JUNIOR 4NCL (Nations Chess League): Round 4 report.
SEASON 2023-24
JUNIOR 4NCL (Nations Chess League)
Thurs 19th Oct 23 – 6:00pm
Season 8 – Round 4
Division Three – Group A
A joint venture between Castlehill Chess Club Dundee and Dundee Chess Club.
RESULT
Brentwood School B (1258) 4 – 4 (1314) Dundee City Juniors
Grading wise Dundee City Juniors were heavily out graded on the bottom two boards, but out graded our opponents on the top two boards, especially the top board with our superstar junior, Rishi Vijayakumar (2269)!
It was a good match up and all 8 juniors put their heart and soul into their matches! Alexander Barron-Majerik (558) on board 3, got us of to a flyer with a nice win against his much stronger opponent (1128)! The down side is, he lost quickly in his second game, but that chess for you!
Haoqi Liu (474) on board 4 can blow hot and cold, sometimes at the same time and you never know what you are going to get! This time however Haoqi was not at the races for some reason as he lost both games quickly, the last one in 10 moves! Knowing Haoqi, he will do the same again in two weeks, but win both of them!
Our board one superstar, Rishi Vijayakumar (2269) was made to work by his 1402 opponent! Both games were thrillers and great to watch! On another night Brentwood Schools number one board could have won both games against any other player, with the way he played! But Rishi is no ordinary junior and he held his nerve, worked it all out and even nearly lost on time! I have no doubt that he had already worked and seen the win and pressure does not seem to faze him at all, indeed I think he lives for it! Great two wins by Rishi which has given Dundee City some hope of getting something out of this match!
Our board two, Matthew Hunter (1535) est, is still finding his feet in this format and time-control and was a bit unlucky in the end to lose the first match! But boy did he make up for it in his second match, which at one point, I had him down as lost, only for him to turn it around and take the second match (not sure how?) to get Dundee City Juniors an unexpected draw! Well played Matthew!
This draw has taken Dundee City off bottom place to 7th and still in reach of the teams above them! Of course, it’s all about the experience they gain playing in competitions like this, which hopefully they will learn from and develop into better players.
Well played Rishi, Matthew, Alexander & Haoqi! Well played Brentwood School B team, you have some very talented juniors for the future and Dundee City Juniors wish you all the best the this competition!
Round 5 is on Thursday 2nd Nov 23, 6pm.
For all the results and standings, click the link below.