Young chess players chosen for county squads

MORE Frome players than ever have been selected for the junior Somerset county chess teams in the under nine, under 11 and under 14 categories.

Eben Tomkins, Tom Grogan, Artie Scholefield, Eero Macleay and Tom Wright – all from St. John’s School – and Onni Macleay and Jamie Keil  all made the teams. The Frome Junior Chess Club players were all selected for county teams based on their impressive performances over the past year.

Somerset’s under 11 team recently took first place at the West of England Jamboree against teams from Devon, Gwent, Glamorgan and Wiltshire.

Sally Somers of the Frome Junior Chess Club said, “The Under 11 team took first place a very safe distance ahead of all the other counties – a magnificent result in a highly competitive field.

“As the decisive winning position showed, this is a particularly strong team that includes national players, and Jamie Keil played extremely well to win two of his three games in the tough position of the fourth board from the top.”

The under nines and under 14s both came third in their categories. Sally gave a special mention to Artie Scholefield, who won all four of his games in the under nines tournament.

The county teams next compete in the southern round of the English Primary Schools’ Association Chess Championship, held in Leatherhead on 12th March. Frome’s Junior Chess Tournament was also held in February, and saw Eben Tomkins joint winner of the under nines category, with Tom Grogan runner-up.

Jamie Keil was joint winner of the under 11s category and Onni Macleay came third in the under 12s. Oakfield pupil Abi Arnall-Culliford won a medal in the under 11s competition.

Sally said, “The organisers agreed that they had never seen the standard of chess so high as this year in the annual tournament, so these results are all excellent achievements and a reflection of Frome’s lively, growing and highly competitive junior chess scene.”