1,800 Turn Out for British Land National Gigafinal, 12-13 July 2003
Last Edited:
Monday July 21, 2003 9:44 AM
Pat Armstrong reports: A staggering 1,800 children took
part in the 3rd stage of the The British Land UK Chess Challenge 2003,
the National Gigafinal, which was held in the Keele University Leisure
Centre in Staffordshire during the weekend of 12th and 13th July.
The children’s ages ranged from 5 up to 18 years old, with the younger
ones (under 10s) playing on the Saturday, and the older ones (10 and over)
on the Sunday. The majority of players hailed from the English counties,
but there were also 71 players from Scotland, 45 Welsh entrants, 15 Northern
Ireland players and two from Jersey.
Due to the size of the event, the children were accommodated each day
in two halls seating 400 players each, and one hall of 200 capacity for
the girls. Overall, conditions at Keele were excellent with plenty of
space to play, and good ventilation in the halls, despite the blistering
heat of the weekend.
There were 12 different age categories, which made 24 sections, as these
were split into boys and girls groups. But some of these groups were further
subdivided into sections, because some age ranges attracted hundreds of
players. There were no less than five under 10 boys sections and five
under 11 boys sections, each with about 60 players in them. During the
weekend, more than 350 girls took part, a considerably higher percentage
than is normal in chess events, and this was largely due to the policy
of giving girls separate sections, to encourage more of them to take part.
In all, there were 44 section winners, called the Ultimi (Ultimo for
boys and Ultima for girls). Each of the Ultimi received a winner’s
cup and a cheque for £100, unless there was a tie for first place.
In that case a playoff was held and the prize money was split but not
the winner’s cup and the title. The Ultimi also gained the coveted
right to compete in the final stage of the competition – the TERAFINAL
– which will be held on 23rd and 24th August at the Source, an educational
centre established by The British Land Company PLC next to its extensive
Meadowhall shopping complex in Sheffield, Yorkshire.
Table of Ultimi
UK Chess Challenge - Ultimi 2003
First Name Last Name Age Sex School County
1 James Abrams U 7 B Letchworth & Hitchin JCC Herts
2 Mishael Knight U 7 B Camberley JCC Surrey
3 Briony Brock U 7 G Gateway Bucks
4 Jack Harding U 8 B Mall Middx
5 Saravanan Sathyanandha U 8 B Haberdashers Herts
6 Craig Whitfield U 8 B Hassell Staffs
7 Stephanie Hale U 8 G Millfield Somerset
8 William Boulton U 9 B Norwich JCC Norfolk
9 Toby Thurgood U 9 B St Joseph's Notts
10 George Tunstall U 9 B Nine Mile Ride, Finchampstead Berks
11 Andrew Willis U 9 B Magdalen College Oxon
12 Rhian Hughes U 9 G South Morningside Midlothian
13 Dominic Foord U 10 B Christchurch Middx
14 David Grant U 10 B East Grinstead JCC Sussex
15 Christopher Linnett U 10 B Crowborough JCC Sussex
16 Robert Marx U 10 B Haberdashers Herts
17 Michael Rabbitte U 10 B Monton Green Lancs
18 Sheila Dines U 10 G Old Palace Surrey
19 Jessica Thilaganathan U 10 G L E H Surrey
20 Charlie Court U 11 B Aldro Surrey
21 Eugene Geidelberg U 11 B Basingstoke CC Hampshire
22 Jeffrey Levicki U 11 B New College Oxon
23 Richard Lobo U 11 B Holy Innocent's Kent
24 Kaiser Malik U 11 B Checkmate Warks
25 Gwenaelle Francis U 11 G Sketty Glam
26 Amisha Parmar U 11 G Stapleford C.C Notts
27 Michael Compston U 12 B 3 Cs Lancs
28 Dana Hawrami U 12 B Ilford County High Essex
29 Ankush Khandelwal U 12 B Nottingham High Notts
30 Selina Khoo U 12 G L E H Surrey
31 Charles Evans U 13 B Hazlemere JCC Bucks
32 Peter Poobalasingam U 13 B Millfield Somerset
33 Molly Moruzzi U 13 G St Edward Staffs
34 Peter Constantinou U 14 B Bedford Modern Beds
35 Li Wu U 14 B Bancroft's Essex
36 Katherine Rattle U 14 G Holy Cross Sussex
37 E Josiah Lutton U 15 B Basildon JCC Essex
38 Jemima McGraw U 15 G Notre Dame, Lingfield Surrey
39 Matthew Harborne U 16 B Basingstoke CC Hampshire
40 Sabrina Chevannes U 16 G Checkmate Warks
41 J Ezra Lutton U 17 B Basildon JCC Essex
42 Carola Rotermund U 17 G Woodbridge Suffolk
43 Lorin D'Costa U 18 B John Henry Newman Herts
44 Heather Coupe U 18 G Wickersley Comp. Yorks
The 44 Terafinalists will battle for the title of STRAT and a prize fund
of about £6,000 including £1,000 top prize, and £500
each for the top girl player and the top Under 11 player. This tournament
will be played over two days, with 3 rounds being played on each day,
each round being of 2½ hours duration. The longer time limit corresponds
to the higher quality of play in the last stage of the competition: in
the Gigafinal the duration of rounds was 1 hour. The scoring system in
the Terafinal will be 3 points for a win, one point for a draw and zero
for a loss. This is the same scoring system as used in the football league
and is particularly important in chess events where the scourge of grandmaster
draws, premature draws and even pre-arranged draws often reaches epidemic
proportions in strong events. It is important that our young players should
learn to fight for victory at every opportunity rather than distort the
nature of the game by suing for peace!
The Terafinalists will be joined at the Source by up to 150 CHALLENGERS.
These are the players who came 2nd or 3rd in their Gigafinal section,
and these will compete in two separate sections on similar lines to the
Terafinal, each with a top prize of £500.
Table of Challengers
UK Chess Challenge - CHALLENGERS 2003
First Name Last Name Age Sex School County
1 Adam Burroughs U 7 B Lawn Wilts
2 Oliver Demeger U 7 B Abbey Devon
3 Samuel Howard U 7 B John Betts Middx
4 Harry Mason U 7 B Strike Lane Lancs
5 Thomas Mavin U 7 B Yarm Yorks
6 Rahul Shah U 7 B Homefield Surrey
7 Jessica Smart U 7 G Yateley Manor Hampshire
8 Afira Sutanto U 7 G Carlton Middx
9 Michael Brook U 8 B Milborne Port Somerset
10 Jamie Craik U 8 B Buckingham JCC Bucks
11 Christopher Dunne U 8 B Homefield Surrey
12 Daniel Fernandez U 8 B Littleheath JCC Herts
13 Nathan Gittens U 8 B 3 Cs Lancs
14 Tom Huband U 8 B Sir Robert Hitcham Suffolk
15 Alexander Jelicic U 8 B Homefield Surrey
16 Nikhil Lal U 8 B QEGS, Wakefield Yorks
17 Robert Lobo U 8 B Holy Innocent's Kent
18 Cameron Maher U 8 B Aughton St Michael's Lancs
19 Nnamdi Obiekwe U 8 B Hall Middx
20 Yang-Fan Zhou U 8 B Wimbledon Col.prep Surrey
21 Holly Carter U 8 G Ruskin Wilts
22 Danae Kokossis U 8 G Guildford High Surrey
23 Francesca Lloyd U 8 G Atti Flintshire
24 Joanna Wu U 8 G North London Collegiate Middx
25 Ben Blundell U 9 B St Lawrence Sussex
26 Robert Darby U 9 B Dulwich College Surrey
27 Samuel Durno U 9 B Knaphill Surrey
28 Ted Eales U 9 B Wellington Junior Somerset
29 Mischa Frankl-Duval U 9 B University College Middx
30 Adam Freeman U 9 B Tameside Lancs
31 Alexander Ho U 9 B Eltham College Kent
32 James Hopkinson-Hughes U 9 B Kings College Cambridge
33 Alex Leverson U 9 B NHS Prep Notts
34 Peter Mellor U 9 B Ladygrove Shrops
35 Samuel Milson U 9 B Grimoldby Lincs
36 Vishaal Patel U 9 B Haberdashers' Aske's Middx
37 Patrick Reeves-Dienes U 9 B East Grinstead JCC Sussex
38 Elyes Rigby Zeghlache U 9 B William Patten Middx
39 Oliver Schofield U 9 B King Edwards Somerset
40 Nipuna Senaratne U 9 B QEGS, Wakefield Yorks
41 Peter Watt U 9 B Magdalen College Oxon
42 Fay Birch U 9 G Claremont Surrey
43 Stephanie Dye U 9 G Warren Mead Surrey
44 Sabrina Salhi U 9 G Broomgrove Essex
45 Sophie Williams U 9 G Aughton St Michael's Lancs
46 Rhiannon Williams U 9 G East Grinstead JCC Sussex
47 Jonathan Andrew U 10 B Ibstock Surrey
48 Harvey Birch U 10 B Claremont Surrey
49 William Cheung U 10 B St. Cedd's Primary Essex
50 Jack Cleeves U 10 B Lethbridge Wilts
51 Benjamin Dangoor U 10 B Colet Court Middx
52 Matthew Dent U 10 B Bedford JCC Beds
53 Amit Desai U 10 B Brookland Middx
54 Jonathan Edwards U 10 B Deanpark Midlothian
55 Robert Glover U 10 B 3 Cs Lancs
56 Or Goldreich U 10 B Chandlers Ridge Yorks
57 William Gonsalves U 10 B Homefield Surrey
58 Andrew Goodman U 10 B Bishopsgate Surrey
59 Anthony Gregory U 10 B Horsted Kent
60 Daniel Lin U 10 B Bramcote Notts
61 Paul Long U 10 B Checkmate Warks
62 William Mitchell U 10 B Aldro Surrey
63 Julian Ryan U 10 B Colet Court Middx
64 Athman Sivakumar U 10 B St Christopher's Middx
65 Luka Sugita U 10 B Brookland Middx
66 David Thorne U 10 B Wellington Junior Somerset
67 Sam Turner U 10 B Grange Mon
68 Rory Williams U 10 B Roundwood Herts
69 Charlotte Desouza U 10 G Sutton High Surrey
70 Zoe Geidelberg U 10 G Basingstoke CC Hampshire
71 Anjali Lakhani U 10 G NHS Girls Notts
72 Melissa Thomas U 10 G Dormer House Glos
73 Sam Austin U 11 B All Saints Northants
74 Tom Beckwith U 11 B RGS Newcastle Northumberland
75 Tristan Blundell U 11 B St Lawrence Sussex
76 Alexander Cheung U 11 B Garden Suburb Middx
77 Jamie Eales U 11 B Wellington Junior Somerset
78 Rohan Gupta U 11 B St Mark's S Of C Surrey
79 James Hoad U 11 B Aldro Surrey
80 Ben Jacobs U 11 B Woodridge Middx
81 Matthew Kinloch U 11 B Monmouth Mon
82 Kishan Lakhani U 11 B NHS Prep Notts
83 Robert Lydiard U 11 B Cranmore Surrey
84 Ian MacGregor U 11 B Jordanhill Lanarkshire
85 Thomas McFaul U 11 B Binfield Primary Berks
86 Michael Migan U 11 B Chingford C of E/Chessmates Essex
87 William Perera U 11 B St Boniface Surrey
88 Lewis Turner U 11 B Newtown Lindford Leics
89 Tom Whitaker U 11 B Sitwell Yorks
90 Andrew Winchcombe U 11 B Ridgeway, Maidenhead Berks
91 Poppy Maxwell U 11 G Cowley Chess Club Oxon
92 Catriona Meechan U 11 G Stepgates Surrey
93 Lateefah Messam-Sparks U 11 G NHS Girls Notts
94 Amy Officer U 11 G Perth Academy Perthshire
95 Rebecca Seavers U 11 G St Peter's Leics
96 Christopher Bellin U 12 B Queen Mary's Grammar Staffs
97 David Donaghy U 12 B St Alban's Suffolk
98 Eren Kilich U 12 B Queen Elizabeth's Herts
99 Daniel Lai U 12 B RGS Newcastle Northumberland
100 Liam Rabbitte U 12 B Swinton Lancs
101 Daniel Rey U 12 B Magdalen College Oxon
102 Beau Schofield U 12 B Magdalen College Oxon
103 Benedict Scholl U 12 B Ahshtead JCC/Danes Hill Surrey
104 Beaummont Tang U 12 B Dr Challoners Bucks
105 Victoria Crompton U 12 G Hulme Grammar Cheshire
106 Natalie Donohue U 12 G St Aidan's Lanarkshire
107 Sally Fletcher U 12 G Bury Knights JCC Suffolk
108 Anita Tse U 12 G Old Palace Surrey
109 Claire Wu U 12 G North London Collegiate Middx
110 Sam Cloake U 13 B Grappenhall Cheshire
111 Richard Glover U 13 B 3 Cs Lancs
112 Tom Harbour U 13 B Bedford Modern Beds
113 Calum Kinloch U 13 B Monmouth Mon
114 John Terry U 13 B Hereford Cathedral Here
115 Naomi Miller U 13 G Oxford High Oxon
116 Deepa Patel U 13 G Sutton High Surrey
117 Similan Anandajeyarajah U 14 B Tiffin Boys Surrey
118 Anton Chernikov U 14 B Tiffin Boys Surrey
119 Alexei Chernikov U 14 B Tiffin Boys Surrey
120 Gavyn Cooper U 14 B Adams Grammar Shrops
121 Edward Devonshire U 14 B Yateley Manor Hampshire
122 Josh Smith U 14 B Magdalen College Oxon
123 Yangshi Yu U 14 B St Edward Staffs
124 Charlotte Hughes U 14 G Torquay Devon
125 Emma Nash U 14 G Norwich JCC Norfolk
126 Sophie Seeber U 14 G Tynemouth CC Northumberland
127 Lynsey Shovlin U 14 G Perth Academy Perthshire
128 Yangshan Yu U 14 G St Edward Staffs
129 William Bennet U 15 B Oakham Rutland
130 Callum Gordon U 15 B King Edward VI Camp Hill Warks
131 Tariq Oozeerally U 15 B Whitgift Surrey
132 Chris Wallis U 15 B Ipswich JCC Suffolk
133 Deborah Margolis U 15 G Brighton & Hove High Sussex
134 Soraya Maxey U 15 G Fitzalan Glam
135 Christopher Dorrington U 16 B Stamford Lincs
136 Jonathan Lappage U 16 B Magdalen College Oxon
137 Emma Atkins U 16 G Westwood Staffs
138 Lisa Higenbottam U 16 G Waterlooville JCC Hampshire
139 Krunal Kahar U 17 B Cleeve Glos
140 Ammar Karim U 17 B Lordswood Warks
141 Lawrence Lim U 17 B St Dominic's VI Form Middx
142 Catherine Wasilewski U 17 G Chancellors Herts
144 James Buchanan U 18 B Cowley JCC Oxon
145 Samuel Rignall-Tolson U 18 B King Edward VII Yorks
146 Aline Sauze U 18 G Helston Cornwall
The UK Chess Challenge is now in its 8th year and has grown every year
since it began. The original entry of 23,000 children from 700 schools
has swollen to 66,000 from almost 2,000 schools. Under the sponsorship
of The British Land Company PLC the tournament has grown rapidly in the
last four years, giving thousands of children the opportunity to be introduced
to the historic game of chess. The best players from each school have
the chance to further hone their skills against the strongest players
in their county or region and later nationwide.
Full details of the results of the Gigafinal can be found on the UK Chess
Challenge website www.ukchesschallenge.com
and further information can be obtained from Mike Basman – mobile
07715041320
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