24th April 2016 at Eton College
Over 100 players took part in the National Schools Chess Championship Repechage, held on Sunday 24th April at the iconic venue of Eton College in Windsor. An increasingly popular host of junior chess events, this time there were 17 school teams competing for three qualifying spots for the NSCC finals. Entrants spanned the distance from The Cherwell School in Oxfordshire to Simon Langton GS in Canterbury, with the strongest teams’ average grades more than 150 over 6 boards.
The event was a five-round Swiss tournament, with a rapidplay time control (20 minutes + 5 seconds per move) that nevertheless produced some fascinating games. The top seeds, St. Olave’s GS and Westminster School, hit the front early, but they were soon caught and passed by Wellington College and their three 190+ players. In the end, Wellington conceded only a drawn match against Westminster, and finished two points clear at the top on 9/10. Behind them, however, there was everything to play for, with the last two qualifying places decided by the very last game to finish. They went to King Edward VI GS Chelmsford and Dulwich College, with the Haberdashers’ B-team just missing out on the second tie-break.
Thanks to Eton College for supplying a welcoming venue once again, and to all of the teaching staff who gave up their time so that the teams could take part. It was an exciting (and exhausting!) day for everyone, and we hope it will continue to grow in popularity in future years.
Standings
1 Wellington College 9pts 27 prog
2-4 King Edward VI Grammar 7pts 25 prog; Dulwich College 7pts 20 prog
(2-4 cont.) Haberdashers’ B 7pts 19 prog
5-8 St. Olaves 6pts 22; Mill Hill County High School 6pts 19 prog; Simon Langton GSB 6pts 16 prog; Sevenoaks School 6pts 14 prog
9-10 Westminster 5pts 21 prog; Abingdon School 5pts 15 prog
11 The Cherwell School 4pts 11 prog
12-16 Eton College 3pts 11 prog; North London Collegiate 3pts 10 prog; Haberdashers’ C 3pts 8 prog; Southborough High School 3pts 6 prog; Dame Alice Owen’s School 3pts 4 prog
17 Bedales School 2pts 7 prog
Qualifiers for the final: Wellington College, King Edward VI Grammar and Dulwich College