Harrow Hong Kong pupils competed for the first time at the recent Inter-School Team Chess Championships, organised by the Hong Kong Chess Federation.
The competition invited the best chess teams from various local and international schools in Hong Kong, competing across thee sections – Lower Primary, Upper Primary and Secondary.
A team of four Harrow pupils contested the Secondary category, with a team of three entering the Upper Primary section. Pupils were assigned to boards based on the level of ability of the teams, with board 1 being the strongest.
Harrow Hong Kong’s teams were assigned as follows:
Secondary:
Board 1 – Vincent (Year 10, Peel)
Board 2 – Edward (Year 8, Shackleton)
Board 3 – Yin En (Year 12, Sun) – Captain
Board 4 – Daniel (Year 7, Banks)
Upper Primary:
Board 1 – Wilfred (Year 5, 5Y)
Board 2 – Marcus (Year 5, 5W)
Board 3 – Toby (Year 7, Banks)
In the Secondary section, the pupils claimed some exceptional 4-0 victories against La Salle College B and ISF and as they entered the last round of matches, the team were competing for a third place finish. But they narrowly lost to La Salle College A 3-1, which meant they that they finished on the day joint seventh.
Harrow pupils picked up individual accolades, with Yin En finishing second in the board 3 head-to-head competition and rewarded with a silver medal, while Vincent finished third in the board 1 head-to-head competition and took home a bronze medal.
For many of the Primary team, this was their first taste of competitive chess and it proved to be a positive experience. The boys lost most of their matches, with inexperience playing a part as illegal moves cost them in several of the matches. However, Wilfred performed extraordinarily well and won all of his matches, which resulted in him being awarded first place in the board 1 head-to-head competition.
“On the day, all of the pupils competed extremely well and represented Harrow admirably in the Championships,” said Mr Sivendra Gajendra, Teacher of Mathematics and Harrow’s Chess Enrichment organiser.
“Looking to the future, this has looked be a wonderful learning experience for the pupils and puts them in good stead to compete in the near future.”
See below for a full breakdown of the results.
Secondary:
Round 1 – Harrow 4 – 0 La Salle College B
Round 2 – Harrow 2 – 2 KGV B
Round 3 – Harrow 1 – 3 HKIS A
Round 4 – Harrow 2 – 2 Clueless Geniuses
Round 5 – Harrow 2 – 2 UCCKE
Round 6 – Harrow 4 – 0 ISF Secondary
Round 7 – Harrow 1 – 3 La Salle College A
Upper Primary:
Round 1 – Harrow 1 – 3 La Salle Primary B
Round 2 – Harrow 1 – 3 CDNIS Blue
Round 3 – Harrow 1 – 3 CDNIS Yellow
Round 4 – Harrow 3 – 0 BYE
Round 5 – Harrow 1 – 3 HKSIS B
Round 6 – Harrow 1 – 3 DC King Cobras B
Round 7 – Harrow 2 – 2 Junior Assassin
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