Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Young chess masters meet at St Ignatius, Qormi


Forty four players, most of them under the age of twelve, accepted the invitation by the Malta Chess Federation to play in the first U18 student chess competition for this year.

The venue was the spacious hall of St Ignatius College in Federico Maempel square Qormi, a place unheard of in the local chess community. Modern technology in the form of google-earth location finders and the will of the bold young Knights made up for this and the students that turned up came equipped with scores of traps and ideas for the unwary.

Beside the Maltese students there were two players from Slovakkia, a ten year old from Iceland and a Russian student. The female presence was five-fold and all the titled Junior Champions of 2010 were also in attendance.

Junior Champion of Malta Andre Xuereb and female FIDE Master Oana Pulpan were also present and mingled with the players in between rounds.

The winners by category were:
  • U8 - Matthias Gatt;
  • U10 - Jake Lee Vella;
  • U12 - Isaac Portelli;
  • U14 - Michal Tkac;
  • U16 - Jean Pierre Xuereb;
  • Best Female - Jamie Farrugia;
  • 3rd Overall - Matthew Aquilina;
  • 2nd Place - Luca Vassallo;
  • 1st Place and Overall winner with full points - Jake Darmanin (see photo)
The MCF officials running the competition were C.Pace (National Champion), R.Azzopardi, N.Grima, J.Vella and R.De Sanctis.

St Ignatius principal Mr.Horace Caruana was invited to present the prizes to the winners and the token to all participants. In his short speech at the end of the event he congratulated the organisers for the excellent organisation and commented how much he enjoyed watching the kids playing their games. He said that chess is an educational tool that will help children develop a number of different skills and that it should be encouraged by all parents.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Easter U/18 Chess Open

Tournament:
Easter U/18 Chess Open

Eligibility:
18 or under by 31/12/2011 [born from 01/01/1993 onwards]
Date and Time:
Saturday 16th April 2011
Registration between 9:15am and 9:30am. Games start at 9:45am sharp. Presentation of prizes will be over by 13:30.

Venue:
St Ignatius College Administration Centre, ex/Guze Galea Boys Secondary, Federico Maempel Square, Qormi. QRM 1515
Next to St.Ignatius Primary School, Qormi

Format:
5 round Swiss system

Time Control:
15 minutes each player each game

Entrance Fee:
5 EUR

Prizes:
Overall 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Best Female
Best U/16, U/14, U/12, U/10, U/8
Please note that each player can win only one prize

Application Details:
Contact Mr. Ray Azzopardi on pearl13@maltanet.net or 79706859
Provide the following details:
Name & Surname, Contact Number, Contact Email, Date of Birth, School Name

Closing Date for Applications:
End of Wednesday 13th April

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

End of School U/16 Chess Tournament

Tournament:
End of School U/16 Chess Tournament

Eligibility:
16 or under by 31/12/2010 [born from 01/01/1994 onwards]

Date and Time:
Saturday 3rd July 2010
Registration at 9:00am. Games start at 9:30am. Presentation of prizes will be over by 13:00.

Venue:
Stella Maris College, St. Albert Street, Gzira

Format:
5 round Swiss system

Time Control:
15 minutes each player each game

Entrance Fee:
5 EUR

Prizes:
Overall 1st, 2nd, 3rd

Best U/14
Best U/12
Best U/10
Best U/8
Best Female 1st, 2nd
Best Stella Maris Students 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Players can win only one prize, except for the Best Stella Maris Students.

Contact:
Ray Azzopardi on pearl13@maltanet.net or 79706859

Closing Date for Applications:
Wednesday 30th June

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Perfect score for Mangion at BOV U-16 tournament

35 players from seven schools take part

Some of the players during the tournament at SPMC, Rabat.

St Aloysius College student Jean Luc Mangion won the BOV U-16 tournament, played recently at St Paul's Missionary College, Rabat.

Mangion garnered maximum points after winning all five rounds as Christian Schembri, of St Benedict College, had to be content with second place this time round after winning last year's title.

Third place went to Matthew Aquilina (Stella Maris).

In the competition for girls, Beatrix Calleja (Sacred Heart School) finished first with three points.

In all, 35 players from seven schools took part with the biggest contingent - 10 players - coming from St Elias College.

The other categories were won as follows:

U-14: Gabriel Farrugia (SPMC);

U-12: Gabriel Grima (St Benedict);

U-10: Andrew Magri (Stella Maris); and U-8: Thomas Aquilina (Stella Maris).

The trophy for Most Promising Player went to Matteo Farrugia (Stella Maris). Gabriel deGiorgio was the best-placed player for hosts SPMC.

The arbiter of the tournament was Peter Sammut Briffa with Ray Azzopardi and current Malta champion Colin Pace representing the Malta Chess Federation.

Trophies were presented by Fr Silvio Bezzina, SPMC rector, and Carl Spiteri, marketing manager at BOV.

Monday, April 5, 2010

BOV U/16 Chess Tournament

Tournament:
BOV U/16 Chess Tournament

Eligibility:
16 or under by 31/12/2010 [born from 01/01/1994 onwards]

Date and Time:
Saturday 17th April 2010
Registration at 8:30am. Games start at 9:00am. Presentation of prizes will be over by 13:00.

Venue:
The Library, St.Paul's Missionary College (St.Agatha's), Hal-Bajjada Street, Rabat

Format:
5 round Swiss system

Time Control:
15 minutes each player each game

Entrance Fee:
4 EUR

Prizes:
Overall 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Best Females 1st, 2nd, 3rd

Best U/14
Best U/12
Best U/10
Best U/8
Best SPMC Students 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Players can win only one prize, except for the Best SPMC Students.

Contact:
Manuel Azzopardi on 21459536, or Ray Azzopardi on pearl13@maltanet.net or 79706859

Closing Date for Applications:
Friday 16th April

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Christmas U/16 Chess Tournament

Tournament:
Christmas U/16 Chess Tournament

Date and Time:
Wednesday 23rd December.
Registration at 9:00. Games start at 9:30. Presentation of prizes will be over by 13:00.

Venue:
St.Elias College, Sta Venera

Format:
5 round Swiss system

Time Control:
15 minutes each player each game

Entrance Fee:
5 EUR

Prizes:
U/16 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Best U/14
Best U/12
Best Female
Best St.Elias Student
Players can win only one prize, except for the Best St.Elias Student.

Contact:
Ray Azzopardi on pearl13@maltanet.net or 79706859

Closing Date for Applications:
Friday 18th December

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Welcome to the Chess in Schools Blog!

This will be the area where all people involved in chess in schools in Malta can meet and share news and ideas.

Following the interest being shown from various schools and teachers , the Malta Chess Federation thought time is ripe to build up on this interest and start a blog area where people can contribute on the subject of Chess in Schools in Malta.

I will invite all interested people to this blog such that they can post new news items. Please keep in mind that the success of this blog depends on the participation on each and every one of you!

Colin