Mr Stephen Anastasi | Strategy Games Club

Eight chess fiends of the Strategy Games Club attended the 2019 Chess Tournament with Mr Anastasi on Friday 24 May and a fabulous time was had by all. Hosted by Assumption College, the tournament attracted ninety competitors, each keen to test their talent against a variety of skill levels. Competitors were divided into senior and junior cohorts, and each player experienced six games, being lifted or dropped with each win or loss, so that skill levels became more and more balanced.

In the junior section, Isaac Ratcliffe was named champion, winning all but one match. In the senior section, Jack McFarland played a formidable series to achieve third place. This would have been first if he had won just one more game.

Between games, participants took part in a chess coaching session broadcast via the web, by one of the organisers. We also watched several videos that taught us to pin and skewer (no less!) our opponents, among other methods for getting the upper hand.

There will be another ‘Big Chess Day Out’ in June, for which invitations will soon be forthcoming. Please contact Mr Anastasi if you have a question relating to this.