Theo Penty | 5/8 |
| Michael Hamilton | 4/8 |
| Stephanie Barraclough | 3½/8 |
| Matthew Linnett | 3½/8 |
| Under 10 | |
| Grant Bucher | 5/8 |
| Under 9 | |
| Andrew Tucker | 4½/8 |
| Eleanor Hayden | 4/8 |
| Under 6/7/8 | |
| Christopher Linnett | 4/10 |
| Simon Tucker | ½/10 |
West of England Championships (26/27 Feb 00)
A handful of Sussex Juniors travelled to this superbly organised and well attended event at Swindon. Best performance was by David Barraclough in the under 12 championship section with 4½ out of 6. In the same event James Asquith, Nick Campion and Stephanie Barraclough each scored 3, and Grant Bucher scored 4..
A newcomer to tournament chess Jonathan Campion performed admirably in his first ‘senior’ tournament scoring 4 out of 6 in the fiercely contested beginners section.
National Girls Championships (13 Feb 00)
Sussex Junior Stephanie Barraclough won the Under 10 title at the BWCA (British Womens Chess Association) National Girls Championships in Surrey scoring 5½ out of 7, and also finished 1st equal with Fiona Smailes of Surrey in the under 10/11 section. Another Sussex success was Eleanor Hayden in the under 8/9 section finishing clear second with 7 out of 9 to Selina Khoo, also of Surrey. Other Sussex Players taking part were Deborah Margolis with 2/7 in the strong under 12/14 section, and Georgina Draper with 4/7 in the under 10/11’s.
David wins Wey Valley LJCC Qualifier (17 Oct 99)
In the largest ever Wey Valley Junior Tournament, David Barraclough from Sussex scooped the major prize in the under 12 section. Nearly 70 juniors fought for qualification to the London Junior Championship in this section, with David winning on 5½ out of 6. The half point dropped was to one of only three Sussex players in the tournament, Georgina Draper, who must consider herself unlucky not to have won the game from a materially superior position. Georgina finished with 4 points, having not lost a single game. The other Sussex player was Stephanie Barraclough, (the only under 10 competing in the under 12 section), finishing with a commendable 3½ out of 6. David’s final game against Irish International Sarah Hegarty was of particularly high quality.
For the record, the 90 strong under 10 section was won by Surrey’s rising star, the under 9 Selina Khoo.
Hampshire and West of England Girls Chess Championships (11 Oct 1999)
Two Sussex Junior girls put in excellent performances at the Hampshire and West of England Girls Chess Championships in Basingstoke at the weekend. In the under 9 section, Eleanor Hayden was overall second and took the under 9 title with a score of 3½ out of 5. Holly Chapman was runner up to Eleanor with 3 out of 5. Both girls have made great strides over the past few months and must be congratulated on this superb performance.