Lancashire Juniors Christmas Blitz

The Lancashire Juniors Christmas Blitz took place today, Sunday 7th December at the Our Ladies & St Edwards Parish Centre in Preston. Once again, a big thank you to the church and to Frank for their support for Lancashire Chess.

44 children braved the elements to take part in the Junior Blitz tournament, originally scheduled for 7 rounds but in the end they played 6 rounds due to the event starting late due to some no-shows requiring the pairings to be readjusted. Once we got under way, it was hectic chess all the way through, with the blitz controls of 5 minutes and 3 second increments. A couple of hiccups along the way, one pairing seemingly resetting their clock to 30 minutes each.

Two sections were running, the bottom section called the Cheetahs comprised primarily of new attendees and beginners. Alas it showed, with a few players not knowing the checkmate techniques and stalemates were the order of the day. That said, the top section called the Lions, allegedly the more experienced players also had a few players “panicking” with the clocks ticking down and letting their opponents off with a stalemate.

It was quite apt, that both sections were won by players with an 100% record. The Lions was won by Leon Kesiak, and the Cheetahs was won by Henry Appleby. Both sections were hard fought, with chasing players finishing on 5/6 in both sections.

Special thanks to Colin, Gordon and Sam for helping to run the sections. Also a big thanks to Dolores and Maria for helping out with the registrations and running the all important tuck shop! Last, but not least, thanks to the unsung parents and guardians who entered their children, brought them along and then took them home.

The Final Standings for the Lions.

The final standings for the Cheetahs.