Schools Projects North West Merseyside Wirral juniors make the right moves in new chess tournament Saturday 30th November saw the first ever Wirral Junior Chess Championship run by Chess in Schools and Communities. Eighty-three children from primary schools all over the Wirral competed in the tournament held at Our Lady and St Edwards Catholic Primary School in Birkenhead. After six rounds of hard but very fairly fought games of chess, trophies and medals were awarded to the girls and boys who earned the right to call themselves the junior chess champions of Wirral. Presentations were made by Cathy Murphy, Deputy Head of New Brighton Primary. Bob Clark, tournament organiser and regional director of Chess In Schools and Communities said: “It was great to see so many children enjoying playing chess and particularly pleasing that the atmosphere was competitive but very respectful and friendly throughout the day even in the tense finale of the last round. “I would like to thank Elaine McGunigall, the head teacher at Our Lady and St Edwards, for allowing us to use her school and also the school staff and Wirral chess tutors who gave up their Saturdays to allow the running of this very successful tournament.” Future tournaments that the charity is hoping to organise include their annual Merseyside competition at St George’s Hall and a Girl Empowerment Tournament (thirty-three per cent of competitors at the Wirral tournament were girls). Chess in Schools and Communities is a charitable organisation that teaches children how to play chess in their schools. They are popular in a number of schools in Merseyside and throughout the country which recognise the many other benefits, apart from the enjoyment of the game, that playing chess in schools brings. RESULTS: U9 Girls 1st Harriette Bissette (Dawpool) 5.5 2nd= Vivien Wilkinson (St. Bridgets) 4 2nd= Tia Elizabeth Anup (Greasby Juniors) 4 3rd Anna McKenna (Greasby Juniors) 3.5 Boys 1st Luca Eden (St. Bridgets) 5 (tie-break) 2nd Alexander Gregory (St. Bridgets) 5 (tie-break) 3rd Sam Davies (Dawpool) 4.5 U10 Girls 1st Ava Prior (St Bridgets) 4.5 (tie break) 2nd Maiya Maguire (Our Lady and St Edwards) 4.5 (tie-break) 3rd= Ella Temple (Our Lady and St Edwards) 4 3rd= Eleanor Hughes (Our Lady of Pity) 4 Boys 1st Adam Lattern (St Bridgets) 5.5 2nd Harry Woodley (Ladymount) 5 3rd= Leon Pipala (Ladymount) 4 3rd= Luke Brandwood (Ladymount) 4 3rd= Jack Price (Our Lady and St Edwards) 4 U11 Girls 1st Jessica-Rose Preston (Dawpool) 3.5 2nd Charlotte Prior (St. Bridgets) 3 3rd= Daisy Scullion (Holy Trinity) 3rd= Holly Shirley (Holy Trinity) Boys 1st Ashvin Kumar (St Peters) 6 2nd Dylan West (Dawpool) 6 3rd Dylan Elder (Greasby) 4.5 5th Annual St George's Hall Chess Tournament Chess in Schools and Communities hosted our biggest Merseyside tournament yet, inviting over 400 pupils from state primary schools to attend a chess filled day of fun. Watch this space for more photos of the day. CSC Annual Merseyside Tournament in St. George's Hall Nearly 400 children coming from 35 schools from Merseyside and beyond gathered in the beautiful surroundings of St. George Hall on Monday 25th June to compete in the 4th Chess in Schools and Communities Merseyside Junior Chess Tournament. The Mayor of Liverpool chancellor Joe Anderson presented the prizes. Mr Anderson revealed as a child he had been taught chess and was a keen player and indeed; he helped to adjudicate one of the unfinished games in the top match. Mr Anderson is one of many leading political figures in Liverpool to play the game. Others most notably are the Eagle Sisters Maria and Angela who are both champions. The Chief Executive of Chess in Schools and Communities Malcolm Pein, himself from Liverpool commented; “Thanks to the support of the Mayor, the tournament has been able to go ahead and be a tremendous success, it provides a focus for the all rear round chess lessons the charity provides each week in Merseyside across 23 schoools. Chess is booming on Merseyside with lots of new talented players attending Liverpool’s Chess Clubs Junior evening each tuesday above The Crown Pub near Lime Street. In cooperation with the council a proposal is being formulated to hold the British Chess Championship once again in the city." You can view a fantastic photo album of the chess filled day HERE. A school visit from Maria Eagle MP, the Hon. Member for Chess! May 15, 2018 The Member of Parliament for Garston and Halewood, Maria Eagle visited CSC chess lessons in progress at Bishop Martin School in Liverpool on Friday. Maria is a former England Junior Chess Champion along with her sister Angela, both of whom played on the same team as CSC Executive Malcolm Pein. She came along to the school to test her mettle against Liverpool's up and coming young chess talent. Maria took on the best chess players at the school and soon started to play some seriously good attacking chess. Our thanks to the school’s Headmistress Sue Aspenal and our regional coordinator Bob Clark for arranging this fantastic experience. The pupils enjoyed chess instruction by Nick Hawkins and at the end. The schoolchildren were lucky enough to have their very own Question Time session with Maria Eagle where they pulled no punches! Looks like one pupil managed to give both Maria and Malcolm a good pause for thought. Latest News: Visit from International Chess Master March 15, 2018 Our school today welcomed a visit from, Malcolm Pein, International Chess Master & CEO of Chess in Schools. Malcolm has supported our children by providing equipment and helping a group attend the London Chess Festival before Christmas. He visited our Key Stage 2 classes with our weekly Chess Tutor, Bob Clark. Malcolm gave an inspirational master class and provided lots of valuable top tips to the children to help them improve their game. We would like to thank Malcolm for taking time out to visit our school and for his continued support. We are now looking forward to our next tournament at St George's Hall and to taking part in the London Festival later in the year. More photos here Success for CSC Players at EPSCA Championships Two CSC players attended the championships and won prizes in their sections. Read more... Schools Supported by United Way Worldwide and The Ford Britain Trust Bishop Martin C. E. Primary School Nick Hawkins Greenbank Primary School Natasha May Kirkdale St Lawrence Primary School Nick Hawkins Malvern Primary School Ian Hadwin Monksdown Primary School Graham Carr New Brighton Primary School Natasha May Northway Primary School John Gorman Sacred Heart Primary School Andrew Legge St. Bridget's Cof E Primary School Graham Carr St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary and Nursery School John Gorman St Sebastian's Primary School John Gorman Wavertree Primary School Andrew Legge. Bishop David Sheppard CofE Primary School Peter Garrett Green Park Primary School Andrew Legge Hatton Hill Primary School Bob Clark Kings Meadow Primary School Andrew Legge Lander Road Primary School Andrew Legge Netherton Moss Primary School Andrew Legge St. Teresa's Catholic Infant & Nursery School Nick Hawkins St William of York Catholic Primary School Bob Clark Bruche Primary School Academy Natasha May Evelyn Street Community Primary School Natasha May St Andrew's CofE Primary School Natasha May