17 September 2017
Eight Abingdon players competed in the English Chess Federation’s Rapidplay Tournament at Eton today. Six played in each round, and the time control was 20 minutes plus a 5 second increment. Abingdon succeeded in winning three of the five rounds and so qualified for the regional stage of the prestigious National Schools’ Championship. Heavy losses to Gonzaga College (0.5-5.5) and The Judd School A (0.5-5.5), in rounds two and four, were outweighed by comfortable wins against Mill Hill County High School B (6-0), North London Collegiate School A (4.5-1.5) and RGS High Wycombe (5-1), in rounds 1, 3 and 5. Abingdon’s best result was newcomer Ross Tselos’s draw in round two against Gonzaga College’s Henry Li, who is graded an impressive 215. Abingdon’s team was 1. Ross Tselos (3.5/5), 2. Thitipat Ditrungroj (2/4), 3. James Beckinsale (2/4), 4. Richard Oh (2.5/4), 5. Frederick Beneat (0/3), 6. Seb Watkins (3.5/5), 7. John Ong (3/3) and 8. Alfred Luo (0/2). Congratulations to all involved.