Brentwood School Hosts She Plays To Win Chess Tournament

On Saturday, 11th October, Brentwood School was delighted to host and organise a stimulating girls’ chess tournament on behalf of She Plays To Win (SPTW). SPTW is a brilliant organisation dedicated to supporting and encouraging girls of all skill levels to get involved and improve their chess game.

The event was specifically aimed at girls with little or very limited tournament experience, creating a wonderfully welcoming and relaxed atmosphere for newcomers. We had a fantastic turnout of over 40 girls from across Essex and London, including 12 students from Brentwood Senior and Prep.

The girls were divided into three sections based on their age and experience and played four competitive rounds. Halfway through the day, the competition paused for a special simultaneous challenge match and some vital coaching sessions.

• The Sim: Multiple-times British Girls Champion Nina (Year 13), fellow Brentwood School student Anushka (Year 11), and Essex Under 11 Girls Champion Grace acted as the arbiters for the tournament. They then took on 30 girls at once in a very exciting simultaneous challenge match!
• The Coaching: The remaining girls received some valuable coaching focused on checkmate techniques.

Ensuring everything ran like clockwork was a dedicated team of adult helpers, including International Master Richard Pert and former Essex Champion Russell White, who made sure all the girls had a fun and engaging time with their chess.

The relaxed and friendly ambience of the event was beautifully captured by professional photographer and chess mum, Mel Wilde. Her full gallery can be viewed here.

Mr Slade, Brentwood School’s Head of Chess, was full of praise for the day:

“The event was a joy from start to finish. It was brilliant to see the girls making new friends and gaining in chess confidence throughout the afternoon. A huge thank you to everyone – but especially Nina, Anushka and Grace – for making the afternoon such a success.”

Every single player received SPTW medals for taking part, while six players also took home a trophy for their superb performances. Well done to everyone who took part, and particularly to our impressive section winners:

Maansi (Year 3, Brentwood Prep)
Savannah (Year 7, Hylands)
Samriti (Year 10, Southend High School for Girls)
Ezara (Year 6, Perryfield Juniors)

You can read more about SPTW’s excellent work here.