(top left) Huzaifa Baig, Mae Catabay, Ruqayyah Rida, Nolan Periera, Coach Michael Catabay
(bottom left) Jason Ren, Vince Chung, Rezin Catabay, Grace Wilde
Eight of our club members took part in this year's British Junior Rapid & Blitz Championships in Milton Keynes. All of our players played incredibly well in such a challenging tournament. Our players who competed in the national tournament were: Under 8 Open Vince Chung, Jason Ren Under 8 Girls Grace Wilde, Under 10 Open Rezin Catabay, Under 10 Girls Ruqayyah Rida, Under 14 Open Huzaifa Baig, Under 16 Open Nolan Periera
The first day was met with 4 rounds of Rapid play (15+10) and THEN many of our players went on to compete in the Blitz portion of the tournament with 9-11 rounds of Blitz (3+2) games. They played back to back, which did not allow them to have a break in between. We were so impressed by the players who continued to push themselves through what was a very long day of chess by any standard.
The next morning, the players arrived fresh-faced and with true commitment and willingness to do their best. They set up chess boards to practice, discussed chess puzzles, and learned from mistakes made. All of this speaks volumes of the children and of their dedicated coach. They fought for their places and whether they placed or not, our club members performance was incredibly strong in their last 5 rounds of Rapid chess.
We congratulate Ruqayyah Rida, who is the British Rapid Champion in the under 10 girls category, and Mae Catatbay who placed 2nd in both Under 12 Girls Rapid and Under 12 Girls Blitz! We are so unbelievably proud of them both!
Grace Wilde came in 4th (after a 3rd place tiebreak) U8 Girls Rapid and 6th in U8 Girls Blitz while Huzaifa Baig came in an impressive 6th Rapid and 7th Blitz in the U14s. Nolan Periera, Rezin Catabay, Vince Chung, and Jason Ren all played incredibly strong and above their ratings with their performance. Well done everyone! Check out the final results here.
Ruqayyah Rida 1st Rapid & Mae Catabay 2nd Rapid, Blitz
(on a personal note)
Apart from all of the amazing results that our club members delivered, I particularly loved the fellowship between our players and opponents. The memories that were made go beyond tactics and analysis. It was lovely to witness, and in turn, these are the memories that I will carry with me when I remember our first 'over the board' tournament. Well, that and my sweaty palms...
Many, many thanks to everyone who came to support their children (and not their children), to our club parents who root for our club to move forward, and of course to our coach and the 'coach family'.
Enjoy a few of the photos captured during the tournament breaks...
