Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge

After qualifying by winning their sections in the local MegaFinals Daniil Zelenchuk (Rathmore Grammar, Belfast), Avrora Zelenchuk (St Brides PS, Belfast), Dexter Harris (Greenwood PS, Belfast), Mark Wallace (St Patricks PS, Co Fermanagh), Maxim Dobrynin (HollyBush PS, Co Londonderry), F J Balyiss (Good Shepard PS, Co Londonderry), Patrick Dunne (Good Shepard PS, Co Londonderry) and Ciaran Rowan (St Patricks Grammar, Co Down) took up the challenge and decided to test themselves against other top juniors from the rest of the UK. Avrora (U7 girls), Dexter (U8 boys) , Mark (U9 boys), Maxim (U10 boys) played on the Saturday whilst F J Bayliss (U11 boys), Patrick (U12 boys), Daniil (U13 boys), Ciaran (U15 boys) played on the Sunday. It was real test of their ability and if the task didn't seem daunting enough, the first view of the room with 400 excited young chess players really set the nerves on edge!

It was a leap into the unknown for our local players who rarely play outside Ulster, however, all 8 performed exceptionally well. Avrora won the Girl's U7 section with a fantastic score of 5 / 6. This qualifies her to play in the TeraFinals on 20th and 21st August in Loughborough Grammar School.Maxum scored 4.5 /6 in the U10 Boys earning a rosette. Dexter scored an excellent 4 / 6 in the U8 Boy's section and earned a rosette for his efforts. Daniil also earned a rosette with an excellent score of 3.5 / 6 in the very challenging U13 Boy's section. Mark gained 2 points in the U9 Boys, F J Bayliss scored 2 points in the U11 Boys, Patrick scored 1 point in the U12 Boys, Ciaran scored 2 points in the U15 Boys.

Results can be found on the website: http://www.ukchesschallenge.com/

Congratulations to all eight players on their performances and hopefully we will continue to see them play, progress and enjoy their chess over the coming years!