EPSCA U11 Championships
The English Primary Schools’ Chess Association (EPSCA) exists “to advance the education of primary school aged children by teaching, supervising and developing the playing of chess by those children.”
EPSCA holds three annual team championships for member associations – Under 9, Under 11, and Girls Under 11.
The U11 Championship is for teams of 20, playing 3 rounds in a ‘jamboree’ format. Sussex compete in a local “4-Counties” match kindly organised by EPSCA’s Nigel Dennis as a ‘warm up’ before the zonals stage in March, and the national finals in May.
National Final, Oldham – 6th May 2017
South Zone, Chepstow – 18th March 2017
4-Counties Match, Maidenhead – 11th February 2017
National Final, Oldham – 6th May 2017
Headline Results:
| Pos | Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond | 15½ | 16 | 17½ | 49 |
| 2 | Barnet | 15½ | 15½ | 16 | 47 |
| 3 | Wey Valley | 17 | 15 | 12 | 44 |
| 4 | Sussex | 12½ | 18 | 12 | 42.5 |
| 5 | Kent | 12½ | 15 | 15 | 42.5 |
| 6 | Cambridgeshire | 12 | 13½ | 15 | 40.5 |
| 7 | Nottinghamshire | 11½ | 14½ | 10 | 36 |
| 8 | Essex | 9½ | 10 | 9 | 28.5 |
| 9 | Oxfordshire | 8½ | 7½ | 8½ | 24.5 |
| 10 | Warwickshire | 9 | 8 | 6½ | 23.5 |
| 11 | Cheshire & North Wales | 6 | 4½ | 6½ | 17 |
| 12 | Tameside | 6 | 4½ | 6 | 16.5 |
| 13 | Lancashire | 4½ | 4 | 7 | 15.5 |
| 14 | Staffordshire | 6 | 1½ | 7½ | 15 |
| 15 | Oldham | 4 | 2½ | 1½ | 8 |
The squad:
Joshua Bee, Stevie Clark, Ben Crosby, Elena Currah, Oliver Faulkner, Elizabeth Finn, Timmy Hedger, Billy Hopkins, Tom Howeson, Cassius Johnson, Maxwell Kendall, Arjun Kolani, Joseph Leake, Thomas Martin, Maya McMahon, Solomon Mitchell, Amelie Rees, Sophie Rees, Ayden Salajee, Callum Vyse, Jacob Wynn
Report:
To follow.
South Zone, Chepstow – 18th March 2017
Headline Results:
| Pos | Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wey Valley | 17 | 14 | 18 | 49 |
| 2 | Sussex | 15.5 | 15.5 | 17.5 | 48.5 |
| 3 | Oxfordshire | 12.5 | 13 | 13 | 38.5 |
| 4 | Glamorgan | 12.5 | 12 | 12 | 36.5 |
| 5 | Wiltshire | 9.5 | 11 | 7 | 27.5 |
| 6 | Somerset | 7 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 27 |
| 7 | Berkshire | 7.5 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 19.5 |
| 8 | Gwent | 4 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 14 |
| 9 | Buckinghamshire | 4.5 | 3 | 2 | 9.5 |
The squad:
Joshua Bee, Stevie Clark, Isaac Cooper, Ben Crosby, Thomas Dan, Oliver Faulkner, Elizabeth Finn, Timmy Hedger, Billy Hopkins, Tom Howeson, Cassius Johnson, Arjun Kolani, Joseph Leake, Nicky Magrin, Thomas Martin, Maya McMahon, Solomon Mitchell, Sophie Rees, Callum Vyse, Jacob Wynn, Leo Yu
Report:
To follow.
4-Counties Match – 11th February 2017 – Maidenhead
Headline results:
| Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Sussex | 12½ | 9 | 12½ | 34 |
| Oxfordshire | 10½ | 11 | 11 | 32½ |
| Maidenhead | 10 | 11½ | 9 | 30½ |
| Bucks | 7 | 8½ | 7½ | 23 |
The squad:
Reggie Barker, Joshua Bee, Oliver Beynon, Stevie Clarke, Ben Crosby, Javier Gomes, Theo Hall, Billy Hopkins, Tom Howeson, Cassius Johnson, Charlotte Kay, Eloise Kay, Maxwell Kendall, Grace Lamb, Theo Lawson, Joseph Leake, Noah Lewis, Nicky Magrin, Lauren Manchester, Thomas Martin, Maya McMahon, Ruby Nunns, Sophie Rees, Ayden Salajee, Jacob Wynn
Report:
The U11s took a team of 25 to Maidenhead on Sunday 12th February for friendly match.
Special thanks to all parents for making the effort getting the children to the match and supporting them throughout the day and I hope you all got back safely considering the M4 delays that evening. Special thanks to Adrian Vyse for getting the squad put together.
Three teams were equal on 21.5 going into the last round and the final team talk seemed to do the trick with Sussex scoring 12.5 points to clinch first place.