Younger players dominate NW junior chess event.
Younger players dominate NW junior chess event.
Two younger players took out the major chess divisions in the North West Junior Championships. Under 14 player Alastair Dyer won the U18 championships and Under 10 Player Vincent Horton won the U12 Championship. They were undefeated in the seven round competition.
Both players have been very successful in adult tournaments around the state and were in top form yesterday, showing they have strong chances to take out the upcoming state championships.
The North West Championship was conducted yesterday with players from Strahan, Latrobe Sheffield, Burnie and the Central Coast making up a record field of 42 for the individual titles.
Competition was very close in many divisions with countbacks being used to determine runners up. A major surprise was the performance of another under 10 player, Miles Deka, who played his best tournament, finishing in second place in the U12 division. He was awarded the Under 10 title with 5.5 points from 7 games. Joshua Newman and Mitchell Reid played some excellent chess, beating some older players and finished equal 5th. A surprise winner in the Under 8 division was Liam Ferrier. Local Ulverstone Club players accounted for seven of the medals on offer and will be celebrating this week at their club.
Charlie Smith and Kevin Hendrey had a great contest for overall second place in the U18 division. Both players faced each other in a crucial deciding match and fought out a draw to equal each other with 5.5 points. Latrobe players featured well and their coach Tim Jolly was ecstatic with the 3 medal haul for his players. Kurt Temple finished runner up in the U18 on a countback from school mate Thomas Carter. Ulverstone players Nina Horton and Aisling McCullough took out he U18 and U16 girls prizes and will have their eyes on a state title.
Results:
U18 Champion: Alastair Dyer Runner Up Boy Kurt Temple Runner Up Girl Nina Horton. U16 Champion Kevin Hendrey Runner Up Boy Thomas Carter Runner Up Girl Aisling McCullough U14 Champion Charlie Smith Runner Up Boy Luke Henwood U12 Champion Vincent Horton Runner Up Boy Daniel Carew- McCulloch Runner Up Girl Gemma Woodwell U10 Champion Miles Deka Runner Up Boy David Pierce Runner Up Girl Madeline Murphy U8 Champion Liam Ferrie Runner Up Boy Joe Fryett Runner Up Girl
