The morning started with setting up the boards and equipment whilst Geoff and Karina put out the arrows directing players to the rooms. We had a good number of registered players - almost 30 with a mix of ages and some top players including Ethan Cole, James Huang and Caleb McClean (who came third in the recent Williamson Shield weekend tournment - Intermediate Section).

This series of tournaments - the Childrens Chess scores points towards a Grandprix with the top 4 players in the Secondary (F4 and above), Secondary (F1-F3), Primary and Puzzle Solving Primary and Secondary being invited to an Elite tournament and award ceremony usually hosted at Stormont in early June. With this being the 2nd tournament of the year I will publish the current standings - watch this site for the article. With 3 more tournaments in the series to play Feb, March, April there is plenty of time to get points.

The competitions always have a puzzle solving championship where players are faced with 22 elegant problems to solve. We do give clues and chat about the problems - this is an excellent way to talk chess and improve ones chess. Some of the problems I was finding difficulty solving, luckily I had the books with the solutions - highly recommended to add to your training library: 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations – Fred Reinfeld, 1000 Checkmate Combinations – Victor Henkin, the large but brilliant volume  by the father of the Chess prodigies the Polgar Sisters - Chess 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games by Laszlo Polgar. Try the puzzles below - solutions are at the end of the page.

The Primary Puzzle solving Champion Lorcan Rippon got full marks with 22 out of a possible 22. Followed closely by Jackson Coakley with a brilliant 20.

The Secondary Puzzle Solving Champion was James Huang with a brilliant score of 18 out of 22.

With everyone registered and arrived. The first round was drawn and players paired and hands shook and players wishing each other a good game and then hushed thinking.

A big thankyou to Karina Campbell, Geoff Hindley who looked after one of the rooms and to Andrew Todd who helped me look after the other room. These events are run by volunteers without whom these wouldnt be possible.

Round 1

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name                   Feder Total

 1 Ethan Cole       P6    [0]      1:0    Mohammed Farhan Rakeeb L6    [0]  
 2 Timothy Gouk     F5    [0]      0:1    James Huang            F4    [0]  
 3 Aaditya Singh    F2    [0]      1:0    Bradley Macdonald      F4    [0]  
 4 Skyla Finnegan   F1    [0]      0:1    Anjali Singh           F4    [0]  
 5 Peter Gamble     F5    [0]      0:1    Ryan Anderson          F5    [0]  
 6 Harrison Brown   F1    [0]      0:1    Lorcan Rippon          P6    [0]  
 7 Daniel Hill      U6    [0]      1:0    Harry Clarke           F2    [0]  
 8 Thomas Loughrey  F2    [0]      0:1    Caleb McClean          F4    [0]  
 9 Saoirse Rippon   F2    [0]      1:0    Noah Fitzpatrick       P6    [0]  
10 Matthew Loughrey P4    [0]      0:1    Achyut Shyamsunder     L6    [0]  
11 Jackson Coakley  P5    [0]      1:0    Cillian O’Hara         P6    [0]  
12 Peter Riddell    P6    [0]      1:0    Rhett Caughie          L6    [0]  
13 Shlok Thoke      P6    [0]      0:1    Saoirse Barnes         P6    [0]  
14 Kevin MaGill     F5    [0]     .5:0    BYE                               

by Swiss Perfect (TM)  www.swissperfect.com

With an odd number of players Geoff Hindley and Karina Campbell took turns to give players a friendly game. The first round was roughly according to strength. Ratings were given to players - where I didnt have a rating I used the players age to give a rough est. It is always good to see some of the younger players giving the older ones tough games and sometimes scoring points off them. Having one section allows young good players to show their strength.

Round 2

Results

No Name                   Feder Total  Result   Name             Feder Total

 1 Caleb McClean          F4    [1]      0:1    Ethan Cole       P6    [1]  
 2 James Huang            F4    [1]      1:0    Saoirse Rippon   F2    [1]  
 3 Achyut Shyamsunder     L6    [1]      0:1    Aaditya Singh    F2    [1]  
 4 Anjali Singh           F4    [1]      1:0    Jackson Coakley  P5    [1]  
 5 Lorcan Rippon          P6    [1]      1:0    Peter Riddell    P6    [1]  
 6 Ryan Anderson          F5    [1]      1:0    Daniel Hill      U6    [1]  
 7 Saoirse Barnes         P6    [1]      0:1    Kevin MaGill     F5    [.5] 
 8 Harry Clarke           F2    [0]      0:1    Peter Gamble     F5    [0]  
 9 Rhett Caughie          L6    [0]      0:1    Harrison Brown   F1    [0]  
10 Mohammed Farhan Rakeeb L6    [0]      1:0    Thomas Loughrey  F2    [0]  
11 Noah Fitzpatrick       P6    [0]      0:1    Timothy Gouk     F5    [0]  
12 Bradley Macdonald      F4    [0]      0:1    Matthew Loughrey P4    [0]  
13 Cillian O’Hara         P6    [0]      0:1    Skyla Finnegan   F1    [0]  
14 Shlok Thoke            P6    [0]      1:0    BYE                         

Round 2 sees quite a few P6 pupils on the top boards. Ethan wins against a tough opponent Caleb McClean. Ryan Anderson does well to beat Daniel Hill.

Round 3

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name                   Feder Total

 1 Ethan Cole       P6    [2]      1:0    Anjali Singh           F4    [2]  
 2 Lorcan Rippon    P6    [2]      0:1    James Huang            F4    [2]  
 3 Aaditya Singh    F2    [2]      0:1    Ryan Anderson          F5    [2]  
 4 Kevin MaGill     F5    [1.5]    0:1    Peter Gamble           F5    [1]  
 5 Daniel Hill      U6    [1]      1:0    Timothy Gouk           F5    [1]  
 6 Skyla Finnegan   F1    [1]      0:1    Caleb McClean          F4    [1]  
 7 Saoirse Rippon   F2    [1]     .5:.5   Shlok Thoke            P6    [1]  
 8 Harrison Brown   F1    [1]      0:1    Achyut Shyamsunder     L6    [1]  
 9 Jackson Coakley  P5    [1]      1:0    Saoirse Barnes         P6    [1]  
10 Matthew Loughrey P4    [1]      0:1    Mohammed Farhan Rakeeb L6    [1]  
11 Peter Riddell    P6    [1]      0:1    Bradley Macdonald      F4    [0]  
12 Thomas Loughrey  F2    [0]      1:0    Rhett Caughie          L6    [0]  
13 Noah Fitzpatrick P6    [0]      1:0    Harry Clarke           F2    [0]  
14 Cillian O’Hara   P6    [0]      1:0    BYE                               

Ethan continues his wins and James Huang shares the lead with relative newcomer Ryan Anderson. Also its brilliant to see families playing. We have Lorcan and Saoirse Rippon, Anjali and Aaditya Singh (both top Table Tennis players - many players have and are good at interests outside of chess - unfortunately sometimes we loose them to their other interests!), Thomas and Matthew Loughrey. Also we have a good contingent of players from Ballymena Academy.

Round 4

Results

No Name                   Feder Total  Result   Name             Feder Total

 1 James Huang            F4    [3]      0:1    Ethan Cole       P6    [3]  
 2 Ryan Anderson          F5    [3]      1:0    Anjali Singh     F4    [2]  
 3 Caleb McClean          F4    [2]      1:0    Aaditya Singh    F2    [2]  
 4 Peter Gamble           F5    [2]      1:0    Jackson Coakley  P5    [2]  
 5 Achyut Shyamsunder     L6    [2]      0:1    Lorcan Rippon    P6    [2]  
 6 Mohammed Farhan Rakeeb L6    [2]      0:1    Daniel Hill      U6    [2]  
 7 Shlok Thoke            P6    [1.5]    0:1    Kevin MaGill     F5    [1.5]
 8 Timothy Gouk           F5    [1]      0:1    Saoirse Rippon   F2    [1.5]
 9 Bradley Macdonald      F4    [1]      0:1    Noah Fitzpatrick P6    [1]  
10 Peter Riddell          P6    [1]      0:1    Skyla Finnegan   F1    [1]  
11 Cillian O’Hara         P6    [1]      0:1    Harrison Brown   F1    [1]  
12 Saoirse Barnes         P6    [1]      0:1    Thomas Loughrey  F2    [1]  
13 Rhett Caughie          L6    [0]      0:1    Matthew Loughrey P4    [1]  
14 Harry Clarke           F2    [0]      1:0    BYE                      

The games at the top are tough. We have Ethan beating James and Ryan beating Anjali. Lorcan gets a good win against Achyut.

Round 5

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name                   Feder Total

 1 Ethan Cole       P6    [4]      1:0    Ryan Anderson          F5    [4]  
 2 Daniel Hill      U6    [3]      0:1    James Huang            F4    [3]  
 3 Lorcan Rippon    P6    [3]      0:1    Peter Gamble           F5    [3]  
 4 Saoirse Rippon   F2    [2.5]    0:1    Caleb McClean          F4    [3]  
 5 Kevin MaGill     F5    [2.5]    1:0    Aaditya Singh          F2    [2]  
 6 Anjali Singh     F4    [2]      1:0    Harrison Brown         F1    [2]  
 7 Skyla Finnegan   F1    [2]      0:1    Achyut Shyamsunder     L6    [2]  
 8 Jackson Coakley  P5    [2]      1:0    Matthew Loughrey       P4    [2]  
 9 Noah Fitzpatrick P6    [2]      0:1    Mohammed Farhan Rakeeb L6    [2]  
10 Thomas Loughrey  F2    [2]      1:0    Shlok Thoke            P6    [1.5]
11 Timothy Gouk     F5    [1]      1:0    Cillian O’Hara         P6    [1]  
12 Saoirse Barnes   P6    [1]      0:1    Bradley Macdonald      F4    [1]  
13 Harry Clarke     F2    [1]      1:0    Peter Riddell          P6    [1]  
14 Rhett Caughie    L6    [0]      1:0    BYE                             

I collect the puzzles in at the start of round 5 and for the next two rounds mark them and work out the certificates. All players handing in puzzles get their marked sheets returned with a Certificate - Gold, Silver or Bronze. So no photos for the last two rounds. Ethan plays Ryan and wins so goes into the lead. James beats Danuel and shares second place. Young Lorcan looses on board 3 to Peter Gambe. The two youngest players meet Jackson wins against Matthew Loughrey both on a good 2 points. We had a pleasant suprise of the visit of one of the founders of Childrens Chess Graham Murphy who dropped in with some spare chess sets and had time to reminisce over the previous years of the tournament and with the sad news that Brian Thorpe who started Methodist Chess club in 1960 has passed away on 28th December 2022. Brian was a significant figure in the Schools Chess and will be missed.

Round 6

Results

No Name                   Feder Total  Result   Name            Feder Total

 1 Peter Gamble           F5    [4]      0:1    Ethan Cole      P6    [5]  
 2 Caleb McClean          F4    [4]      1:0    Ryan Anderson   F5    [4]  
 3 James Huang            F4    [4]      1:0    Kevin MaGill    F5    [3.5]
 4 Anjali Singh           F4    [3]      1:0    Thomas Loughrey F2    [3]  
 5 Mohammed Farhan Rakeeb L6    [3]      1:0    Lorcan Rippon   P6    [3]  
 6 Achyut Shyamsunder     L6    [3]      0:1    Daniel Hill     U6    [3]  
 7 Saoirse Rippon         F2    [2.5]    1:0    Jackson Coakley P5    [3]  
 8 Aaditya Singh          F2    [2]      1:0    Saoirse Barnes  P6    [1]  
 9 Harrison Brown         F1    [2]      1:0    Timothy Gouk    F5    [2]  
10 Bradley Macdonald      F4    [2]      1:0    Harry Clarke    F2    [2]  
11 Matthew Loughrey       P4    [2]      0:1    Skyla Finnegan  F1    [2]  
12 Shlok Thoke            P6    [1.5]    1:0    Peter Riddell   P6    [1]  
13 Cillian O’Hara         P6    [1]      0:1    Rhett Caughie   L6    [1]  
14 Noah Fitzpatrick       P6    [2]       :     BYE                  

The final round and Ethan maintains his lead unbeaten on 6 out of 6. Caleb and James win to share joint 2nd place. A brilliant afternoons chess. With exciting endgames and plenty of tactical and strategic thinking. Karina Campbell assisted in the writing out of the certficates and everyone helped in packing up. Again many thanks to the volunteers Andrew Todd, Geoff Hindley and Karina Campbell. Thanks also for the venue to Methodist College.

With the standings sorted and certificates written we had the award ceremony at about 4:30pm. Special thanks were given to the late James Fairley who has sponsored many trophies over the years on the condition that it was anonymous - thank you James for your time, assistance and love of the game.

Standings

Place Name                   Feder Score

  1   Ethan Cole             P6    6    
 2-3  James Huang            F4    5    
      Caleb McClean          F4    5    
 4-8  Ryan Anderson          F5    4    
      Peter Gamble           F5    4    
      Anjali Singh           F4    4    
      Daniel Hill            U6    4    
      Mohammed Farhan Rakeeb L6    4    
9-10  Saoirse Rippon         F2    3.5  
      Kevin MaGill           F5    3.5  
11-18 Lorcan Rippon          P6    3    
      Aaditya Singh          F2    3    
      Achyut Shyamsunder     L6    3    
      Thomas Loughrey        F2    3    
      Jackson Coakley        P5    3    
      Skyla Finnegan         F1    3    
      Harrison Brown         F1    3    
      Bradley Macdonald      F4    3    
 19   Shlok Thoke            P6    2.5  
20-24 Timothy Gouk           F5    2    
      Matthew Loughrey       P4    2    
      Harry Clarke           F2    2    
      Noah Fitzpatrick       P6    2    
      Rhett Caughie          L6    2    
25-27 Saoirse Barnes         P6    1    
      Cillian O’Hara         P6    1    
      Peter Riddell          P6    1    

The overall winner Ethan Cole. Followed closely by James Huang and Caleb McClean.

P4 and under Champion: Matthew Loughrey

P5 Champion:Jackson Coakley

P6 Champion: Ethan Cole

P6 Second: Lorcan Rippon

P6 Third: Shlok Thoke

F1 Champion: Skyla Finnegan, Harrison Brown

F2: Champion: Saoirse Rippon

F2 Second: Aaditya Singh, Thomas Loughrey

F2 Third: Harry Clarke

F4 and above Champion: James Huang, Caleb McClean

F4 and above Second: Ryan Anderson, Peter Gamble, Anjali Singh, Daniel Hill, Mohammed Farhan Rakeeb

F4 and above Third: Kevin MaGill

See you all at the next tournament on Saturday 11th February. Same time same place.

Solutions to the problems.