On 2nd April 2017, we had our 3rd H + H Fire Brentwood Train and Play. This was a very stimulating event. On the day, our special guest coach was International Master Andrew Greet (ECF 238), who is Scotland’s No.1 player!
There were an amazing 52 entries – the event was full and obviously very popular! We were all split into 4 teams: Judit Polgar, Magnus Carlsen, Gary Kasparov and Bobby Fischer. Over the course of the day, we had to play against our ‘counterparts’ from the other 3 teams to see who would be the ultimate champion! I think the team section is very beneficial as most other tournaments are individual, and this different approach makes it engaging and promotes teamwork, as well as bringing out the kids’ competitive sides.
In between each round, we had a coaching session. For this we were split into groups based on our grades. Our amazing coaches Robin Slade, Russell White, Richard Pert and guest coach Andrew Greet taught us many fantastic techniques to develop our chess. I think this was really helpful as we got to see different views and playing styles to help us improve our skills, and explore different branches of chess. Some of the coaches showed us real life games and went through the possibilities step-by-step. The games were very intriguing and we got to understand how strong players think! They also went through some interesting endgames and positions, which helped us learn different strategies and patterns, as well as not to give up at the end…
While the kids played, the parents could also take part in the Parents’ Tournament! This meant that everyone could have fun and have an engaging time of chess. The winner of the parent’s competition this time was Mr. Catabay.
In the end, the winning team was Team Judit Polgar! They definitely deserved to win!
We obviously learnt a lot and it really helped us ameliorate our chess!
Thanks to everyone for all the hard work! Can’t wait for the next one…
Urbi Modhura
Michael Cataby – winner of the parents tournament looking very relaxed!
Team Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov in fierce battle!
Urbi White against Chris!
All girl team Judit Polgar eventual winners with Abbey, Nina and Jenny on the top 3 boards!