On Thursday 6 March,  more than 140 students from 20 local schools in the Inner West area arrived at the College to compete in the Inter-Schools Chess Competition hosted by the Sydney Academy of Chess.

The tournament consisted of two sections (Primary and Secondary) playing seven rounds each in a Swiss format, a format which pits players with equal points against each other, with strict time limits over the course of the day.

Each player received 1 point for a win, half a point for a draw and zero points for a loss.

Newington College had nine representatives in the secondary section and nine in the primary division.

Wyvern House Representatives:

Hamish Thompson (5/HO)

Kieran Casey (5/LU)

Adrian Lo (6/LU)

Calum Boland (6/HO)

Kim Lam (5/WI)

Christopher Mina (5/HO)

Jaxon Jarvis (5/CO)

Benjamin Nguyen (6/LU)

Fallon Fotaras (5/HO)

Stanmore Campus Representatives:

Yianni Van Gelder (12/MA)

Bilal Arabi-Jallad (12/PR) 

Victor Dai (11/FL)

Justin Ting (11/JN)

Cedric Koh (10/MO)

Nicholas Sharp (10/JN)

Eric Sheng (10/ME)

William Tao (10/KL)

Jack Murtough-Coombes (8/KL)

As you can imagine, with nearly 100 primary school students and 40 secondary students in such close quarters, there was a lot of energy in the room. During the lunch break our Senior boys acted as mentors for many of the primary schoolers, shepherding them across to the ovals and to the cafeteria for much needed release from the tension of the Chess. Their efforts were exemplary and they received glowing reports from many of the parents and staff of the Junior students.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Newington College had finished 3rd overall in the primary category against very strong opposition. The secondary teams event saw Newington victorious and in the Individual competition, Newington won four out of the top seven positions:

1st Cedric Koh (10/MO)

2nd William Tao (10/KL)

4th Nick Sharp (10/JN)

7th Victor Dai (11/FL)

My thanks to Bevan Clouston from Sydney Academy of Chess for his organisation and expertise that allowed the students the opportunity to participate in the event, and to all the staff who assisted and made this such successful venture.

Mr Graeme Downward
Chess Co-Ordinator