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Pleasant St Primary:

The 3rd annual Pleasant St Primary tournament was played on the 12th of December at the school, with Travis Poyner assembling 28 of the keenest minds to participate. Holding the top board throughout the day was veteran player Will Roberts who came 2nd in the first event in 2015, defeating fellow accomplished challenger Alistair Mcdonald in the fourth round in a close tussle. Misplaying an attempted scholars mate and forgetting about a key defender on h6 in the final round against Nick N nearly cost Will, but he showed his tenacity and experience by fighting back to win a good game, taking 1st place with a 7/7 performance. Charley W and Alex T took out the minor placings and impressed in their debuts. Looking forward to starting a new program in 2018!

Haddon Primary: 

1st: Denzel 6.0
2nd: Dylan Worthy 5.5 
3rd: Jack G 5.5 (Separated by countback score)

Riley 5.0
Damon & Tyler 4.5
Hamish, Oliver, Ziggy 4.0

The second annual Haddon Primary tournament took place on the 15th of December and was attended by 32 eager players. Last year's champion Dylan Worthy returned to the fold to defend his title but struggled early on, dropping a game to key rival and third place from last year, the ever consistent Jack G. Dylan also stalemated an opponent from a winning position, something many students experience at this junior level. Denzel held the top board throughout the day with his unconventional style, often appearing worse in the opening but then turning the tables with creative middle-game play, not unlike local sensation Harrison Harrison. Dylan quietly mounted a tremendous fightback in the latter rounds, defeating Denzel in the last round with an emphatic quick mate, finishing just half a point behind him. Tyler also showed great improvement from last year with newcomer Riley impressing and battling well. Some great leadership and displays of learning made for a fun day's chess!  

Mount Blowhard Primary: 

1st: Leonard Goodison 6.5
2nd: Justin Goodison 6.5
3rd: Ebony Tyndall 5.5
Cameron Frame 5.0
Mikayla Knight 5.0

The 18th of December saw the running of the very first Mt Blowhard Primary Chess Tournament. Over 40 players came to try out the game with around 22 staying on to play 7 rounds of fighting chess. The cheerful brothers Goodison were practically destined to meet in the top places and sure enough the epic encounter did not disappoint, with Leonard dropping a rook in a tense middle-game, only to win it back and force a queen and pawn ending. The game was then drawn by repetition, leaving the tournament wide open. Ebony Tyndall concentrated well, quietly taking her chances and playing a wonderful rook and pawn ending against Dora in the final round to take outright third place. Cameron couldn't quite put a dent in either Goodison despite playing well throughout the day, claiming 4th with several nice mates. Leonard remained ahead by countback, winning the inaugural event which was played over a memorably hot summer's day.  Looking forward to doing it again next year!  

Buninyong Semester Tournament Results:

Dan Wang was at his calm and methodical best today in finishing on a picket fence score of 7/7 to take out the 13th running of the Buninyong Primary School Open Chess Tournament. The wonderful inspired effort saw him hold the top "pit board" all day to convincingly defend his title that he gained in 2016, becoming the fourth two time champion at the school. His play is marked by precise and clear decision making with a slightly cautious positional foundation. His closest game was most definitely against his speedy firebrand younger brother Andrew, who won a pawn very early before launching into a promising full-blown assault on Dan's king. Dan defended with measured accuracy; breaking a pin and pushing back the attack before tactically picking up a piece at a key moment in an excitement filled encounter; the first of many more to come I would think! Third place by achieved by the ever articulate and resourceful Ned Griffen who was delighted with his bronze medal at the tournaments conclusion. "I'm happy with that!:he remarked with a cheshire grin.

The tournament saw 32 players battle it out over the course of the day and was the biggest in some years. Many thanks to Peter Wang and Nadia Smyth for their support in helping to keep Buninyong Primary School's chess program going into term 4.

 

Terms 2&3:

1st: Dan Wang 
2nd: Andrew Wang
3rd: Matilda Jones

Mount Alexander Cluster: 

Buninyong Primary finished 6th from 18 schools, finishing on 20 points: 

Dang Wang 5
Thomas Wardle 4.5
Ned Griffen 4.0
Andrew Wang 3.5
James Smyth 3.0

Kids Unlimited State Finals:

Buninyong Primary finished 30th from 48 schools on a score of 16. Top scorers were: 

Ned Griffen 4.5
Andrew Wang 4.0
Thomas Wardle 4.0
James Smyth 3.5

Chess Victoria Primary Semi Final 4: 27th of October

Buninyong PS finished in 15th place from 19. Top scorers:

Andrew Wang 4.0
Ned Griffen 4.0
James Smyth 3.0
Thomas Wardle 2.5

Buninyong Primary Open Tournament 2017: 

1st:Dan Wang 7 
2nd: Andrew Wang 5.5
3rd: Ned Griffen 5.5

James Smyth 5.0
Matilda Jones 5.0
Thomas Wardle 4.5
Max Wilson 4.5
Hamish Richardson 4.5
Tom O'Laughlin 4.0
Matthew Stanzak 4.0

Pleasant St Primary Results: 3rd Annual Primary Street Tournament:

1st: Will Roberts 7
2nd: Charley W 5.5
3rd: Alex T 5.5

Alistair McDonald 5
Darcy J 5.0
Keeley A 4.5
Hunter C 4.0
Max B 4.0
Oskar M 4.0
Nick N 4.0 

Ballarat Clarendon Results

Junior School Encouragement Certificates: Semester 1

Arjun Tippur
Dhanya Mudugamuwa
Mia Farrah
Kanishk Mahasuar

Junior School Beginners Results Semester 2: 

1st: William Belcher
2nd: Owen Gu
3rd: Julian Porteous

JS Advanced Semester 1

1st: Om O'Carroll 
2nd: Aiko Moody 
3rd: Marley Sutherland 

JS Advanced Semester 2: 

1st: Om O'Carroll
2nd: James Nguyen
3rd: Aiko Moody & Kanishk Mahasuar

Pawns & Knights Semester 1: 

1st: Oliver Finch  
2nd: Kalen Douglas 
3rd: Iyad Kurram 

Pawns & Knights Semester 2: 

1st: Mahmoud Naqeeb
2nd: Jack Timms
3rd: Jake Frka

Rooks & Kings Semester 1: 

1st: Mansimran Loyal  
2nd: Soham Patel      
3rd: Ahnaf Chowdhury  

Rooks & Kings Semester 2: 

1st: Soham Patel
2nd: Ahnaf Chowdhury
3rd: Kalen Douglas 

Primary State Finals: 
Ballarat Clarendon College achieved 20th out of 48 schools in their second attempt at this level. Top scorers were: 

Jake Frka 5
Oliver Finch 5
Mahmoud Naqeeb 5
Will Drury 4.5

 

Open Secondary State Finals:
This team achieved 9th from 28 schools; the final year of "veteran" Angus Blenkiron. 

Angus Blenkiron 5.5
Mansimran Loyal 5.5
Liu Yang 5
Louis Douglas 4
Ahnaf Chowdhury 4

Mount Alexander Chess Challenge

On the 20th of September, a bus load of 10 intrepid primary school chess players from Ballarat Clarendon College ventured out to compete in the Mount Alexander Cluster Chess Challenge in Castlemaine. A uniquely motivating and rewarding factor regarding this tournament was the welcome chess grants on offer to the top three placed schools. The wonderfully aesthetic and historic venue of the Old Castlemaine Gaol provided the apt rustic setting and battleground!

183 players participated from 18 schools all over Victoria in a memorable day of socially interactive chess action. Scores are calculated by adding the total of each school's top five players. After six rounds, Ballarat Clarendon College emerged the winner by countback from perennial rivals Candlebark, a terrific achievement by the team at their first attempt. On the previous day, the middle years team also did well by placing second in the secondary tournament. Other local schools, Mount Blowhard Primary and Buninyong Primary also competed extremely well in the primary event finishing 5th and 6th places respectively. Well done teams!

More information on the event itself can be found here: https://castlemainechess.wordpress.com/the-venue/about/

Many thanks to Ben Naughton for driving the team down and his initiative in making it all happen over the two days. It's onwards to the State Finals now in October for our primary team.

Top 10 Schools:

Ballarat Clarendon College 24 (First via Countback)

Candlebark 24 Saint Kilda Primary 23.5 (Congratulations to Fergus Chiverton who won the tournament individually)

Winters Flat Primary 22.5

Mt Blowhard Primary 20.5

Buninyong Primary 20

Daylesford Dharma School 19

Girton Grammar 18.5

Eaglehawk North Primary 17.5

Elphinstone Primary 16.5


Chess instructor Rob Bailey brings you the latest updates with Ballarat Junior Chess tournament results and annotated games!

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