Most county-wide “junior” chess in Yorkshire is organised by two independent organisations, the Yorkshire Junior Chess Association, which runs one-day rapidplay events, and the White Rose Junior Chess Academy which runs training days and explores fielding teams in national junior team events, which activity had ceased in recent year.

There remains the post of YCA Junior Organiser, whose functions are very much whatever the incumbent can make of the post.

Yorkshire Chess Association

The YCA Junior Organiser, Noel Stewart, fielded an U-160 team the NCCU’s Pennine Cup, won by Northumberland. The YCA Competitions Controller, Andrew Zigmond, experimented with a Junior League for teams based on cities/towns rather than schools (won by Alwoodley, with York runners-up), and, while this was good in introducing junior team chess to some older juniors, the trial was not all that had been hoped and is being shelved for 2019-20.

Noel Stewart reported to the 2019 AGM that he felt promotion of junior chess may profit more from the revival of inter-schools (primary and/or secondary) team competitions. He would like to trial an inter-school competition for York Primary Schools, one-day competition for teams of four (for example). If this is a success, then perhaps we could broaden it to become the Yorkshire Primary Schools Chess Championship event.

Yorkshire Junior Chess Association (YJCA)

There were four events contributing to the YJCA’s 10th Grand Prix: at Hull, York, Leeds and Wakefield. The Grand Prix was won yet again by Aditya Tangirala. 2nd was again Jael de Sousa Muachikape, and 3rd was Andrew Carden. Best girl this year was Hanzhi Meng.

Full Grand Prix results can be viewed at https://www.yorkshirejuniorchess.org/.

In the Delancey UK Schools’ Chess Challenge, the North and West Yorkshire Megafinal held in York attracted 130 participants while the South Yorkshire Megafinal attracted 40 entries. Joe Birks, Sai Kumaar, and Samiksha Yerabati progressed to the Terafinals (the final “final” stage) on 21st & 22nd September 2019.

White Rose Junior Chess Academy (WYJCA)

In October 2018 at Holmfirth Primary School a one-day chess training day with various competitions was held and Lateefah Messam-Sparks from London attended.

On 6^th March 2019 White Rose organised a simultaneous display by IM Richard Palliser at York Railway Institute, with 27 taking part with one junior drawing.

An initiative to organise a girls under 11 county team was set up, with 3 training days, and participation in the EPSCA Championship in March at Solihull with a team of 12 girls and 3 reserves.