Somerset Chess Returns

Chess is back up and running with peripatetic (Junior School) and Thursday afternoon Senior/Advanced coaching sessions all underway. Make sure to contact Mr Roberts on co-curricular@somerset.qld.edu.au if you are interested in your child doing either of these programmes.

Lunch clubs are back up and running also, with the Year 3 to 6 club being held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday in the Spartans Chess Room above the KIP. The Year 1 to 2 club will be held on Monday, Wednesday, Friday in the Year 2 classrooms. A Senior lunch club will be run on Thursdays in the Spartans Chess Room from 12.20 to 12.50pm.

We expect Inter-school tournaments to be held during Term Three, although we anticipate a reduction in numbers allowed to attend.

In the last week of the holidays, the National Junior Training Squad we held via online mediums with Byron Morris and Eason Wang lucky enough to be able to receive tutelage from former Women’s World Champion and Top 10 player in the world GM Judit Polgar from Hungary, along with local Australian GMs.

During the past few months of lockdown, there have been many online events held, with some of the highlights as follows:

• Byron Morris scoring 4.5/7 in the Box Hill (Melbourne) Classic, including a win over the 2018 Victorian Champion.• Eason Wang winning the Gardiner Chess Easter Online Series, ahead of Byron Morris in second place. Calen Tang was third U1000, Oscar Credland-Ballantyne second U800, and Alessandro Martinese third U800.

Over the board chess returned on the weekend with a number of Somerset students taking part in closed event in Palm Beach. Charlie Liu, Oliver Yang, Kenny Ming were the best of the bunch, with Eason Wang, Calen Tang and Harrison Qu also taking part. Young Harrison was by far the youngest competitor and it was great to see him get a win on the board of a very tough competition.