Grand slam for QE chess teams at national finals

Three QE chess teams have won their age groups at the National Schools’ Chess Team Championships, while pupil Ananth Balaji has been chosen to represent England in two international competitions. The successes mark an exceptionally successful end to the year for the School’s chess players.

QE’s U12, U14 and U16 teams all won their age groups at the championships held in Somerset. The U12 team finished with a score of 24, beating their nearest challenger, Magdalen College School, by three points in a highly competitive contest. The U14 team also won by three points – beating the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, and retaining their title. The U16 boys took part in a joint U16 and U18 competition, amassing the highest total for an U16 team and only narrowly losing out to Royal Grammar School, Guildford, whose U18 team scored three points more than QE.

Teacher in charge of chess at QE, Geoff Roberts, said: “The boys really enjoyed the two days of competitive chess representing the School. I am delighted that the teams secured three national titles to take back to the School. There were many outstanding individual performances; special mention to George Taylor (U12), Jake Breindel (U14) and Joseph Levene (U16). The boys deserve great credit for their excellent chess and for their role in creating the strong team environment which underpinned the School’s success.”

The U12 team, who are all from Year 7, comprised Rishul Karia, George Taylor (who scored maximum points), Rufus Carruthers, Yuri Evdokomov, Ilan Elango. The U14 team was captained by Jake Breindel who was supported by fellow Year 9 pupils James Bunyan, Ashwin Ravichandran and Paavan Sawjani,  and by Yousuf Chowdhury of Year 8. The U16 team was made up of Joseph Levene, Ananth Balaji, Adam Hilsenrath, Parus Shah and Harshil Joshi.

Talented Ananth plays for the U16 team, even though he is only in Year 8. The team successes came as he heard that he has been chosen to represent England at the European Youth Chess Championship in August in the Czech Republic and at the World Youth Chess Championship in November in Slovenia. “We are very proud of Ananth’s achievement and wish him every success in the forthcoming competitions,” said Mr Roberts.