British Schools Chess Championship
The British Schools Chess Championship is an annual competition for school chess teams that has been in existence continuously from 1958. The tournament is administered by the English Chess Federation and is open to all schools from the United Kingdom. The competition has been won by teams from all four countries of the UK.
Eligibility
Entry is open to any school in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All players must be under-19 on 31 August of the year in which the competition begins. Teams are made up of six players.
Sponsorship
In 1938 The Sunday Times (UK) made an offer to the then British Chess Federation to donate a trophy for a competition between teams from Public schools.[1] Before further investigation of this offer could be completed the war intervened. Finally in 1957-58 competition got under way under the sponsorship of The Sunday Times (UK) newspaper. Their patronage continued until 1983, when their sister paper The Times took over. Since the withdrawal of sponsorship by The Times after the 2001 finals, the championship continued without a sponsor until 2008.
At the height of popularity in the 1970s, in excess of 1000 teams took part, but since then a decline in the number of teams has taken place. In 2007-08, the accepted entry increased from 93 teams to 135 teams, which represented the highest number of entries for four years. Yateley Manor School, from Yateley in Hampshire, sponsors from 2008-2011, supported the event through a difficult period and deserve special mention.
The competition, now known as the National Schools Chess Championships, was relaunched by the English Chess Federation in 2012 with sponsorship from St Catherine's School, Bramley to support a tournament for girls, with both U11 and U19 sections, Heathside Preparatory School, from Hampstead, London for a new U11 open section and Winchester College for the U19 open section.
National finalists
1950s
| Winners | Runners Up | 3rd Place | 4th Place | ENTRY | |
| 1958 | Calday Grange GS, Wirral | Varndean | Nottingham High School | Colfe's School | 241 |
| 1959 | Calday Grange GS, Wirral | William Ellis, London | Queen Elizabeth's GS, Barnet | Glyn Grammar School, Ewell | 247 |
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010-2015
2016 onwards
From the 2016 final onwards 16 schools played at the final, with the plate trophy going to the best result by a first round loser.
| Winners | Runners Up | 3rd Place= | Plate winner | ENTRY | |
| 2016 | Reading School | Hampton School | Millfield School, Royal Grammar School, Guildford, King Edward VI Chelmsford | City of London School | 124 |
| 2017 | Royal Grammar School, Guildford | Hampton School | Reading School, Haberdashers' Aske's School, Elstree, Queen Elizabeth's GS, Barnet | King Edward's School Birmingham | 130 |
| 2018 | Reading School | Royal Grammar School, Guildford | City of London School, Hampton School, Nottingham High School | Brighton College | 163 |
| 2019 | City of London School | Hampton School | Reading School, Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Royal Grammar School, Newcastle | St Olave's Grammar School | 142 |
Plate
1990s
| Winners | Runners Up | 3rd Place | |
| 1994 | Methodist College Belfast | Winchester College | |
| 1995 | St Columb's College, Derry | ||
| 1996 | Tiffin School | ||
| 1997 | St Olave's Grammar School, Orpington | King Edward's (Camp Hill), Birmingham | |
| 1998 | King's College, Wimbledon | ||
| 1999 | King's College, Wimbledon |
2000s
| Winners | Runners Up | 3rd Place | |
| 2000 | Oakham School | ||
| 2001 | Hampton School | Greenwood Academy, Irvine | King Edward VI Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham & Dr Challoners GS, Amersham |
| Winners | Runners Up | 3rd Place | 4th Place | |
| 2002 | Blue Coat School, Oldham | King Edward's Camp Hill, Birmingham | St Olave's Grammar School, Orpington | Torquay Boys' Grammar School |
| 2003 | Manchester Grammar School | Nottingham High School B Team | City of London School | St Olave's Grammar School, Orpington |
| 2004 | Nottingham High School | Commonwealth School, Swindon | St Olave's Grammar School, Orpington | Lancaster Royal Grammar School |
| 2005 | Hampton School | Nottingham High School B Team | Oakham School | Southend High School |
| 2006 | Monmouth School | Haberdashers' Aske's School, Elstree | Royal Grammar School, Guildford | Yarm School |
| 2007 | Monmouth School | King Edward's School, Birmingham | Queen Elizabeth's GS, Barnet | Aughton St Michael's Primary, Ormskirk |
| 2008 | Wilson's School, Wallington | Wellington College, Berkshire | Nottingham High School B Team | Leeds Grammar School |
| 2009 | Wilson's School, Wallington | Reading School | Winchester College | Aughton St Michael's Primary, Ormskirk |
2010s
| Winners | Runners Up | 3rd Place | 4th Place | |
| 2010 | Homefield Prep School | Millfield School | King Edward's Camp Hill, Birmingham | Aughton St Michael's Primary, Ormskirk |
| 2011 | Wellington College | St Olave's Grammar School | Grammar School at Leeds | Magdalen College School |
| 2012 | Reading School | Wilson's School, Wallington | King Edward's School, Birmingham | Not Awarded |
| 2013 | Hampton School | Queen Elizabeth's GS, Barnet | Royal Grammar School, Guildford | Nottingham High School B Team |
| 2014 | Wilson's School, Wallington | Queen Elizabeth's GS, Barnet | Torquay Boys' Grammar School | Newcastle under Lyme School |
| 2015 | Eltham College | King's School, Chester | Royal Grammar School, Guildford | Mill Hill County High School |
Until 2015 there was an age handicap system in operation based on the average age of each team.
| Age Difference | Winning Score for older team |
|---|---|
| 0 to 11 months | No handicap - board count |
| 1 year to 1 year 11 months | 3.5-2.5 |
| 2 years to 2 years 11 months | 4-2 |
| 3 years to 3 years 11 months | 4.5-1.5 |
| 4 years or more | 5-1 |
Teams initially compete in regional zones with the winner of each zone progressing to the National stage of the competition. There were four occasions where Primary Schools won their Regional finals against older teams. Two of these occasions were by St Teresa's RC Primary School, Colchester.[8]
Sources
- ^ Belfast Newsletter Chess Column 24/03/1938 Page 12
- ^ The Times 29/06/1990 Page 2 and 30/06/1990 Page 3
- ^ The Times 05/07/1991 Page 2 and 06/07/1991 Page 2
- ^ The Times 03/07/1992 Page 2 and 04/07/1992 Page 2
- ^ The Times 02/07/1993 Page 9 and 03/07/1993 Page 9
- ^ The Times 02/07/1994 Page 7
- ^ The Times 01/07/1995 Page 2
- ^ Walker, P: "Times Schools Zone", Ilford Recorder, 1997-02-06
- The Times
- The Sunday Times (UK)
- Southern Counties Chess Union Website