Double Header in Coventry

The 2026 British Chess Championships are now less than two months away and will this year be hosted by the University of Warwick on the outskirts of Coventry. As part of the build-up to this great event, CSC partnered with Coventry City Council, School Games, and the English Chess Federation to run a series of tournaments aimed at getting more chess played in local schools. Following on from a successful competition for secondary schools in March, last week we turned our attention to the primary phase, inviting local schools to send in their teams to an event held at the leisure centre AT7.

Such was the demand from primary schools that we split the event into two separate competitions, one held in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Over the course of the day, 160 pupils from 16 different schools took part, each playing in a 5-round Swiss tournament, with medals being awarded for the highest scores and a trophy for the winning teams.

In the morning event, it was St Thomas More that led the way, scoring an incredible 104 points ahead of Coundon (92) and Sidney Stringer (91). Timmy from St Thomas More had the distinction of achieving the only perfect score of the day, winning all five of his games - congratulations! The afternoon tournament was a much closer affair, with Stivichall Primary just finishing on top with 84 points, closely followed by Earlsdon (81) and Courthouse Green (80). Only six points separated the top five teams - every competitor really played their part.

Our thanks to all the players for their excellent chess and for displaying such a competitive but sporting spirit throughout the day. Thank you too for the teachers, for encouraging their children to take part in what for many was a first chess tournament, and for all their support both on the day and back in school. What a great way to start a very exciting summer of chess in Coventry. We are even hopeful that ChessFest will be making its first appearance in the city - watch this space!