Warwickshire Primary Schools Team Chess Championship

Hallfield School hosted the zonal stage of this new event and welcomed 5 local schools to compete for the 3 qualifying places for the final. The timing was not ideal as all of our Yr6 players were away on a school trip so I selected a team of Yr4 and Yr5 players making our team the youngest by far. 

Despite their tender years, our players started very well winning their first 3 matches comfortably, including an excellent 4/0 victory against local chess rivals The Blue Coat School. Unfortunately, in round 4, a serious of small mistakes led to a 3/1 defeat against St Mary’s which left Mr Holowczak slightly conflicted since, as well as coaching our Tuesday after school group, he also coaches chess at St Mary’s! 

A strong 4/0 win for us in the final round together with a defeat for St Mary’s at the hands of The Blue Coat meant that Hallfield ended as winners of the event and look forward to competing against other leading schools in the final in the spring 2024.