Students from Brooke Weston Academy’s Chess Club recently showcased their strategic skills in a thrilling internal chess tournament held in the school library. Organised by SEND Teaching Assistant Mr Holton, the event brought together thirteen enthusiastic players from Years 7 to 10 who have been attending weekly after-school chess sessions.

The students played each other in a round-robin format with games timed at six minutes each. Players received 3 points for a win, 2 for a draw and 1 point for a loss. There were two ways for players to win a game, through checkmate or by adding up the point values of pieces they captured from the board if the games did not finish in the allotted time.

After a series of intense and closely contested matches, the final scores were tallied. The top three players were:

3rd Place – Max Perry (Y7)

2nd Place – Erikas Gudaitis (Y10)

Champion – Alan Dam (Y7)

Alan was awarded a trophy and a travel chess board for his outstanding performance.

Reflecting on his win, he said: ‘I have enjoyed being part of the BWA Chess Club as previously I was just playing at home with my dad, so I’d like to thank my dad for helping me improve. I was really pleased to have won as I wasn’t expecting to as there were some good players who have beaten me at Chess Club before.’

Mr Holton, who runs the Chess Club, said, ‘The tournament was a great success and the students enjoyed themselves. They all played well and had fun, and I am excited to continue my chess club in the next academic year. I look forward to running the tournament again next year – hopefully involving some other Trust schools!’

Congratulations to all the players for their participation and to Alan for his well-deserved victory. The Chess Club continues to be a fantastic opportunity for students to develop critical thinking, patience, and friendly competition.

Chess Club

Year 7:

Shiloh Fernando, Cara Grace, Adam Kis, Alan Dam, Oscar Green, Chib Ezeokoye, Max Perry,

Year 8:

Lucienne Giffard, Isla Greentree, Narina Kecskemeti

Year 10:

Ethan Davies, Richey Herbert, Erikas Gudaitis