A New Dawn: New Recruits, New Champions and New Rivals!

February and March have been very important months for Queen Anne’s Chess Club, signalling a new dawn for us in many ways.

Firstly, we invited our youngest members into the fold in the form of two students from 4s students, Anna and Manuela, both representing Franklin Charter. Secondly, it was in these months that we saw some of the most impressive duels over the black and white squares at the club, with technical levels improving among the players week upon week. Thirdly, we have now confirmed for the Summer Term Queen Anne’s first ever official chess match against our neighbour school, Kendrick – exciting stuff indeed!

We are also pleased to announce officially our club captains: Gabby and Olivia, both of Austen Charter. How pleasing it is to see both of these fine role models playing solid openings and using basic chess principles with greater instincts and confidence, whilst also encouraging along and supporting our other members with true patience and great generosity of spirit. How uplifting it is also to have new members like Paris of Pankhurst (a very strong strategist indeed) playing with and against the younger players in our ranks to help the club develop as a whole. How wonderful it is to work with such spirited Sixth Form representatives – you do our school proud!

But, to focus on our younger players for a moment, let’s consider a feisty match which was played in the club session on Thursday 3rd February between the two Franklinites from the Fours. Both Anna and Manuela arrived at the forbidding door of Room C with their smiling-lunchtime faces, eager and keen to show the older players what they could do. It must be known, that regardless of their youth, both Anna and Manuela have played before and the match between them was truly entertaining – those fortunate enough to be there to witness would agree. Both players showed great competence in developing pieces in the opening, and Manuela, in particular, showed a penchant for assertive, attacking moves. However, Anna demonstrated a composure beyond her years and positioned her pieces defensively, soaking up Manuela’s attack, ready for her own advances to come. It soon followed that Anna moved her army forward as the game progressed to complete an effective endgame and take the win. In a long-awaited rematch, two weeks later, Manuela looked like she was overpowering Anna and going to secure a 1-1 record; however, Anna, with some dogged, last-ditch attacking play found a Mate-in-2 and won against the odds. We must show the beautiful final position here. What a checkmate!

It is very exciting to see some of the talent in the lower echelons of the school turning up to play, and we hope that other lower school chess players will follow suit and venture up to Room C for the Thursday lunchtime sessions in the future.

We also had our core players turning up for battle, ready-armed and raring to go. It is fair to say that some of the finest games experienced at the club were seen in February. Club captain, Gabby, competed in a double-header against rising star, Sophie (Pankhurst). The first match was even for a long spell before a blunder by Gabby resulted in Sophie confidently seeing out the position and taking the victory. Not to be put off by a defeat, Gabby came roaring back in the second game to take the victory, with the overall score at 1-1. Both players earned important charter points, doing their respective houses proud!

In terms of the social spirit of the chess club, we often encourage friendly games where pairs play other pairs as a way of discussing positions and possible moves. We even had the unique situation where two very good players, Hannah (Pankhurst) and Jasmine (Franklin), took on a sole opponent, Sophie, who wanted to sharpen her skills by taking on the duo. Here is the position at the end of the game before time ran out. Black is the dominant force and is likely to close out the match – just look at that intimidating pawn chain and indomitable central control!

Sophie also took on one of our most improved players: Sherry (Franklin). The game was tightly contested in the opening with Sherry putting up an excellent fight; however, Sophie came through in the endgame to achieve another win.

A special word should be given to Sophie here, who sadly leaves us in order to return home for the Summer Term. She has been an outstanding member of the club, competing in and completing more games than any other individual. She has racked up many charter points for Pankhurst. She has never shirked a battle over the board and we hope she keeps on playing in the future. Well done, Sophie!

Another excellent game saw one of our most committed members, Hannah taking on Yi Shan (Austen). Hannah has built a strong opening method since the start of the club and she continues to develop her pieces with growing confidence. Some sure attacking play from Yi Shan gave Hannah a few early problems, but Hannah’s technique saw out in the end, earning vital points for Pankhurst. Here is the position as it comes to a close, with Hannah dominating with the black pieces:

One match which should also be highlighted is Gabby’s game against Sherry. Once again, the spirit of the club is that we treat all matches as learning experiences. Sherry did not baulk at the prospect of playing Gabby and, in fact, Sherry dominated the opening and middle phases, keeping her more senior opponent on the backfoot. Gabby, however, played with composure and good defensive instincts to slowly wrestle back the game.

The last of the reports, however, must be devoted to Temi and Adetoni (both representing Austen) as they have undertaken a series of matches against each other, over the months, all in an effort to improve and learn. Temi had suffered a couple of defeats to Adetoni in the early days, yet she continued to work with her friend, to practise and develop her skill set. Due to such perseverance and determination, she is becoming an astute tactician and is able to evaluate different positions on the board well. She even managed to secure a victory against Adetoni in a memorable match on 3rd March. Here is the final position for Black’s win – a spectacular smothered mate!

The Charter Competition Results

Overall, here are the players and their respective matches over the February and March period:

Sophie M (6 games) Olivia F, Gabby H (4 games), Temi (3 games), Adetoni (3 games), Paris (2 games), Hannah H (2 games), Sherry (2 games), Manuela (3 games), Anna (3 games), Yi Shan (1 game)

And here are the final Charter results for the season:

1. Austen = 135 points

2. Pankhurst = 90 points

3. Franklin = 60 points

4. Watson = 15 points

5. Curie = 0 points

So there we have it – the champions of the Queen Anne’s Chess Charter Competition 2021/22 are the brilliant AUSTEN!

Stop the Presses!

Now, on a final note, we must alert the Queen Anne’s community to some very important news indeed:

Queen Anne’s Chess Club are pleased to announce our first ever competitive match which will be played against Kendrick School on Tuesday, June 14th.

More details will be provided closer to the time, but for now, please know that ten of our mighty warriors will be battling against ten of the best Kendrickians over ten boards that afternoon.

Therefore, in the coming weeks of chess club, I will be looking to select from our most committed members to help in what will be an historical and memorable day for the school.

All the best!

Mr Jackson (Club Founder)