Old Hallfieldian Blitz Chess Tournament 2024

On Wednesday 16 October, we held our annual Old Hallfieldian Blitz Chess Tournament, where we welcomed alumni of all ages back to play against our current chess stars. Always a popular event in the Old Hallfieldian calendar, it was a closely fought contest, presided over by Hallfield Chess Coaches Mr Thomas and Mr Holowczak, and Arbiter Miss Patel. Mr Thomas shared his report on the evening:

“This year it was difficult to predict who would win the highly anticipated Old Hallfieldian Blitz Chess Tournament. With several former (and one current) Hallfield board 1 players in attendance, it would come down to who was on the best form, together with a touch of luck at the crucial moments.

“The favourites all won in the first round so the first minor surprise was Handuo, our current board 2, defeating Krish, our board 1 player, in round 2. A couple of our up and coming players scored excellent wins in round 3 with Anthony beating Arnav and Aariyan winning against Jasper. Aariyan (Year 3), continued his great form with a draw and a win in rounds 4 and 5 against Year 6 players and is certainly a talent to keep a close eye on.

“Meanwhile our former star player, Diah, was methodically winning all of her games and was leading the event ahead of Ayansh, one of last year’s players of the year. With Diah winning against Ayansh in round 6 she was in an unassailable lead going into the last round. Perhaps the lack of pressure caused Diah to relax a little too much as she finished with a defeat against our board 1 player, Krish, who finished the event with 4 wins in a row. Also, achieving his first win of the tournament was one of our youngest and newest talents, James, who beat a player at least 6 years older than him. Well done James!

“Diah won the event with an impressive 6 wins out of 7. The leading Hallfield player for the second year in a row was Krish with 5 wins out of 7.”

“Thanks to all the players and parents who attended and to all of the staff at Hallfield for organising and attending such an enjoyable tournament. A special thanks to the catering staff for providing an excellent curry at the end to round of a very enjoyable evening.”

We’ll see you all next year!