This event, held at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, on Saturday and Sunday 15th and 16th of October 2022, was this cycle’s culminating final (after Mega and Giga-finals) of the UK Chess Challenge which started out as an event started my Michael Basman back in 1996. The venue, Blenheim Place, is of course the property originally intended as a gift from the crown to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, for his military exploits on the continent, and was later the home of Winston of said ilk.

There were five age groups involved: U-18, U-14, U-12, U-10 and U-8. Each group had been reduced by the qualifying process to the last 12, which over the two days contested an all-play-all event.

The North was nowhere near as well represented as the South, or indeed the Midlands. Nevertheless, some satisfaction will be felt in the North East, as the Under 18 was won by (former) Forest Hall (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) player Yichen Han with 9½ out of 11, half a point ahead of the 2nd-placed player. Yichen now attends Magdalen College School, Oxford. Edward Jackson of the Oldham junior club “3Cs” (= The Children's Chess Club of Oldham) finished 6th on 6 points. Click on the following link to play through his game against 3rd-placed Frankie Badacsonyi:

Frankie Badacsonyi 0-1 Yichen Han.

In the Under 14, there were no evident Northern players, though Alex Royle of Louth, Lincolnshire, who finished 5th on 6 points, has played in Yorkshire Junior Chess Association events, and won the 2022 YJCA Grand Prix (picking up £100).

The North seems not to have been represented in the Under-12 section.

In the Under-10 section, Samiksha Yerabati of Alwoodley Chess Club (Leeds) had a disappointing tournament in terms of her point score (clue: think of an England European Song Contest entry), but with any luck she still enjoyed the event and can build on the experience.

In the Under-8 section, Maksym Kryshtafor, the Ukrainian Under-8 champion now resident in the York area, finished 5th on 6 points. Click on the following link to play through his game against 3rd-placed Bodhana Sivanandan;

Bodhana Sivanandan 0-1 Maksym Kryshtafor