Our Nottinghamshire Under 9s took part in the Inter County semi finals in Birmingham on Saturday 28th February 2026.
The team were up against some very strong counties and finally finished in fifth place scoring 17.5 points.
We had a team of eleven because of late withdrawals, we did not have the luxury of reserves either. It took its toll on some of our younger players as stamina and concentration was an issue.
The first round saw us draw with Glamorgan 5.5-5.5 as both teams didn’t have a twelfth board.
In round two we lost heavily to Leicestershire 11-1 with Easton W our only win. Round 3 was no better. Warwickshire were too strong for our young team. They won 11-1 with Jayan U our only winner.
Round 4 was a 10-2 defeat by Oxfordshire with Elizabeth winning her game and Oliver and Albert drawing their games.
We had our first win of the tournament in the last round. A 8-4 win against Somerset had us finishing on a good note with many of our players beating higher rated players than themselves. What was pleasing was to see how our players coped with the day and especially competing against players of a higher rating. They learnt a lot from the experience.
There were some performances worthy of a special mention: Elizabeth de B scoring three out of five on board two was impressive. Jayan U scored three as well.
Thank you to our parents for supporting us in our aim to take part in these national events and for helping their children in their chess journey.
Full results can be found Chess Results.