Suffolk Chess

A total of 84 youngsters and twelve parents played in the Congress today, held at Moreton Hall Community Centre. The children played in five age-group sections: Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 and Under 18 (ages as at 1 September 2012).


Whilst there were a number of outstanding performances at all age levels, it was sad to note that although 20 members of the Bury Knights Junior Club had entered, there were only two others from Suffolk, both from the Abbey Prep at Woodbridge School.   By far the largest contingent was from Cambridgeshire, with over half the total (43 entrants).   Others came from Essex, Hertfordshire, and one from Surrey.

The main prizewinners were: Under 18: 1st= Akito Oyama (Cambridge); Ieysaa bin-Suhayl (Wisbech) Under 14: 1st Austin See (Waterbeach) Under 12: 1st= Karthik Saravanan (Gt Yarmouth); Niall Ali (Brentwood) Under 10: 1st Anita Somton (Bury St Edmunds) Under 8: 1st Tristian See (Waterbeach) This photo shows the section winners, as well as 5-year old Maryam bint-Suhayl, the youngest member of the winning team (and the youngest entrant).

Several other excellent performances were recorded by Suffolk players, including Patrick Gembis (2nd in the Under 14s); Alex Sheerin and William Sait (joint 3rd in the Under 14s); and Mario Saenz de Villaverde (joint 4th in the Under 10s).

The two See brothers, as well as Anita, scored a maximum six points out of six in their respective sections.   A total of £520 was paid in prize money.

Twelve parents played in their own free-to-enter section, with Philip Bartram scoring 5/6 to win the trophy (there were no cash prizes for parents!)