Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge: New Activity Booklets

It is always good to hear from Sarah and Alex Longson of the Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge.

Sarah and Alex had to change all of their plans for the 2020 Chess Challenge due to the current emergency and they did very well to create so many online events and to get them up and running in plenty of time for children all across the United Kingdom to able to join in the fun.

This week, they contacted me to let me know of another exciting new development: the launch of the brand new Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge Activity Booklet.

I have seen the first booklet and I enjoyed solving all of the different puzzles and problems.

The content is arranged in order of difficulty, which will give children (and their parents) a sense of achievement as they move through the levels.

I have carefully selected sample pages which do not reveal any of the puzzles as I don't want to spoil your enjoyment of this excellent new resource.

All you have to do is click here to sign up and you will receive a weekly set of puzzles and problems.

You can also find out more about Sarah's Tournament Ready Chessable course, which is mentioned in the activity book, by clicking here.

Project 30 Team Tournament Update

Our Project 30 Team Match is going well and we are on schedule to complete the fixtures by the end of November.

John Garnett - winning lots of games, as usual

Remaining Fixtures

John Garnett - Kevin Waterman
John Garnett - Royce Parker
John Garnett - Graham Edwards

David Baillie - Peter Harker
David Baillie - Graham Edwards

Richard Harris - Sean Marsh
Richard Harris - Graham Edwards
Richard Harris - Kevin Waterman

Paul Weightman - Royce Parker
Paul Weightman - Peter Harker
Paul Weightman - Kevin Waterman

Sean Cassidy - Kevin Waterman
Sean Cassidy - Peter Harker
Sean Cassidy - Graham Edwards


Results

Mike Pointon 1-1 Matt Jackman
Mike Pointon 1-1 Sean Marsh
Mike Pointon 0-2 Peter Harker
Mike Pointon 2-0 Graham Edwards

Mike Pointon 1-1 Royce Parker
Mike Pointon 1-1 Kevin Waterman

John Garnett 0.5-1.5 Matt Jackman
John Garnett 0-2 Sean Marsh
John Garnett 2-0 Peter Harker

David Baillie 0.5-1.5 Matt Jackman
David Baillie 1-1 Sean Marsh
David Baillie 1.5-0.5 Royce Parker
David Baillie 2-0 Kevin Waterman

Richard Harris 0-2 Matt Jackman
Richard Harris 2-0 Peter Harker
Richard Harris 1-1 Royce Parker

Paul Weightman 0.5-1.5 Matt Jackman
Paul Weightman 2-0 Graham Edwards
Paul Weightman 0-2 Sean Marsh

Sean Cassidy 0-2 Sean Marsh
Sean Cassidy 0-2 Matt Jackman
Sean Cassidy 0-2 Royce Parker


Team One 19, Team Two 25


Players who have completed their fixtures are given with their final scores.

Team One
John Garnett
David Baillie
Richard Harris
Sean Cassidy
Mike Pointon 6/12
Paul Weightman

Team Two
Sean Marsh
Matt Jackman 9.5/12
Peter Harker
Kevin Waterman
Royce Parker
Graham Edwards

The Return of the Project 30 Zoom Quiz

The first Project 30 Zoom Quiz was a great success and it has now become a new series of events.

The second quiz brought several new faces and a new champion - Jovanka Houska.

It was a very enjoyable evening and it was especially good to see everyone relaxing and having fun.

We will have another Project 30 Zoom Quiz in November and we are hoping to see the first champion, David Hardy, back in action too.

CSC Teesside and the New School Year

Now we have moved into the second month of the new school year, it is time to take stock of what we have achieved here on Teesside.

All 15 of the CSC Curriculum schools who signed up for 2020-21 before the emergency started have remained loyal. 

None of them stepped away from chess, despite the extraordinary circumstances.

Some of our schools returned to chess action on the first week of September. 

Others have deferred the start of the sessions until their own school curriculum has reached a suitable position which will allow other activities back into their schools.

I have been in touch with all of our schools every single week since our enforced hiatus began in March.

For the schools who cannot accept visitors into their schools we are running innovative online lessons. The tutors trained hard on this aspect during the lockdown and were ready for the new challenge.

The CSC Teesside tutors are full of energy and a strong desire to connect - and, in some cases, reconnect - with the children.

The schools are relieved to bring some normality back into the lives of the children.

The children, who are the most resilient of all of us (in more ways than one) are, of course, magnificent.

Not one single person knows what the future holds, either in the short or long term. Everything is in state of flux and will be for at least the next two years.

However, I do not want one single person to doubt that everyone in our particular corner is trying their absolute best to create something positive, to educate, to inspire and to support our schools and children in these extremely challenging times.

Chess may not be the most important aspect of school life, but that is what we do and quite frankly the people of Teesside can hold their heads up high as they keep on spreading their positivity.

When it comes to CSC Teesside, every school matters; every child matters.