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While some may have only discovered chess after binging on ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ on Netflix, some local youngsters are already masters at the game and have proven so in recent online competitions.
Some of Jersey Chess Club’s youngest players are just five, with the oldest being over 80.
There are currently up to 30 active playing adults and up to 40 juniors, 26 of which recently represented Jersey in the first Celtic Nations youth championships against Teams from Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
Pictured: Paul (in the middle) with pupils from Mont Nicolle on the day of their victory in the schools tournament at Victoria College, Garry Forbes and Club President Louis Jouault.
The event, much like the club’s recent meetings, was held online. As Treasurer Paul Wojciechowski explained, running the club has been very difficult during the pandemic with all face-to-face chess stopping.
“We had to cancel our International tournament in April as well as the Inter Insular and cease our league games,” he explained. “In addition, before the pandemic, I was going into three schools to help out with their chess clubs and this had to cease, and chess is no longer being played in those schools due to kids having to remain in bubbles.”
Thankfully, chess is “perfectly adapted for the internet” and the club’s members have been playing more games online as well as holding online competitions and training sessions via Zoom.
“One of our platforms has 130-plus members, although this covers the Channel Islands and many of the players here were not regular attendees of the Jersey Chess Club and from outside the Channel Islands,” he said.
Pictured: Competitions and club meetings are currently being done online.
The situation has enabled junior players to play in more international games than they would have done over the board in the European online youth championships, The Celtic Nations and the World Youth and Cadet Championships, as well as some playing for Hampshire Juniors and In the British Championships.
In the wake of the success of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ - a series focusing on a young woman’s journey to become a great chess player which was watched by 62 million households in one month on Netflix - a lot of people have discovered a newfound interest in chess, with sales of chess sets increasing in the UK.
“It is a real possibility that some of the more recent online members have been encouraged by the series to start playing again as well as some being encouraged to learn more about chess including some simply wanting to learn how to play the game,” Paul said.
With covid restrictions preventing club meetings, Paul says it is hard to gauge if there is more interest in chess in Jersey right now. He however praised the series for being “well written” and the chess element “researched and covered extremely well”.
Pictured: 'The Queen’s Gambit’ was watched by 62 million households in one month on Netflix.
“Apart from being an enjoyable story line, for me, there were some interesting parts to the series including the names of each episode which are all chess-related starting with openings and moving through to the endgame,” he explained.
“I found it particularly interesting that Beth’s main book was ‘Modern Chess Openings’ as that was one book all serious chess players owned in those days and later on. I still have a copy of that book but mine is the 1985 edition.
“I think the portrayal of chess competitions is affair reflection of those times. I played some competitions myself back in the 60s and 70s and some were fierce. The UK was looking for its first player to get the title of Grand Master over the board and that was done by Tony Miles in 1976, for which he received the grand sum of £5,000 from Jim Slater. Tony was my age and a much stronger player than me and he did have to drop out of university to pursue his chess career."
Pictured: “In some ways, chess was more romantic before the onset of computers," Paul said.
He continued: “In some ways, chess was more romantic before the onset of computers as the players had to rely solely on their own brains and those of their trainers or friends to work things out. Analysis of games and openings took a considerable amount of work and time.
“Nowadays, there are plenty of computer software available to assist all players and the analysis can be found much easier. This has also led to the game being played at much faster time controls so that games are finished in one session rather than players having to adjourn and play on at a later date.”
For Jersey’s top junior players, their love for chess is nothing new, as they explained...
Jem is the current Island Champion.
Last December, he won both The Ed Le Quesne Blitz and The Mary Jacomb Rapid, scoring an “impressive 17.5/18 and a record 100%, 7/7 respectively.
“I learned the rules when I was six. We had a chess set with cards which showed you how the pieces moved and I got to understand the basics by playing against my Dad.
"When I was eight or nine, I began to attend the junior chess training sessions at Victoria College and started to play in local tournaments. At the end of primary school, I began to play in the adult chess league and compete in the British chess championships and haven’t really looked back since then.
"I enjoy the ability to progress in the game through hard work and practice. I’m very competitive so being able to compete in higher level tournaments and beat stronger opponents is very rewarding for me.
"Last month I competed in the British online chess championships. This was an incredibly strong tournament with players such as Grand Master Michael Adams competing. I was able to score 4 points out of 9 with 2 draws against a Fide Master and Womens Grand Master which I was very proud to achieve.”
Pictured: Gus and Amelia on World Book Day.
Siblings Amelia and Gus Weber have been playing since the ages of five and four respectively.
They were part of the under-14 and under-12 team that took part in The Celtic Nations event where local players pit their wits against the best junior players from Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
They have also been playing online for Hampshire juniors in the first division. Gus has played in the Online World Youth Rapid Chess Tournament Under 10, and the European Youth, under 10.
Amelia also played in the European on line rapid tournament in the under 12s.
“We went on a family river boating holiday to northern Brittany, France where there was very little wifi/no iPads or even television for a week!” Amelia recalled.
“Mum and Dad packed up the jeep with books, puzzles and plenty of board games. One of the board games was the chess set. My mother taught me how to play on that holiday and I kept going back and choosing the chess set over other games as this was the most interesting.
“Initially, all I wanted to do when I was five years old was to take as many enemy pieces as possible! But this is still really good, as it teaches you how the pieces move. At the beginning I was not really interested in the checkmate!
“Once we got home, playing chess continued and my younger brother Gus learned how to play from me. We would both regularly play our Grandfather and other family members and soon started beating them.”
Pictured: Amelia discovered chess on a family holiday.
The pair soon started entering local competitions and joined the Jersey Junior Chess Club which they loved. Their school also had a chess club which their mother Sarah helped run.
“I just love the game,” Gus said. “I've tried playing other games, but chess is definitely my favourite. I'm currently learning new openings and improving my middle game. My dream is to become a Grandmaster one day!
“I enjoy the tactical thinking especially with chess puzzles and love playing online puzzle dual against Graham Mooney, one of the Jersey Chess coaches.”
Amelia added: “I've really enjoyed playing chess throughout my primary years and will still play at my next school Jersey College for Girls, but I'm not going to do as many national competitions anymore. I have other hobbies that I prefer to concentrate on, especially my singing and piano.”
Pictured: Yasmin and Max Forbes with Kobi Gilmore.
Yasmin and Max are another pair of chess-loving siblings, who discovered the game at three and four respectively. Both were inspired by their father who plays the game and has even represented Jersey in chess competitions.
While Max says he enjoys meeting new people and the tournaments, his sister says her favourite thing about chess is winning, and playing with her friends.
Like Amelia and Gus, they were part of the local teams that took part in the Celtic Nations event.
In addition, Yasmin finished top girl with 4/7 in the Mary Jacomb Rapid and second in the Ed Le Quesne Blitz with seven-and-a-half points.
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