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    Last revised: 18 January, 2004.    

Isle of Man Chess Association

Southern Chess Club

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Saturday 29th March 2003

Students battle for top honours in chess contest 

Manx Independent Newspaper report - 4th April 2003

Students battled it out for the first prize in the Inter Schools Chess Tournament on Saturday.  The competition held at Castle Rushen High School, Castletown, was attended by secondary school students and teachers.

Organiser John Hodgson said: "Excitement ran high during several games and a tremendous battle ensued between Ballakermeen High School, Douglas, and Queen Elizabeth II High School, Peel.

In the end it was QE II who triumphed and the school will host the event next year.

The competition was sponsored by Canada Life International, of Castletown, whose head of marketing, Colin Campbell, presented the prizes.

 POSTPONED DUE TO SNOW   Secondary Schools chess tournament sponsored by Canada Life is to be held at Castle Rushen High School, Castletown, starting at 10.00am sharp and finishing at approximately 4.00pm.  Six schools are expected to take the field and the organiser and controller of the tournament will be John Hodgson of the Southern Chess Club who will, as in previous years, be ably assisted by his wife Lilly.

Saturday 9 March 2002, The competition was wiped out by snow and will be arranged for a later date.  It's not only the outdoor sports that get hit by the weather! 

Manx Independent Newspaper report - 8 March 2002 - By Neil Nicol

MASTER CLASS

The Island's growing crop of junior chess masters pitted their skills and tactics against each other at the weekend in a battle to be crowned chess champions.  The hall of Onchan Primary School was turned into a battlefield as 11 primary school teams put their knights, pawns and bishops into action for the 2002 Chess Congress.  Teams of six tested their tactical game plans for the right to call themselves chess champions while a trophy was also up for grabs for the best individual player.

When the dust had settled, the chess heavyweights from the Buchan School, Castletown, emerged as victors with Foxdale School taking the runners-up spot.

The competition's organiser, Tom Thompson, said:- "There was a great amount of action with around 70 children from the different primary schools taking part.  The standard of competition was very high and many of the matches were very close run.  I am very pleased so many children were able to take part.  I think the fact the competition has enjoyed such a high standard of entries over the many years it has been held shows just how much interest there is in chess with our schoolchildren.  One thing that has been a big help is the great support shown by the Chess Association over the years and many experienced players have been on hand to help our budding chess champions."

British Senior Chess Champion Neville Gill attended the competition to oversee the rising junior talent and offer tips.

Mr Thompson said:- "Many of the schoolchildren who appear at these competitions often go on to compete when they are a bit older, which is also very important for keeping interest in the sport alive.  Competitions such as this weekend's are also important for giving youngsters some form of entertainment.  Chess is such a great exercise for the mind and is certainly a lot more interesting and rewarding than simply watching television or playing computer games.  Many children get plenty of exercise from playing football with their friends and running around at play times but chess is very beneficial for exercising their minds."

At the end of an exhausting day of chequered board challenges the trophy for best individual player had to be shared, with Lovush Agarwal from Onchan School and Craig Killey from Foxdale School as joint top points scorers.

The competition was so closely fought the second place also ended up as a tie.  Christopher Oates from Ballasalla School, Nathan Ferrario from Fairfield School and Keiran Horisk from Michael School shared the runners-up trophy and certificate.

The judges even had difficulty selecting the winner of the Henry Krebs Trophy for the most promising young player, and picked both Jonty Ashworth from Peel Clothworkers School and Arthur Torin from the Buchan School.

The prizes were presented by John Cain, the Director of Education, and Arthur Taggart, from Rotary Club of Onchan, which sponsored the event.

Report by Neil Nicol - Isle of Man Newspapers.

Saturday 2 March 2002, the annual inter Primary Schools chess competition, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Onchan, takes place in Onchan Primary School, play commencing at 9.00am sharp.  Eleven teams of six players each are entered and the Manx championship participants of the future will be getting an early taste of competitive play.  All games are limited to a total of 15 minutes followed by adjudication by a team led by Neville Gill.  There are always a good number of girls participating in this event which puts the boys on their mettle.  No quarter asked or given!                 TROMPOWSKI

SCHOOLS CHESS WEEKEND

The same day saw secondary school children battling it out at Ballakermeen High in the Island Inter-schools tournament, sponsored by Canada Life International. Joining pupils from the host school were players representing King William’s College and Castle Rushen and Queen Elizabeth II high schools. John Hodgson, competition director, said: ‘The quality of chess was extremely good and excitement ran high during several games which were won or lost on clock time.

JOHN HODGSON