Dr Felix Schnell plays in a simul with Colchester Juniors
We have had such an eventful couple of weeks that I feel like I am writing for a month's worth of content! Our juniors have been busy not only with our chess curriculum, but also with a special guest, simultaneous games, a birthday celebration, and some of our juniors travelling to represent our county. We are so proud of all our members and for the effort made to improve and enjoy the beautiful game of chess.
We had the pleasure of having special guest Dr Felix Schnell visit our club to play a simultaneous game with our more advanced players on 8, March. Dr Schnell is a professor of history at the University of Essex and is also one of the strongest players in the Colchester Chess Club. The juniors enjoyed the challenge Dr Schnell gave them, as he played the simultaneous until the end of the session. Grace and Diya were his choices for the most impressive play. Well done girls, and thank you for joining us, Felix!!
And what I like to call a 'Simul, Siumul', Rezin Catabay was busy playing the beginners in our bonus room for a Birthday Simul! The beginners gave tremendous effort in the games, with Rezin, but he was successful in winning them all! His choices for the most impressive play went to Jadon and Mia! Congrats to you both!! Rezin tuned 10 on March 8, and we were all lucky to celebrate with him. His big sister Maria delivered a gorgeous (and most delicious) cake. Happy double digits Rezin!!
What have we been learning?
Our juniors have been working hard to apply all the excellent instruction Coach Michael has taught them to their games played in the club (and hopefully practised at home too!). Here is the breakdown of what our juniors have learned about in Colchester Junior Chess Club in the months of February and March.
Tuesday, Over the Board
February
Beginners
We had been learning about the opening called the 'Fried Liver', and how to checkmate using different pieces.
Intermediate and Advanced
We looked at different openings in Chess, and we started by highlighting the speed of development and importance of Initiative. We have been learning about the King’s Gambit, Smith-Morra Gambit and the Catalan Openings.
March
Beginners
We learned about different tactics in chess (Fork, Destruction, Double Attack, Double Check, Discovered Check and Discovered Attack, Deflection)
Intermediate and Advanced
We learned how to annotate games, exposed the players to different scenarios, and learned what tactics and strategies can be applied in different positions.
Thursday, Online
February to March
Beginners
Checkmating with the following pieces: K+Q vs. K and K+R vs. K
We also began to look at various positions on how to apply the tactic "Fork" and will continue with these ideas.
Intermediate and Advanced
We looked at different chess puzzles with varied difficulties, and tried to find the tactics and strategies involved in the manoeuvres.
All player’s Lichess accounts are being checked of their activities, and games are being analysed and annotated when they had a chance to do so.
Fried Liver attack?! Whaaaaa?!
Follow along with IM Levy Rozman (GothamChess) in this video about "The Fried Liver Attack" for an explanation that will 'wow' your junior with your theory knowledge...
We would like to recognise several of our Colchester Juniors who have been selected to play for Essex in the 45th Under 9 and Under 11 Inter-Association Championship 2022 (South Zone).
We are incredibly proud of the efforts of our players. It has been two years since the Association has been able to hold these prestigious tournaments in person. It is challenging at any time, but for many, it was one of the first in person chess tournaments with new people and a new coach (and the first time the coach met the players!). However challenging, they had a fantastic experience, and both teams have made it through to the finals!
Essex Under 9's Team
Grace Wilde
Deimantas Salkauskas
Vince Chung
Jason Ren
Kayla Lexi Owen
Alexander Kariyawasam
Joseph Kariyawasam
Essex Under 11's Team
Ruqayyah Rida
Grace Wilde
Rezin Catabay
Vince Chung
Jason Ren
James Beer
Alexander Kariyawasam
Kingsley He
Joseph Kariyawasam
The Under 11 Girls Team will be playing on Saturday, 24/3, and we wish them the best of luck! I'll be sure to post pictures in the next blog.
Speaking of our girls in the club... I love this photo taken for International Women's Day of our Colchester Junior Girls. We strongly encourage our girls and young women in chess, and are fortunate to have so many amazing female chess players play in our club! We are so proud of you!
Finally, we would like to say a big welcome to all of our newest members of Colchester Junior Chess Club. We are thrilled to have you all! We even have a new member, Liam, who joins us during our Thursday Online Club from New Jersey, USA! Welcome!
Tuesday
Gevin Ratnayake
Celina Ratnayake
Sophie Wang
Mia Brown
Michael Brown
Finley Samuels
Felix Robins
Leo Whybrow
Aprile Holt
Thursday
Jai Sidhu
Ori Whitehorne
Liam Jesunas
Phew! I wasn't joking when I said we had a lot of news...
Thank you to all who are as dedicated to your junior's chess as your juniors. It takes a lot of commitment and sometimes a bit of nagging, but the support and effort does pay off with their enormous growth. Have a wonderful couple of weeks, and thank you for taking the time to read our blog :)