Suffolk Chess

71 children played yesterday in the annual Bury St Edmunds Junior Congress.   A total of £495 was paid out in prize money, thanks mainly to the sponsorship provided by the Moreton Hall Community Centre, in the form of a free venue.

Pictured right are the four section winners William Sait (u18), Karthik Saravanan (u14), Tristian See (u11) and Adam John (u9).

There were some excellent performances by members of the Bury Knights Junior Club, who contributed over 30% of the total entry.   Adam John won his first five games and drew the last to win the Under 9 section convincingly.   Anita Somton was unbeaten, but finished third in the Under 11s.   In the Under 14s, Alex Sheerin (also of Ipswich CC) lost only to the eventual winner to finish in second place.

The winner of the Under 18 section, Bury's William Sait, was awarded the title of EACU Junior Champion, with a new trophy to follow.

One sad note - apart from the 22 Bury players, there were only four others from Suffolk schools: two from the Meadows Montessori school in Ipswich, where former Suffolk Ladies' Champion Vicky Allen coaches, one from Creeting St Mary Primary School, and one from Waldringfield Primary.