A massive congratulations to Alex Burke (Holmfirth), Aaron Rich (York), Seth Woozeer (SASCA – Sheffield) and Charlie Wainwright (Ilkley Chess Centre) on their England selection for the 14th ChessMates International event in Monaco from the 19th March.
These boys have been at the forefront and centre of the huge junior push within Yorkshire, since the pandemic. They have played consistently in their local leagues, as well as the Yorkshire League. This has also included attending multiple junior events and at a county level.
‘Junior chess is really thriving in Yorkshire with more and more schools setting up chess clubs, competitions selling out and in and the Yorkshire-wide under18 teams tournament more than doubling in size in five years. It is great to see that this quantity of chess is now also being reflected in the quality of players we are producing, and I am particularly proud to see our top players competing at the very highest level’.
Ben Rich, English Head of Delegation
It has also been a privilege of mine to introduce three of these boys into County Chess, starting with the u1450s and then watching them leap up the teams. A massive well done to some very proud parents, who have spent a lot of time over the years ferrying them all over the country – Andy, Shona, Tabby, Paul, Ben and Emma.
ChessMates is a Monaco-based association promoting international youth chess tournaments for teams. Current active members include organizations from the RSB (Rotterdamse Schaakbond, Netherlands), Monaco, the English Chess Federation (ECF), Sachsen-Anhalt (Germany), the Irish Chess Union, and the Estonian Chess Federation. More detail can be found: ChessMates International
Once again to Alex, Aaron, Seth and Charlie – CONGRATULATIONS and BEST WISHES!
Steve Westmoreland
Yorkshire Chess Association, Holmfirth Chess Club and Huddersfield & District Chess Association