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QE have won first place at the national finals of the English Schools Chess Championship.

The A team took QE’s first-ever top place at the prestigious competition’s Nottingham finals, beating opponents from several famous schools on their route to victory.

They secured their win with a hard-fought final-round victory over Westminster School.

Teacher in charge of chess Geoff Roberts said: “This is a truly outstanding achievement, made even more impressive by the fact that Queen Elizabeth’s are only the second state school to win the event in the last forty years.

“My congratulations to all the boys who represented the School. The trophy is a fitting reward for their consistent dedication and excellence – the most coveted trophy in schools’ chess, with a rich history dating back to 1958.”

Earlier this year, QE had become the first school ever to have two teams qualify through the regional rounds for the national finals in its current format. Of the 24 teams to reach Nottingham, QE’s A team was seeded sixth and the B team seeded bottom. Both teams comprise pupils of all ages from throughout the School.

The A team powered through the first two rounds, defeating Lancaster Royal Grammar School 4.5-1.5 and then King Edward VI GS Chelmsford 5-1.

In round 3, they faced a team seeded higher than them, last year’s winners, Hampton School, for the first time. Taking wins on boards 1, 3, 4 and 6, QE convincingly won the match 4.5-1.5, placing them in joint-first place with Magdalen College at the end of the first day.

Day 2 began with a crucial match against Magdalen. Taking on an International Master on board 1, QE captain Nishchal Thatte, of Year 12, put up a tough fight but was ultimately outplayed. But QE then struck back, with three wins and two draws, taking the match 4-2.

Round 5, against Westminster, had by now become a final showdown: QE was in first place by a full point, so a win or a draw would secure the tournament, but a loss would result in Westminster taking the crown.

QE began strongly, with two wins and a draw making the score 2.5-0.5: with three games remaining, only a half-point more was needed. However, two losses followed. levelling the score at 2.5-2.5. All eyes turned to Year 8’s Advait Keerthi Kumar on board 2, who had to draw or win his game.

“At QE’s team base room, everyone waited with bated breath, staring intently at the live board transmission,” said Mr Roberts. “With only seconds left on his clock, Advait’s opponent blundered a checkmate in one move, which Advait coolly capitalised upon.” The final score was QE Barnet A 3.5 to Westminster School’s 2.5.

Captain Nishchal said: “This moment was the result of every hour of training we put in over many years. We believed we would win from round 1, and, having played in this competition since joining the School in Year 7, I cannot explain how happy I am that we finally achieved victory. To stand here as national champions is something we will always remember when we reflect on our time at secondary school. I am incredibly proud of my teammates and everyone who supported us along the way. We earned this together.”

The B team also far exceeded their expectations as bottom seed. Although they fell to defeat in round 1, they then took down Lancaster Royal 4.5-1.5 and held the stronger St Paul’s Girls’ School and Haberdashers’ Adams to 3-3 draws. Despite losing to Wilson’s in the final round, they still finished in a respectable 16th place out of 24.

“Players in both teams showed great focus and resilience,” said Mr Roberts, adding that a special mention should go to Rohan Katkar of Year 11, who won all five of his games, said Mr Roberts.  Three more players also went undefeated: Aayush Dewangan and Ashwin Ravithas, of Year 10, both scored 4.5/5, while Year 8’s Hubert Bates scored 3.5/5.

Team A

1. Nishchal Thatte, Year 12
2. Advait Keerthi Kumar, Year 8
3. Aayush Dewangan, Year 10
4. Rohan Katkar, Year 11
5. Hubert Bates, Year 8
6. Shlok Parakh, Year 10

Team B

1. Gautam Sriram, Year 7
2. Djad Ben-Eshak, Year 8
3. Akshaj Khandelwal, Year 10
4. Shehroze Labeeb, Year 8
5. Nuhad Khan, Year 11
6. Ashwin Ravithas, Year 10

In addition to the boys named above, Daiwik Solanki (Year 13), Rithwik Gururaj (Year 12), Bharath Jayakumar (Year 10) and Kian Aggarwal (Year 10) all represented the School in the regional stages.

Queen Elizabeth’s enters the record books this term as the first school ever to have two teams in the 30-team national final of the English Schools Chess Championship.

The seeds of this remarkable double success were sown back in the Autumn Term, when Team A took first place in the regional qualifier at St Albans School, with Team B the runners-up.

They then won their coveted places at June’s University of Nottingham final with a string of victories over some familiar but tough rivals in the zonal stages.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It’s been an exhilarating year for our chess players, who deserve great praise for playing so well in the regional and zonal rounds, and for putting QE firmly in the spotlight with their double qualification for the national final. What a fantastic achievement! We wish them all well in Nottingham.”

In the zonal stages, QE’s B team went first. After seeing off North London Collegiate School convincingly by 11.5 points to 0.5, they progressed to an away semi-final against Harrow. It was a tougher and tenser challenge, which came down to the last of the six games. This was duly won, giving QE a 4-2 victory.

Merchant Taylors’ had beaten Haberdashers’ in the other semi-final, thus deciding Team B’s opponents in the zonal final. Crucial early points were secured on boards 5 and 6, and although the rest of their points came much later, the B team secured their place in the national final, beating Merchant Taylors’ by a three-point margin, winning 4.5–1.5.

As for the A team, they did things in style, winning all 24 of their individual zonal games! After first wiping out Bishop Douglass School 12-0 and Dame Alice Owen’s 6-0, they took on Haberdashers’ Boys’ the week after the B team’s zonal final triumph. They duly trounced Habs 6-0 in their own zonal final to claim their place at Nottingham among the other zonal final winners.

Teacher in charge of chess Geoff Roberts hailed the boys’ history-making feat. He added: “While the old format may possibly have seen schools with teams in both the main and plate national final competitions, no school has ever had two teams qualify since the English Chess Federation moved to the straightforward 30-team format a decade or so ago,” he said.

The QE teams comprise boys from Year 7 all the way through to Year 13.

Team A
Advait Keerthi Kumar, Year 8
Aayush Dewangan, Year 10
Rohan Katkar, Year 11
Rithwik Gururaj, Year 12
Nishchal Thatte, Year 12
Daiwik Solanki, Year 13

Team B
Gautam Sriram, Year 7
Hubert Bates, Year 8
Djad Ben-Eshak, Year 8
Kian Aggarwal, Year 10
Bharath Jayakumar, Year 10
Akshaj Khandelwal, Year 10
Shlok Parakh, Year 10
Ashwin Ravithas, Year 10

QE’s chess team achieved third place – the School’s highest-ever finish – and won the Plate trophy at the game’s national UK school finals.

Propelled by a string of strong mid-tournament performances over the two days of the English Chess Federation National Schools’ Championship, the six-strong team secured the Plate – QE’s first trophy at the finals – with a last-round victory over number one seeds, King’s College Wimbledon.

Teacher in charge of chess, Geoff Roberts, said: “This competition is the one which every school has aspirations to win, so for Queen Elizabeth’s to come through a very strong regional group to qualify for the finals was a good achievement in itself.

“However, the team far surpassed this at the finals. Considering the calibre of the schools there, many of whom offer chess scholarships, to finish in third place was a truly outstanding achievement.”

The team had qualified for the national finals at the University of Nottingham after emerging as zonal winners following a hard-fought 3.5–2.5 victory in the North London final against The Latymer School, Edmonton.

In the first round of the nationals, QE were pitted against the second seeds, and eventual winners, Hampton School. They lost by the narrowest of margins – 3.5 to 2.5.

They quickly recovered and went on to record good results against other leading chess schools: firstly, a 5–1 victory over King Edward’s School, Birmingham, then a 3–3 draw against Westminster School, and thirdly a 4.5-1.5 victory against the Royal Grammar School, Guildford.

This set up a final-round showdown with King’s College Wimbledon. In what Mr Roberts described as his “particular highlight”, the QE six performed “superbly” to achieve a 3.5–2.5 victory and take both third place and the Plate – awarded to the highest-placed first-round losers.

The following pupils represented QE in Nottingham: Yash Mahajan, Year 13: Jason Tao, Year 11; Andreas Angelopoulos Year 11; Nishchal Thatte, Year 9; Rithwik Gururaj, Year 9, and Year 8’s Callistus Bhattacharya. In addition, Joshua John, of Year 11, and Daiwik Solanki, Year 10, represented the School in the zonal stages.

Each member of the team contributed at least 2.5 points from their five games at the national finals. Callistus finished unbeaten with 4.5 points out of 5; Nischal Thatte took 4 points out of 5 against some of the country’s top chess players playing on board 1, and team captain Yash finished with 3 points out of 5 on board 2.

“My congratulations to all the boys who have represented the School in this competition,” said Mr Roberts. He gave a particular mention to Yash “for captaining the team superbly” and “for his commitment to, and excellence in, chess throughout his seven years at Queen Elizabeth’s: this trophy is a fitting reward for his dedication.”

Mr Roberts also thanked Mathematics teacher Kirtan Shah for his support with the trip.

QE’s team heads for June’s national chess finals after seeing off local rivals in a keenly fought regional final.

Their hard-won North London zonal final victory over Latymer School followed a more comfortable 5½ – ½ semi-final defeat of Mill Hill School.

The six-strong team drawn from Years 9–13 now take on 15 other regional winners in the national final of the English Chess Federation-run National Schools’ Chess Championship. QE has enjoyed some success in the national finals in the past, but not in very recent years.

Teacher in charge of chess, Geoff Roberts, said: “Qualifying for the national final of this tournament is a real achievement and one that confirms our place amongst the élite chess-playing schools in the country. This competition is the one which every school has aspirations to win, so for Queen Elizabeth’s to have made it through to the national final is especially pleasing.”

QE’s 2022–2023 team comprises: Yash Mahajan, of Year 13; Joshua John, Year 11; Jason Tao, Year 11; Andreas Angelopoulos, Year 11; Daiwik Solanki, Year 10, and Nishchal Thatte, Year 9.

“My congratulations to all the boys who have represented the School in this competition and a particular mention to the captain, Yash, in his last year at Queen Elizabeth’s, for his role in creating the strong team environment which has underpinned our success.”

Their place in the national final depended on the boys beating Latymer School in their zonal final. It was, said Mr Roberts, “an exciting match of high-standard chess with the result in the balance throughout – and in a dramatic finish with both players short on time, Jason Tao secured the winning point for a 4-2 victory”.

The competition has been running since the 1957–1958 academic year, with QE marking its first success there the following year, when it came third. It was another 41 years before QE next appeared on the leaders’ board, with a fourth place in 1999–2000. It last won a top place – joint-third – in 2016–2017. QE’s record also includes successes in the Plate competition, in which the trophy goes to the School with the best result from among the first-round losers. QE was a Plate runner-up in 2012–2013 and in 2013–2014, with a third place in 2006–2007.

The national final of the competition takes place at the University of Nottingham on 29th–30th June.

Following the success of last term’s inaugural QE-wide online chess competition, the School has now held its first-ever Blitz tournament, attracting a large field eager to play the high-speed version of the game.

A second whole-school online chess tournament with classical time controls also took place. It was won by one of QE’s youngest and most talented players – Year 7’s Nishchal Thatte – who competed fresh from his victory at the U12 British Online Chess Championships run by the English Chess Federation.

Having first won his qualifier in the national event, Nishchal had progressed to victory across seven rounds at the championships, each lasting about two hours. He was also runner-up in in the national Rapidplay tournament – losing out on a tiebreak.

Congratulating him, teacher in charge of chess Geoff Roberts said: “In our own event, he was competing against players of all ages and his talent was on full display. Although Joshua John, of Year 9, and Yash Mahajan, Year 11, pressed hard, both finishing just half a point behind, Nishchal was a worthy winner.” This event saw 72 boys and two teachers compete, with similar numbers taking part in the Blitz chess competition, which was won by Daiwik Solanki, of Year 8, narrowly beating Yash, the runner-up, by half a point.

“The success Nishchal and some other younger boys had in these tournaments is particularly impressive and bodes well for a bright future for the game at the School,” added Mr Roberts, who oversees QE’s chess provision with the support of a number of external coaches.

Nishchal started playing aged five, taught by his father, and began playing in tournaments when he was seven. “I like to play very aggressively, as I’m good at that style,” he said.

Asked why he enjoys chess, he said: “It is a strategic game. There are only 64 squares, but so many different possibilities.”

He has a chess coach outside of School but also attends QE’s Chess Club, enjoying both the practice it provides and the social side – “a fun thing to do”.

It was his third time entering the British Championships, which was held online this year because of the Covid-19 restrictions. Video technology was used to ensure that competitors were not being assisted by others.

Some 76 boys of all ages turned out for QE’s first whole-school chess tournament.

The online weekend event brought not only a high turnout, but also some exciting chess played to a good standard, reports teacher in charge of chess, Geoff Roberts.

The inaugural tournament champion was Year 7’s Aahan Shah, who won all five of his games to secure the title, beating Year 8’s Aryan Kheterpal in the final.

Mr Roberts said: “I was very pleased with the event’s success and to see the number of highly able and enthusiastic chess players participating from all year groups. I’m particularly delighted with the performance of the younger students, which shows a bright future for chess here.”

The tournament consisted of five 30-minute rounds played on the Lichess online chess platform – the main image above shows some examples of games played on the platform. In addition to the 76 boys taking part, two members of staff also competed – Economics teacher Sheerwan O’Shea-Nejad and Mathematics teacher Marco Saccardi.

“We held a single tournament for all year groups and for the teachers, so in that context a Year 7 winning really was a great achievement,” said Mr Roberts.

After the initial rounds, Aahan and Aryan were left as the only boys to have won all of their first four games, and so they met in the final. Aahan’s victory there made him the only player to win 5 points (1 point for every win.)

Senthuran Jeevan, of Year 13, took second place with 4.5 points.

The Sonneborn–Berger scoring system, which is based on the finishing positions of players’ defeated opponents, was used to decide the places of the next four players, who all scored 4 points. Third place went accordingly to Nishchal Thatte, of Year 7; fourth to Yash Mahajan, of Year 11, and fifth to Joshua John, of Year 9, while the defeated finalist, Aryan, was sixth.

“The Lichess platform worked really well, with its ability to add small time increments after each player’s move and with its built-in features that one would expect in face-to-face chess, such as a facility for players to offer a draw,” said Mr Roberts.

“Particular thanks go to Mr O’Shea-Nejad and Mr Saccardi for playing – the boys really enjoyed the opportunity to compete against their teachers.”