CHS Chess Team are Cheshire County Finalists

The talented squad, comprising of Waconians Ed, Rahul, Rohit, Aman, Isobel and Joe, are currently playing in the Ivan Gromov League, as well as becoming Cheshire County Regional Finalsists in theThe National Schools Chess Championships!

Commenting on the teams final placing in the NSCC, CHS Chess team leader and Upper Sixth Student, Ed said: “It was a great experience and is testament to the strong chess culture within the school – perhaps the team will go a step further in the coming years.

Everyone involved (with particular thanks to Mr Norton for running the club and helping us in the matches) is extremely supportive of the others and consequently whether we have won or lost a match the team spirit is something that I love about playing for the school.”

The Ivan Gromov League is an online Swiss League which features some of the top chess-playing schools in the Country. Team CHS is drawn against a team from another school once each fortnight, and games take place simultaneously.

Telling us how the team prepares for these matches, Ed commented: “The team has fortnightly training sessions where I bring along some puzzles or such for everyone to try and solve whilst the Friday chess club continues to boom, so everyone gets a chance to play a lot of practice games with each other.”

Although this is only the first year CHS have taken part, the team is hopeful they will finish in the Top 10, an outstanding result given the pedigree of the opposition.

The team are a part of the weekly Friday Chess Club at CHS. The gathering usually involves friendly games between Waconians, however those in the club also enjoy running their own Swiss Leagues to develop healthy competition.

CHS Head of Mathematics and Chess Club Leader, Mr Steven Norton commented on the rise of CHS Chess Club: “CHS Chess is going from strength to strength with the record numbers attending the weekly club. 44 different pupils competed in The House Chess competition, each playing at least one game from their house. We are also launching a ‘B’ team and they will play their first games in an online fixture during Spring half term.”

The club also play friendly matches against surrounding Schools, providing those passionate about chess to improve and continue within the CHS chess scene in the coming years!

However, only one can finish the match a winner…Ed commented: “It’s extremely invigorating to win a game of chess – both as a team and as an individual. A good result on the board can be directly linked to the work you put in off the board and as such is very gratifying as you feel you have earnt it!”