The St. Clare's Chess Team have had a successful start to their championship in the 4th Division of the Oxfordshire Chess League. After five matches, the boys are currently in 2nd place with three wins (over Witney 3 (4-2), Witney 5 (4.5-1.5) and Cowley Workers2 (4-2)), one draw (with Wantage 2 (3- 3)) and one loss (against the current leaders – Cumnor 2 (4.5-1.5)).
Our multinational team (6 nationalities!) consists of students aged 16-18 who share a genuine passion for this ancient game. The team’s success must undoubtedly be ascribed to a joint effort, though some individual results should be highlighted. Dean Celaj (IB1) has so far shown a 100% result, 3 out of 3. The tough task of representing the team on board 1 has fallen to Mikita Kudlovich (IB2), who has won 1 and drew 4 of his games. This is an excellent result considering the fact that all his opponents have higher ECF (English Chess Federation) grades than him. An equally onerous task has befallen to Nichita Kiseliov (IB2) on board 2, whose result of 4 wins and only 1 draw (90%) is indeed impressive!
We are not even half way through the championship and the team members are determined to continue making a great effort to stay high in the table. May their pieces never hang or be blundered, and may their calculations always be correct!
