You are here: Home Archives Ulster Chronicles 2015-2016 season UCU Web 2015 ChildrensChess2015-2016 Stormont2016 Top Young Chess players compete at Stormont

Top Young Chess players compete at Stormont

On June 10th Chris Lyttle MLA invited the top chess talent to Stormont for an Elite tournament. The end of the chess year marks the awards for the Grandprix tournament run as part of the monthly Childrens Chess tournaments.

Chris Lyttle MLA warmly welcomed parents, students, principals, volunteers to the Long Room in Stormont. He praised the chess talent present. Mentioning his game at the Culture Night where he lost to Naomi Long MLA, hoping to get advice so he could fair better at a rematch. He thanked Parents and Volunteers and asked for a round of applause for the youngsters and their talent.

The first round started. We had 3 sections Primary, Lower Secondary (Form1-3) and Upper Secondary (Form4-6). Each section 4 players in an all-play-all.

Geoff Hindley ran the Lower Secondary section. Gerry Tate the Primary and Ross Harris the Upper Secondary. While I chatted to parents, teachers and took photos.

A morning of Chess, celebration, recognition of talent in the beautiful surrounds of Stormont. Everyone had a brilliant morning. Photos and results follow....

Primary Round 1.

WhiteBlack
Pablo Gonzalez  1/2 1/2 David Gonzalez
Dexter Harris        0 1    Calvin Patterson

rd2-pablo-david

calvin-dexter

 

Lower Secondary Round 1.

WhiteBlack
Peter Todd          1 0  Ciaran Rowan
Nathan Byrne      0 1  Daniil Zelenchuk

rd1-daniil

Upper Secondary Round 1.

WhiteBlack
Jake Patterson       1 0  Samuel Todd
Hannah Patterson  0 1  Andrew Todd

Then followed a tour of the Parliment Buildings - these are always very informative and quite fun. Learning about the Italian Marble the perfect paint, the traditions that make our democratic society.

thetour

Then back to the Long Room for round 2.

Primary Round 2.

WhiteBlack
Pablo Gonzalez    1 0    Dexter Harris
David Gonzalez 1 0    Calvin Patterson

rd3-calvin-pablo

Lower Secondary Round 2.

WhiteBlack
Peter Todd            1 0    Nathan Byrne
Ciaran Rowan        0 1    Daniil Zelenchuk

nathan-peter

Upper Secondary Round 2.

WhiteBlack
Jake Patterson    1 0   Hannah Patterson
Samuel Todd        0 1    Andrew Todd

rd2-jake-hannah

Primary Round 3.

WhiteBlack
Calvin Patterson  0 1    Pablo Gonzalez
Dexter Harris        0 1    David Gonzalez

 

Lower Secondary Round 3.

WhiteBlack
Daniil Zelenchuk  1 0    Peter Todd
Nathan Byrne        0 1    Ciaran Rowan

 

Upper Secondary Round 3.

WhiteBlack
Andrew Todd            1 0   Jake Patterson
Hannah Patterson    0 1    Samuel Todd

rd2-room

The final results of the Stormont Elite

Primary Section:

PositionNameSchoolYearPoints
1st Pablo Gonzalez Newcastle Primay School P6 2.5
1st David Gonzalez Newcastle Primary School P6 2.5
3rd Calvin Patterson Home Educated P4 1
4th Dexter Harris Greenwood Primary School P3 0

Lower Secondary Section:

PositionNameSchoolYearPoints
1st Daniil Zelenchuk Rathmore Grammar F1 3
2nd Peter Todd Bangor Grammar F2 2
3rd Ciaran Rowan St Patricks Grammar F3 1
4th Nathan Byrne St Patricks Grammar F3 0

Upper Secondary Section:

PositionNameSchoolYearPoints
1st Andrew Todd Bangor Grammar U6 3
2nd Jake Patterson Home Educated L6 2
3rd Samuel Todd Bangor Grammar F4 1
4th Hannah Patterson Home Educated F4 0

With the games over the award ceremony took place.

Certificates were awarded for the Stormont elite competition. A line of honour was formed of the School Principals, representative of the Ulster Chess Union and the Ulster Schools Chess Council. A big warm thanks to the teachers and Principals in attendance. This is an event to celebrate the chess skills of these talented youngsters.

The Shields and trophies were awarded by Chris Lyttle MLA.

chris-gerry-room

winners

Belfast Scholastic Shield 2016

Primary School Championship

PositionNameSchoolYearPoints
1st Pablo Gonzalez Newcastle Primary School P6 29
2nd Calvin Patterson Home Educated P4 25.5
3rd David Gonzalez Newcastle Primary School P6 25
4th Dexter Harris Greenwood Primary School P3 17.5

Belfast Scholastic Shield 2016

Lower Secondary School Championship

PositionNameSchoolYearPoints
1st Peter Todd Bangor Grammar F2 30
2nd Daniil Zelenchuk Rathmore Grammaer F1 27
3rd Ciaran Rowan St Patricks Grammar F3 20.3
4th Nathan Byrne St Patricks Grammar F2 13.5

Belfast Scholastic Shield 2016

Upper Secondary School Championship

PositionNameSchoolYearPoints
1st Jake Patterson Home Educated L6 24
1st John Dawson Friends School U6 24
3rd Andrew Todd Bangor Grammar U6 23
4th Samuel Todd Bangor Grammar F4 22.5
5th Hannah Patterson Home Educated F4 18

Due to exams unfortunately John Dawson wasnt able to attend. His GrandParents collected his prizes on his behalf. Its brilliant to see a families enjoying and supporting chess.

Belfast Scholastic Shield 2016

The Belfast Scholastic Edward Whiteside Shield:

Primary Puzzle Solving Chess Champion

PositionNameSchoolYearPoints
1st Pablo Gonzalez Newcastle Primary School P6 28
2nd David Gonzalez Newcastle Primary School P6 23.2
3rd Calum Glendinning Rudolf Steiner Holywood P7 22
4th Fiachra Avery Home Educated P7 21

Belfast Scholastic Shield 2016

The Belfast Scholastic Fergus O’Neill Shield:

Secondary Puzzle Solving Chess Champion

PositionNameSchoolYearPoints
1st Samuel Todd Bangor Grammar F4 28
2nd Samuel Trimble New Bridge Integrated College U6 22.5
3rd Peter Todd Bangor Grammar F2 16
3rd Matthew Gray Bangor Grammar L6 16
3rd John Dawson Friends School U6 16
6th Hannah Patterson Home Educated F4 15

 

The Belfast Scholastic Shield 2016.

Exceptional Young Player

NameYearSchool
Dexter Harris P3 Geenwood Primary School
Avrora Zelenchuk P3 St Birdes Primary School
Avrorafather-daughter
theroomandlargeset
Navigation
News
Lisburn Chess Club shares with deep sadness the news of the passing of young Gopi Marengo Nov 18, 2025
Ulster Masters 2025 – Results A 5 round FIDE-rated classic event was held at Lisburn Chess Club, Friday 14th November – Sunday 16th November. Nov 16, 2025
An afternoon of brilliant chess and puzzle solving was held at Methodist College on 1st Nov 2025 The first of our 5 Childrens Chess took place on Saturday. These feed into a grandprix with top players being invited to... Nov 08, 2025
The LJCC Belfast Qualifier took place at Methodist College on 25th Oct 25 The first of the UCU monthly childrens tournaments took place on 25th Oct 2025 after being postponed due to the storm. 3... Nov 02, 2025
UCU Tournaments: A Critical Moment for Volunteer and Arbiter Support This report, prepared by Tournament Director Karina Campbell and presented to the Ulster Chess Union Executive Board, ou... Oct 26, 2025
More news…
« November 2025 »
November
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30
Upcoming Events
Ulster Schools Individual Championships 2025 Come and challenge to become the Ulster Schools Chess Champion 2025. 6th December at Methodist College. Dec 06, 2025 10:00 AM - 04:30 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
Second Executive Board Meeting Agenda tbc Dec 09, 2025 08:00 PM - 09:30 PM — Playback Conference Room, Maynard Sinclair Pavilion
January 10th 2026 Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00 Monthly Chess Tournaments Continues at Methodist College. Jan 10, 2026 12:30 PM - 05:00 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
Sligo Chess & Culture Festival Jan 30th - Feb 8th 2026 The Sligo Chess and Culture Festival will have entertainment, social, cultural, and sporting activities, chess talks, wo... Jan 30, 2026 - Feb 08, 2026 — Diamond Coast Hotel, Enniscrone, Ireland
February 14th 2026 Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00 UCU Monthly Schools Chess Tournaments Continues at Methodist College. Feb 14, 2026 12:30 PM - 05:00 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
Upcoming events…