QE crowned national chess champions in historic victory
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
- Nishchal Thatte, Year 12
- Advait Keerthi Kumar, Year 8
- Aayush Dewangan, Year 10
- Rohan Katkar, Year 11
- Hubert Bates, Year 8
- Shlok Parakh, Year 10
Team B
- Gautam Sriram, Year 7
- Djad Ben-Eshak, Year 8
- Akshaj Khandelwal, Year 10
- Shehroze Labeeb, Year 8
- Nuhad Khan, Year 11
- 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.