Over 70 junior chess champs turned up at Somerset Hall for the 2nd Portishead Junior Rapidplay on Saturday. For some it was their first chance to discover what competition chess is all about. There were also a good number of seasoned performers with realistic prospects of going a very long way.
Chess is really tough though. We all want to win but all of us have to accept that sometimes we will lose. It’s tough for the parents too! So the fact that there were no major meltdowns suggests that, among many other things, chess builds resilience and the ability to accept defeat with grace. Who would imagine we are talking about at this generation of children when the media talks of lost generations? On Saturday they were all brilliant - and the parents!
Before I get onto the chess I should say that this would not have happened but for the tireless energy of our Portishead Supremo, Jane Norton. She is a do-er, organiser, motivator, delegator and the head of a chess family!
So 70+ children and their supporters descended upon Somerset Hall. So many people were involved in helping with this that it would take too long to do them service here - so I will do this in a separate blog.
The under 18 section was extremely strong with 34 players with 5 of those from Portishead Chess Club. Freddie Pick (South Bristol) was the both the favourite and the the eventual winner with a fantastic 6/6 against tough opposition. Freddie is a great role model for other aspiring juniors (and some of us grown-ups too!) He is humble and gracious while retaining a fierce determination to succeed, a love of the game, and a willingness to support and encourage other young people. He also happens to be to be a very fine chess player.
The under 18 section also included FOUR extremely strong and talented female players: Kandara Acharya, Nayra Charlesworth, Avina Soleimani and SJ Quigley. If it wasn’t for Freddie’s dominance in the tournament any of them could have won. Kandara and Nayra came equal second anyway. Avina was only 0.5 point behind and SJ unfortunately defaulted in round one and extraordinarily unfortunate in round 6. Chess has been traditionally been male dominated
- let’s hope that is changing!
Soumil Saha and Tarum Panumawa also scored a fantastic 4.5/6 to share joint second place.
I have already mentioned SJ’s wonderful but unfortunate performance. Portishead Chess Club is only a year old and our juniors have been going less than that! None-the-less, Edward Ames won the Under 15 prize, while Lana Crowe, Hugo Surendranth and Oliver Hammond all scored 3/6.
Too many players to mention but all were fantastic and should be very proud of themselves!
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