You are here: Home Users Mark Newman 2024-2025 Childrens Chess 2024-25 January 2025 Childrens Chess The Monthly Childrens Chess Tournaments continued on Sat 11th January at Methodist College

The Monthly Childrens Chess Tournaments continued on Sat 11th January at Methodist College

29 young players came together to play and enjoy an afternoon of chess with a 6 round tournament and challenging puzzle competition.

A New Year and another exciting tournament. Geoff Hindley and Caleb McClean helped to put out the Arrows for directions to the Chess Classrooms. One slight change, the 2nd room we usually use was locked due to a setup for Open Day. The brilliant Caretakers had organised for another room upstairs. So we moved the Parents Room to upstairs and the old Parents Room was used for the competition. I was expecting 32 players so setup 8 boards in one room and 9 boards in the next. With every one registered I removed those who didnt turn-up from the draw, hoping that they might turn up latter. The draw was done and the youngsters found their tables and rooms. The wonderful silence of focused thought filled the air - we were away.

I love the puzzle solving - this gives the players something todo whilst waiting for the next round. Its also a point for conversation. But we hope that the solutions are worked out by each player - as this is the best way to learn and gives alot of satisfaction. We mark the sheets at round 5 ( sometimes this means no photos! for that round) and return them with certificates at the award ceremony.

The Primary Champion: Advait Tahmankar.

No Name Year Points Cert.
1 Tahmankar, Advait P7 15.5 Gold
2 McKeown, Alex P5 14.5 Gold
3 Micheal, Aarin P3 14 Gold
4 Coakley , Jackson P7 13 Silver
5 Loughrey, Matthew P6 13 Silver
6 Loughrey, Stefan P4 12.5 Silver
7 Jahandizi, Kia P6 12 Silver
8 Marrivada, Shreyas Chandra P5 7 Bronze
9 Simpson, Timothy P5 7 Bronze
10 Simpson, Daniel P3 7 Bronze
11 Johnston, Nathan P6 5 Bronze
12 Spence, Luke P4 2 Bronze

The Secondary Champion : Aaditya Singh

No Name Year Points Cert.
1 Singh, Aaditya F4 14.5 Gold
2 McClenahan, Timothy L6 14 Gold
3 Muradali, Kyan F2 12.5 Silver
4 Campbell, Andrew U6 10.5 Silver
5 Karpagavinayagam, Karthikeya F4 10 Silver
6 Crothers, Toby F5 9 Silver
7 Banerjee, Aharshi F3 9 Silver
8 Murphy, Peter F4 8 Bronze
9 Singh, Anjali L6 7 Bronze
10 Murray, Nathan F2 4 Bronze

Both secondary and primary sheets share the harder problems on the back of the sheet. These are shown below. See if you can solve them. Solutions given at the bottom of the page.

p13p14p15p16
p17 p18 p19 p20
p21 p22

For many years we have run a grand-prix. Resulting in players being invited to an elite competition and award ceremony usually held at Stormont.

Article from one of the first: https://www.ulsterchess.org/archives/imports/Schools/junior/chess-stormont-2009

Most recent article: https://www.ulsterchess.org/Members/ucu00450/2023-2024/childrenschess2023-24/stormont-2024/a-brilliant-morning-with-naomi-long-mla-celebrating-top-young-chess-players-at-stormont

The top 4 players for Primary, Lower Secondary, Upper Secondary and Puzzle solving will be invited.

Grandprix: points – Players positions in their section are taken. Their best 3 grand-prix scores over the 5 tournaments are added together.

Grand Prix Style Tournament

  1. place gets 10 points
  2. place gets 8 points
  3. place gets 6 points
  4. place gets 5 points
  5. place gets 4 points
  6. place gets 3 points
  7. place gets 2 points
  8. place gets 1 points

I will shortly publish the standings and points for the first 2 tournaments. We have 3 remaining tournaments so plenty of time to get included....

February 8th Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00

March 8th Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00

April 12th Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00

Round 1

Results

No Name                        Feder Total  Result   Name                      Feder Total

 1 Caleb McClean               L6    [0]      1:0    Anthony Pratt             F4    [0]  
 2 Ben Russell                 F4    [0]      0:1    Andrew Campbell           U6    [0]  
 3 Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam F4    [0]      1:0    Aaditya Singh             F4    [0]  
 4 George McClelland           F2    [0]      0:1    Alwin Micheal             F1    [0]  
 5 Toby Crothers               F5    [0]      1:0    Sohil Sai Bande           F3    [0]  
 6 Kia Jahandizi               P6    [0]     .5:.5   Timothy McClenahan        L6    [0]  
 7 Aharshi Banerjee            F3    [0]      1:0    Nathan Johnston           P6    [0]  
 8 Matthew Loughrey            P6    [0]      0:1    Kyan Muradali             F2    [0]  
 9 Nathan Murray               F2    [0]      1:0    Shreyas Chandra Marrivada P5    [0]  
10 Timothy Simpson             P5    [0]      0:1    Alex McKeown              P5    [0]  
11 Advait Tahmankar            P7    [0]      1:0    Stefan Loughrey           P4    [0]  
12 Luke Spence                 P4    [0]      0:1    Peter Murphy              F4    [0]  
13 Shlok Thoke                 F1    [0]      1:0    Jackson Coakley           P7    [0]  
14 Aarin Micheal               P3    [0]      0:1    Anjali Singh              L6    [0]  
15 Daniel Simpson              P3    [0]      1:0    BYE                                                               
by Swiss Perfect (TM)  www.swissperfect.com

The players are given approx ratings and the first round pattern of wins by rating would be White / Black / White / Black .....So first round almost went to ratings. With the exception of Kia Jahandizi drawing against Timothy McClenahan. As the rounds go on the players are more likely to play players on the same  points and the same level. However round 1 is usually where the weaker players have their hardest opponents. We play one section to allow younger players to play older players and potentially beat them and if not to learn - as one way of definately  improving your game is to play better players.

 

rd1-1rd1-2
rd1-3 rd1-4
rd1-5 rd1-6
rd1-7 rd1-8

Round 2

Results

No Name                      Feder Total  Result   Name                        Feder Total

 1 Alex McKeown              P5    [1]      0:1    Caleb McClean               L6    [1]  
 2 Andrew Campbell           U6    [1]      1:0    Nathan Murray               F2    [1]  
 3 Peter Murphy              F4    [1]     .5:.5   Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam F4    [1]  
 4 Alwin Micheal             F1    [1]      1:0    Advait Tahmankar            P7    [1]  
 5 Anjali Singh              L6    [1]      0:1    Toby Crothers               F5    [1]  
 6 Daniel Simpson            P3    [1]      0:1    Aharshi Banerjee            F3    [1]  
 7 Kyan Muradali             F2    [1]     .5:.5   Shlok Thoke                 F1    [1]  
 8 Timothy McClenahan        L6    [.5]     1:0    Anthony Pratt               F4    [0]  
 9 Aaditya Singh             F4    [0]      1:0    Kia Jahandizi               P6    [.5] 
10 Shreyas Chandra Marrivada P5    [0]      0:1    Ben Russell                 F4    [0]  
11 Stefan Loughrey           P4    [0]      0:1    George McClelland           F2    [0]  
12 Sohil Sai Bande           F3    [0]      1:0    Timothy Simpson             P5    [0]  
13 Nathan Johnston           P6    [0]      1:0    Luke Spence                 P4    [0]  
14 Jackson Coakley           P7    [0]      0:1    Matthew Loughrey            P6    [0]  
15 Aarin Micheal             P3    [0]      1:0    BYE          

Shlok Thoke gets a good draw against Kyan Muradali. Peter Murphy gets a good win against Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam. Brilliant to see P5, P7 and P3 pupils on the top boards.

rd2-1rd2-2
rd2-3 rd2-4
rd2-5 rd2-6

Round 3

Results

No Name                        Feder Total  Result   Name                      Feder Total

 1 Caleb McClean               L6    [2]     .5:.5   Alwin Micheal             F1    [2]  
 2 Toby Crothers               F5    [2]      0:1    Andrew Campbell           U6    [2]  
 3 Aharshi Banerjee            F3    [2]      1:0    Timothy McClenahan        L6    [1.5]
 4 Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam F4    [1.5]    0:1    Kyan Muradali             F2    [1.5]
 5 Shlok Thoke                 F1    [1.5]    0:1    Peter Murphy              F4    [1.5]
 6 Nathan Murray               F2    [1]      1:0    Sohil Sai Bande           F3    [1]  
 7 George McClelland           F2    [1]      1:0    Alex McKeown              P5    [1]  
 8 Advait Tahmankar            P7    [1]      1:0    Nathan Johnston           P6    [1]  
 9 Matthew Loughrey            P6    [1]      0:1    Anjali Singh              L6    [1]  
10 Ben Russell                 F4    [1]      1:0    Aarin Micheal             P3    [1]  
11 Aaditya Singh               F4    [1]      1:0    Daniel Simpson            P3    [1]  
12 Kia Jahandizi               P6    [.5]     1:0    Shreyas Chandra Marrivada P5    [0]  
13 Anthony Pratt               F4    [0]      1:0    Stefan Loughrey           P4    [0]  
14 Timothy Simpson             P5    [0]      0:1    Luke Spence               P4    [0]  
15 Jackson Coakley             P7    [0]      1:0    BYE                                  

The top players are rising to the top. With a good group on 2 and 1 1/2 points. Top players Caleb McClean and Alwin Micheal on board 1 draw which opens up the competition.

rd3-1rd3-2
rd3-3 rd3-4

Round 4

Results

No Name                      Feder Total  Result   Name                        Feder Total

 1 Andrew Campbell           U6    [3]      1:0    Aharshi Banerjee            F3    [3]  
 2 Kyan Muradali             F2    [2.5]    0:1    Caleb McClean               L6    [2.5]
 3 Alwin Micheal             F1    [2.5]    1:0    Peter Murphy                F4    [2.5]
 4 Ben Russell               F4    [2]      0:1    Toby Crothers               F5    [2]  
 5 Anjali Singh              L6    [2]      0:1    Nathan Murray               F2    [2]  
 6 Advait Tahmankar          P7    [2]      0:1    Aaditya Singh               F4    [2]  
 7 Kia Jahandizi             P6    [1.5]    1:0    George McClelland           F2    [2]  
 8 Timothy McClenahan        L6    [1.5]    0:1    Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam F4    [1.5]
 9 Alex McKeown              P5    [1]      0:1    Shlok Thoke                 F1    [1.5]
10 Luke Spence               P4    [1]     .5:.5   Anthony Pratt               F4    [1]  
11 Sohil Sai Bande           F3    [1]      0:1    Jackson Coakley             P7    [1]  
12 Nathan Johnston           P6    [1]      1:0    Aarin Micheal               P3    [1]  
13 Daniel Simpson            P3    [1]      0:1    Matthew Loughrey            P6    [1]  
14 Shreyas Chandra Marrivada P5    [0]      0:1    Timothy Simpson             P5    [0]  
15 Stefan Loughrey           P4    [0]      1:0    BYE     

The only two players on full points meet. Andrew Campbell and Aharshi Banerjee, Andrew winning and going into the lead. With an odd no of players Geoff Hindley plays a friendly against the player with the Bye. He mentioned afterwards that some of them beat him and all gave him a good game - which goes to show we have some good player. Kia Jahandizi continues todo well with a win against George McClelland

rd4-1rd4-2
rd4-3 rd4-4
rd4-5 rd4-6

Round 5

Results

No Name                        Feder Total  Result   Name               Feder Total

 1 Caleb McClean               L6    [3.5]    0:1    Andrew Campbell    U6    [4]  
 2 Toby Crothers               F5    [3]      0:1    Alwin Micheal      F1    [3.5]
 3 Aharshi Banerjee            F3    [3]      0:1    Nathan Murray      F2    [3]  
 4 Aaditya Singh               F4    [3]      0:1    Kyan Muradali      F2    [2.5]
 5 Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam F4    [2.5]    1:0    Shlok Thoke        F1    [2.5]
 6 Peter Murphy                F4    [2.5]    1:0    Kia Jahandizi      P6    [2.5]
 7 George McClelland           F2    [2]      0:1    Advait Tahmankar   P7    [2]  
 8 Jackson Coakley             P7    [2]      0:1    Anjali Singh       L6    [2]  
 9 Matthew Loughrey            P6    [2]      1:0    Ben Russell        F4    [2]  
10 Anthony Pratt               F4    [1.5]   .5:.5   Nathan Johnston    P6    [2]  
11 Luke Spence                 P4    [1.5]    0:1    Timothy McClenahan L6    [1.5]
12 Stefan Loughrey             P4    [1]      0:1    Alex McKeown       P5    [1]  
13 Aarin Micheal               P3    [1]      0:1    Sohil Sai Bande    F3    [1]  
14 Timothy Simpson             P5    [1]      0:1    Daniel Simpson     P3    [1]  
15 Shreyas Chandra Marrivada   P5    [0]      1:0    BYE              

Round 5 and we are marking the puzzles. So no photos. A tough set of problems. I am assisted with the puzzles by Ranjit Singh. Andrew Campell continues to win with 5 out of 5 beating top player Caleb McClean. Kia Jahandizi in on board 6 but looses to Peter Murphy. Nathan Johnston gets a good draw against Anthony Pratt. We have a battle of the brothers with the younger Daniel Simpson taking a point off Timothy Simpson.

Round 6

Results

No Name                      Feder Total  Result   Name                        Feder Total

 1 Andrew Campbell           U6    [5]      0:1    Alwin Micheal               F1    [4.5]
 2 Nathan Murray             F2    [4]      0:1    Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam F4    [3.5]
 3 Peter Murphy              F4    [3.5]    1:0    Caleb McClean               L6    [3.5]
 4 Kyan Muradali             F2    [3.5]    0:1    Aharshi Banerjee            F3    [3]  
 5 Toby Crothers             F5    [3]      1:0    Aaditya Singh               F4    [3]  
 6 Anjali Singh              L6    [3]      0:1    Advait Tahmankar            P7    [3]  
 7 Shlok Thoke               F1    [2.5]    1:0    Matthew Loughrey            P6    [3]  
 8 Nathan Johnston           P6    [2.5]    0:1    Kia Jahandizi               P6    [2.5]
 9 Timothy McClenahan        L6    [2.5]    1:0    Ben Russell                 F4    [2]  
10 Alex McKeown              P5    [2]      1:0    Sohil Sai Bande             F3    [2]  
11 Anthony Pratt             F4    [2]      0:1    Jackson Coakley             P7    [2]  
12 Daniel Simpson            P3    [2]      1:0    George McClelland           F2    [2]  
13 Shreyas Chandra Marrivada P5    [1]      1:0    Luke Spence                 P4    [1.5]
14 Aarin Micheal             P3    [1]      1:0    Stefan Loughrey             P4    [1]  
15 Timothy Simpson           P5    [1]      1:0    BYE   

Micheal Alwin defeats the undefeated leader Andrew Campbell. Peter Murphy wins against Caleb McClean and Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam wins against Nathan Murray. We have an incredible top talent on the top boards. Whilst the younger Advait Tahmankar is the top Primary School player. and the young P3 Daniel Simpson ends up on 3 points beating George McClelland. The day has been full of brilliant games with close endgames and plenty of challenging positions and some mistakes. But chess is all about handling that mistake and when loosing having the ability to play the next game and learn. Such a fantastic game! A big thankyou to all the players for being part of a fantastic afternoon of chess.

Standings

Place Name                        Feder Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   Alwin Micheal               F1    5.5      16.0  23.0   19.0
  2   Andrew Campbell             U6    5        15.5  23.0   20.0
 3-4  Peter Murphy                F4    4.5      15.0  22.0   15.5
      Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam F4    4.5      14.5  22.0   14.5
 5-8  Aharshi Banerjee            F3    4        13.5  21.0   16.0
      Nathan Murray               F2    4        13.5  20.0   15.0
      Toby Crothers               F5    4        13.0  20.5   15.0
      Advait Tahmankar            P7    4        10.5  16.5   13.0
9-13  Caleb McClean               L6    3.5      16.0  23.5   16.0
      Kyan Muradali               F2    3.5      14.0  21.5   14.5
      Shlok Thoke                 F1    3.5      14.0  21.0   12.5
      Timothy McClenahan          L6    3.5      11.5  17.5   11.0
      Kia Jahandizi               P6    3.5      11.0  17.0   11.0
14-19 Aaditya Singh               F4    3        15.0  22.0   12.0
      Anjali Singh                L6    3        13.5  19.0   12.0
      Matthew Loughrey            P6    3        11.5  17.0   10.0
      Daniel Simpson              P3    3        11.0  16.5    9.0
      Jackson Coakley             P7    3        11.0  16.5    8.0
      Alex McKeown                P5    3         9.0  13.0    9.0
 20   Nathan Johnston             P6    2.5      11.0  16.5    9.0
21-27 George McClelland           F2    2        13.0  19.0    9.0
      Ben Russell                 F4    2        12.0  18.5    9.0
      Sohil Sai Bande             F3    2        11.0  16.5    7.0
      Shreyas Chandra Marrivada   P5    2        10.0  15.5    3.0
      Anthony Pratt               F4    2        10.0  14.0    6.5
      Aarin Micheal               P3    2         9.5  13.0    6.0
      Timothy Simpson             P5    2         9.0  13.5    4.0
 28   Luke Spence                 P4    1.5       9.5  15.5    5.5
 29   Stefan Loughrey             P4    1        10.0  15.5    3.0

Overall positions:

1st: Alwin Micheal F1

2nd: Andrew Campbell U6

3rd: Peter Murphy F4

Karthikeya Karpagavinayagam F4

I give out trophies for 1st and 2nd for each of the age group categories. I then give out certificates for 1st / 2nd / 3rd - these I give to the players in the age group on the same points. So you can have more than 1 first and then a couple of 2nds and 3rds.

Form 4 and above Champions.

Name Year Place Score
Campbell, Andrew U6 1 5
Murphy, Peter F4 2 4.5
Karpagavinayagam, Karthikeya F4 2 4.5
Crothers, Toby F5 3 4

Form 3 Champions.

Name Year Place Score
Banerjee, Aharshi F3 1 4
Sai Bande, Sohil F3 2 2

Form 2 Champions:

Name Year Place Score
Murray, Nathan F2 1 4
Muradali, Kyan F2 2 3.5
McClelland, George F2 3 2

Form 1 Champions:

Name Year Place Score
Micheal, Alwin F1 1 5.5
Thoke, Shlok F1 2 3.5

P7 Champions:

Name Year P7 Score
Tahmankar, Advait P7 1 4
Coakley , Jackson P7 2 3

P6 Champions:

Name Year Place Score
Jahandizi, Kia P6 1 3.5
Loughrey, Matthew P6 2 3
Johnston, Nathan P6 3 2.5

P5 and below Champions:

Name Year Place Score
Simpson, Daniel P3 1 3
McKeown, Alex P5 1 3
Marrivada, Shreyas Chandra P5 2 2
Micheal, Aarin P3 2 2
Simpson, Timothy P5 2 2
Spence, Luke P4 3 1.5

winners

A big thankyou to Volunteers - Geoff Hindley, Mandar Tahmankar, Ranjit Singh. Also to the Methodist College for excellent venue. The Parents for supporting their youngsters and most of all to the players for playing such great chess and accepting defeat in a positive way. Loosing is the best way to learn and get better.

The next tournament in the series is next month : Saturday Afternoon February 8th again at Methodist College.

 

As some of the problems involved alot of moves we decided to mark ones with the first correct move as right. For those problems with less moves we gave 1/2 mark if not the full answer.

13. Black to move (1001W-821)

1. … Qxa1

2. Qxf4 Qa8+

3. Qe4  Qxe4#

14. Black to move. (1001W-822)

1. …  g5!

2.  fxg5 fxg5

3. Qxg5 Rxf1

4. resigns

15. White to move (1001W-823)

1. Qb3+! Rf7

2. Nxf7 Qxf7

3. Re8+ Bf8

4. Bf4 Resigns

16.  White to move (1001W-824)

1. Ke3! Qxd1

2. c3! Black must give the Queen back.

If 2.  … Qh4

3. Nf6+

17. White to move (1001W-825)

1. fxg6! Rxc4

2. gxh7+ Nxh7

3. Qxh7+ Kf8

4. Qh8+ Ke7

5. Qxe5+ Kd7

6. Rd1+ Kc8

7. Qe8+ Kb7

8. Qxf7+ resigns

18. White to move (1001W-826)

1. Nf3 Qxh1

2. Ne5 threatening the Q and mate.

19. White to move (1000CC-346)

1. Bf8! Black resigned

20. Black to move  (1000CC-347)

1. … Rd1!

21. White to move (1000CC-348)

1. Ne6! Black resigned

22. Black  to move (1000CC-349)

1. … Qd2