Students entered in to the tournament and were able to spend the day in the library playing various opponents. Games were limited to 30 minutes long and points were awarded based on a Checkmate win or a stalemate and the ever changing leader board was closely monitored throughout the day.

Each player gave it their best shot, with some games being over in a matter of minutes as one player in particular used the killer move Scholars Mate to checkmate their opponent in under 2 minutes!

By the penultimate game, we had 2 students neck and neck with no games in hand. Crowning the winner came down to a tense final, where mind games were in full force. Emerging victorious with a grand total of 12 points was Vojtech, with a well deserved win.

Students who participated, thoroughly enjoyed the day and have already asked if they can sign up for the next Tournament, due to take place at Easter next year.

Our Year 12 students also kindly offered to give up their morning break time so that they could play against some of our younger KS3 students. This allowed our Year 7 and 8 Students to test their mettle against more experienced students and give them a taste of a tournament environment.

Mrs Keelan said: ‘This was such a brilliant day in the library. It was really great to be able to organise this event for our many keen Chess players who normally can only squeeze in a game during their break or lunchtime. Hopefully the success of today will encourage more students to sign up the next tournament, where we can see if Vojtech can hang on to his title!’