My name is Adhvaith Badhrinath and I am a junior chess player who regularly attends the British Chess Events organised by Richard and Robin. I have been attending these events since they started, way back in September 2016.
These sessions have given me access to top grand masters like Richard Pert, Harriet Hunt, Chris Ward, Jon Speelman and Nick Pert. My favourite was the session with Funmaster Mike, who runs the website www.chesskid.com. I have learnt a lot of tricks and ideas from these sessions, which I have used in my own games.
I must admit that these events have helped me to get my confidence and my grade up. I can very well see that I have come a long way from where I started. With the confidence I gained, I was able to play for the Essex U11 team both in 2017 and in 2018. These coaching sessions have benefited our entire school team. I can proudly say that this coaching is also a factor for our school team (Brentwood Prep) qualifying for the National EPSCA finals in July 2018, where only the top 8 teams from the whole of England play. All the members of my school team regularly attend these events.
There are normally four different teams for the matches. The teams are named after Grandmasters Garry Kasparov, Judith Polgar, Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen. These four teams fight for the trophy and the prizes that you get for all the members of the winning team. There are also prizes for all individuals who win all their three games in the day. In addition to the individual prizes, there is also a Grand Prix prize at the end of the season, and I have come within the top 10 in both the seasons.
In addition to improving my chess, these events are very good fun too. I have made lot of good friends and the venue (Moulsham school) has loads of outdoor space including an astroturf. Usually, there is also a free parents tournament, which is a good way for the parents to spend their time. It also makes them experience what we kids go through during tournaments, as they play with clocks.
Overall, the British Chess train and play events are a good experience and I always enjoy attending these. I can thoroughly recommend them to any chess player, as I am sure they will benefit from it, regardless of their grade / ability.
Report by Adhvaith Badhrinath