The Chess Year

Tomi Owens

Head of Chess

In the Autumn term, we were able to play chess face-to-face, but this had to be in our year-group bubbles. As a result, live chess was limited to 3rd Form in one classroom and 4th Form in another, with 5th Form and 6th Form playing online. There was a lot of enthusiasm for chess in the 3rd Form, so we now have a thriving group of enthusiastic players, which bodes well for the future of chess at King's. Competitions against other schools all had to be online, via the lichess.org website. We took part in local competitions (Bristol and the South West) and in national competitions, where we came up against players of a very high standard.

We wanted to hold an Inter-House Chess Competition but restrictions over mixing bubbles meant that we had to be imaginative. In the end we used plastic screens to ensure covidsecure conditions and we managed an afternoon of chess between pupils from different year groups and different Houses. Blackford emerged top of the Houses for the second year in a row, retaining the trophy.

We followed the same covid-secure conditions to hold a staff versus pupils match. The pupils had by now become accustomed to playing under time pressure with the ticking of the chess clocks, but it was a bit of a challenge for the staff, with many of them not having played chess for a number of years. Nevertheless, their solid experience triumphed over youthful enthusiasm, with the result being a resounding win for the staff. We look forward to repeating this event in the near future.

With the sunshine out and a lot of help from the Friends of King's, we finished the year with a giant chess set to play outdoors. Hopefully, this will become a regular activity for pupils and staff during breaks and lunchtimes.