The Suffolk Schools Competition runs for Under 13, Under 16 and Under 18 teams. Stephen Donaghy is in charge of these competitions and can be contacted at sdonag@hotmail.com. We are always looking to welcome new schools to the competitions. All games will be played over 4 boards.
10 teams in the competition this year
Preliminary Round
All Saints bt Old Buckenham Hall 2.5-1.5
Ipswich bt Claydon High 4-0
Byes: Woodbridge, Woodbridge A, Culford, Debenham, Hartismere, Orwell
Quarter Finals
All Saints Middle bt Culford (w/o)
Woodbridge B bt Ipswich 3-1
Debenham bt Hartismere (w/o>
Woodbridge A bt Orwell (w/o)
Semi-Finals
Woodbridge A vs All Saints
Debenham vs Woodbridge 'B'
Matches to be played by 27 March
8 teams this year. Round 1 draw
Woodbridge bt Orwell 4-0
Debenham bt Hartismere
County Upper bt Sudbury B
Claydon bt Sudbury A 4-0
Semi-Finals
Woodbridge bt Claydon 4-0
Debenham vs County Upper
Final Woodbridge vs Framlingham
And now for the rules bit. Concentrate.
All normal chess rules apply. The strongest player in each team should play on board one, the second strongest on board two and so on. The home team will play black on boards one and three and white on boards two and four. Games should last for a maximum of an hour unless both teams agree to a different time limit before the match starts. Ideally chess clocks should be used with each player having half-an-hour on their clock. If clocks are not provided then any player who brings a clock with them has the right to use it for their game. Fide chess and quickplay rules apply and team managers should ensure players are familiar with clocks before games. At the risk of teaching grandmothers to suck eggs the rules of chess state that if a player intentionally touches a piece they can move they must move it; if they let go of a piece they have legally moved then they cannot move it to another square until their opponent has moved and if they intentionally touch a piece they can take then they must take it. If team managers cannot resolve any chess-related queries - such as whether a player has enough pieces to obtain a mate when their opponent ran out of time then they should be referred to Mr Hunt. He can play, I only know how the pieces move. If a match is drawn then the result will be decided by board count. "For board count each team adds up the numbers of boards on which it scored wins and the team with the lower result is the winner. ie. if home wins 1 & 3 and away wins 2 & 4, 1+3=4, 2+4=6, 4 is less than 6, home wins. If board count fails to produce a result then use board elimination. In this case discount the result of the bottom board and see what the result of the match then is. If this fails to produce a result, then eliminate the bottom two boards and see what the match result is and so on. If that fails to produce a result - for example if all four games were drawn - and there is time and a clock is available then the two board ones play a 5 minute blitz game (each player has five minutes on the clock), with the home team playing white. If that is a draw, or if a blitz game cannot be played, then the board one result determines the match and if the board one game was drawn then the team whose player was black on board one wins the match (this should be the home team). If that fails to produce a result and there is time and a clock is available then the two board ones play a 5 minute blitz game (each player has five minutes on the clock), with the home team playing white. If that is a draw, or if a blitz game cannot be played, then the board one result determines the match and if the board one game was drawn then the team whose player was black on board one wins the match (this should be the home team).
This competition is really gaining in stature, with many new schools joining this year. Those competing may be interested in the Suffolk Junior Open to be held on Sunday 3 February.
Preliminary Round
Ipswich bt Claydon 2.5-1.5
Orwell High bt Orwell Park 2-2 (on tie break)
Quarter Final Draw
Culford bt All Saints 3.5-0.5
Debenham bt Hartismere 4-0
Old Buckenham lst to Orwell High 1-3
Woodbridge bt Ipswich 3-1
Semi-Final Draw
Woodbridge bt Orwell High 2-2 (on tie break)
Culford bt Debenham 2-2 (on tie break)
Final Woodbridge bt Culford 3.5-0.5
Semi-Final Draw
Sam Ward bt Debenham High (w/over)
Woodbridge bt Claydon 4-0
Final Woodbridge bt Sam Ward 4-0.
Final Woodbridge bt Framlingham 7-1