Old Hallfieldian Blitz Chess 2023

On Thursday, 12 October, the third Old Hallfieldian blitz chess tournament unfolded with enthusiastic participation from 23 players. The competition was fierce but was marked by a spirit of camaraderie, sportsmanship and fair play.

Hallfield chess coaches Mr Thomas and Mr Holowczak oversaw proceedings, with help from former parent, Dipal Patel. Read on for the match report.

“The first three rounds provided no major shocks, but in round four our Year 2 superstar Alex was delighted after achieving his first win against his much older opponent, Ibrahim. The leader at this stage was Zain, a former Hallfield leading player and England chess international, who had scored 4/4 with relative ease except for a slight scare in the previous round against last year’s joint chess player of the year, Diah.

“There was a tense battle in round 5 with last year’s other joint player of the year, Preesh, pitted against his brother Krish. Preesh was previously our board one player and Krish is our current board one player so everyone was interested to see how the game progressed. It was a fairly even game which looked like it would end in a draw but Preesh’s experience prevailed in the end.

“When the smoke cleared after the 7^th and final round, Zain was the clear and deserved tournament winner for the second year in a row on 7/7 and Krish, with two wins in the final two rounds, finished joint second and was the top current Hallfield player on 5/7. Both players won a trophy and all players received a medal and certificate.

“The winner of the tournament earns the right to challenge one of the Hallfield chess coaches and this year it was the turn of Mr Thomas to face Zain in a game of blitz chess with nothing to lose but his pride. Last year Zain drew with Mr Holowczak and this year he was determined to go one step further under the gaze of players, staff and parents. The players shook hands and began but it wasn’t long before Zain made a slight error in the opening phase of the game which gave Mr Thomas a lasting advantage which persisted until the end with Mr Thomas ultimately victorious.

“This is a great, fun event for past and present players and valuable experience for our younger chess stars against older and more experienced players.

“Thanks to all the players and parents who attended and to all the staff at Hallfield for their hard work in organising the event. Special thanks to the catering staff for their brilliant food!”

Report by Mr Thomas, Hallfield Chess Coach

Congratulations to all the players, especially the winners Zain and Krish. We thoroughly enjoyed catching up with you all and your families and look forward to seeing you again at the same time next year!

Old Hallfieldian Blitz Chess is an annual event, taking place every October. To make sure you stay up to date with all our alumni news and events, contact our alumni and development officer Kat de Polo on kdepolo@hallfieldschool.co.uk