Somerset Chess Holiday Wrap

It’s been a busy few weeks for Somerset Chess players with the events coming thick and fast! At the start of the holidays, a Gold Coast Junior Rapid event was held with nine Somerset students taking part: Oscar Credland-Ballantyne, Harrison Qu, Paris Liu, Annika Lim, Ruhara and Sanaaya Mapabandara, Jenson Turner, Gary Fei and Paul Sang Yum. 

Oscar was the top performer with 5.5/7 in a strong field to finish = seventh. Harrison, Paris, Annika and Ruhara all scored 5/7, with Jenson scoring 4.5/7. Sanaaya and Gary both scored 4/7 whilst our youngest player Paul scored 3/7.

In the Queensland Reserves and Tin Cup Championships, four Somerset players took part. Jared Consiglio-Cockle and Aarav Rawlley both scored 3.5/6, with Oscar Credland-Ballantyne scoring 3/6 and Paris Liu in her first ever long time control event scoring 2/6.

The Gold Coast Easter Cup was on Thursday and eight Somerset players took part. Harrison Qu was the star finishing = first (second on count-back) with 8/9, whilst Paul Sang Yum scored 5/9 to win his rating group. Oscar Credland-Ballantyne scored 7/9 in another excellent performance, whilst Gary Fei, Ethan Dai, Taya Liu, Kelly Lau and Diella Lee all took part and did well.

Over Easter, a small group of Somerset students travelled to Canberra to play in the prestigious Doeberl Cup tournament. In the Minor division (Under 1600 rating), Jared Consiglio-Cockle scored 4/7, Aarav Rawlley scored 3/7 and Alessandro Martinese scored 2.5/7. In the Saturday night Blitz event, Byron Morris scored 4.5/9, with Jared and Aarav both scoring 3.5.

The April Cookies Rapids was held on the weekend with Eason Wang making a successful return to the board, scoring 6/7 to win the overall event! Harrison Qu scored 4/7 with Oscar Credland-Ballantyne scoring 3.5/7.

Term Two is another busy term, with Interschool – Junior and Senior, the Junior School Championship, and many weekend events being held. A great way to get some practice for these events is via the Friday afternoon chess club (3.30pm to 5.30pm) which can be registered for as follows:

Years 1 to 3: Register via The Hub and select Chess as the activity
Years 4 to 12: Register at https://app.iclasspro.com/portal/gardinerchess/camp-details/136

Upcoming Events

• Labour Day Weekend  - FIDE Gold Cup: Suggested for rated players only
• Saturday 7 May – Brisbane Girls Term 2: Perfect for girls of all ages and abilities
• Sunday 8 May – Gold Coast Allegro Championships: Great event for all juniors
• Saturday 14 May – Cookies Chess Rapids from 1.00pm: For Novice to experienced
• Weekend of 21 and 22 May - Toowoomba Open: Suggested for rated players
• Weekend of 4 and 5 June – Gold Coast Junior Championships: All Juniors

Not sure if an event is suitable for your child? Email Andrew to discuss.

Queensland Junior Ratings

The latest Queensland Junior Ratings have just been released with some excellent results for Somerset students. Aarav Rawlley was the top improver going up 83 points, whilst Harrison Qu was the top junior with +64. Jared Consiglio-Cockle +46, Paris Liu +44, William Zhao +40, Aaron Lim +23 and Oscar Credland-Ballantyne +20 all had significant gains. We also welcome the following students to the list: Laurens Brisbane, Paul Sang Yum, Gary Fei, Ashton Jennings and Jeremy Zhang.

Almost all of these students have been regular attendees at the Friday afternoon sessions, showing it’s value to the chess programme at Somerset.