British Champs 2023

I've been trying to find and follow the progress of Devon juniors in this year's Championships, but please email me if I've missed anyone.

I spotted Luke Honey and Reece Whittington having a go in the strong 9-round Major Open, scoring 5 and 3.5 respectively. A tough week in the office! (For context, the winner was an International Master who scored 7/9.)

Reece and Luke then took part in the U1900 Rapidplay, which was won by Luke with 5.5/6 -- very well done!

Pengxiao Zhu scored an unbeaten 6/7 points in the U14 to finish clear second, half a point behind the winner. Well done indeed! He's young enough to have another go next year.

Jack Wills took part in the U16s, scoring 2.5/6.

Former Devon Junior Freddie Sugden took part in the U1750 afternoon tournament, and is planning to run an event in Devon in the coming season.

Chess Tips

MIDDLEGAME TIPS:

* ROOK: Rooks must have open lines. This may take some time to arrange, and because they can be chased by minor pieces they are best place in waiting (like the Queen) on the central e- and d-files. Later, they can move strongly up the board using these central files - for example, in the middle game, to e3 and then move over to g3 to help attack the Black King, or right up to the seventh rank on e7 or d7, where it can attack pawns right along the opponent's second rank. This control of the seventh rank is very powerful, particularly in the endame if your opponent's King is stuck on the last rank (a8-h8). Rooks work even better in pairs - for example, by putting them on e1 and e2 they can control the e-file and then often Black cannot swap off by playing their own Rook to e8. Even stronger is to control the seventh rank absolutely with eg. Rook on d7 and e7, where they can gobble up pawns and often Ks.

Devon Junior Chess Association (DJCA)

Supporting junior chess in the county

Devon Junior Chess

Full Devon Chess Calendar -- adult and junior

Chess Tips