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Awards & Achievements Chess

Brentwood School Chess Players Secure Top Results at Eton and National Championships

Brentwood School’s chess players have completed an impressive fortnight of high-level competition, testing their skills at both the prestigious Eton College U19 Schools Rapid Play and the National Girls’ School Championships.

The action began on Sunday, 18th January, when 13 students travelled to Eton College, where the 6-player team tournament took place in the newly-refurbished Main Hall. Teams of 6 played 5 rounds of matches against other schools.

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The Brentwood A Team made a dominant start in the Open Section, winning their first three matches before finishing 12th overall after narrow defeats against overall winners Magdalen College and Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle de Londres. Meanwhile, the B Team secured two wins, out of 5 matches, in the Major Section, including a standout win against Harrow School B team. Three students from Year 7 played for the U19 B team, including Dhruv, who scored 100% for the team.

Success continued on Sunday, 25th January, as 13 girls (10 from the Senior School and 3 from the Prep) competed in the Southern semi-final of the National Girls’ School U11 and U19 Championships at St Catherine’s School in Bramley, Surrey. In a field of over 300 players, in what will be the biggest girls’ chess tournament in the UK during 2026, Year 11 student Anushka led the team with an excellent four wins from five rounds. She had also been part of the U19 A Team at Eton College the previous Sunday.

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Prep School pupils Ava, in Year 6, Maansi, Year 3, and Lolam Year 6, finished in the top half of the U11 competition. Ava scored 4 wins and 1 draw from her 5 games. Maansi and Lola were making their team debuts and Maansi did particularly well to win 3 out of her 5 games.

Brentwood School Head of Chess, Robin Slade, said:

“Like the Eton Rapid Play, this competition is a real celebration of chess and was played in a great spirit of friendly competition. It was fantastic to be able to select five students from Year 7 for their Brentwood School U19 chess debuts alongside our more experienced players.

“All 25 students across both events played some great chess in exactly the right spirit and it was a real pleasure to share their day. For many, this will be the springboard to future chess adventures.”

Mr Slade extended his thanks to International Master Richard Pert, Miss White, and Mrs Coppell for their support across both weekends, adding: “Great fun that it all was, I will enjoy not driving the minibus around the M25 next weekend!”

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