Well done to the three Howell’s School teams who competed in the ECF National Girls’ Schools Southern Semi-Final at St Catherine’s School, Bramley on 15th January. The competition, now in its 5th year, attracted the largest ever entry for a girls UK chess competition, with over 200 girls battling it out for the chance to compete for their school in the Finals.
With a time control of 25 minutes and no add-ons, several games went down to the wire. A solid 5th and final round saw 3-0 wins for all three teams against their opponents, with two of the U19 games being won with just seconds left on the clock. These results made an impact on final placings.
The U19 A team (Alyssa Wang, Shayanna and Venetia Sivarajasingam) won the tournament on 12/15, with the U19 B team (Susie Fraser, Neya Govindaraj and Emily Wang) finishing in 5th place on 10/15. Both teams qualify for the Final, to be held over the weekend of 1st/2nd April.
The U11 team (Nayana Kalavala, Bindu Doddi, and Lara Omidvar) finished in 7th place, also on 10/15, but just missed out on qualification by one place and one point.
Our thanks to the organisers and St Catherine’s School.
Howell’s senior school players
