English Chess Forum

Top English junior players: http://grading.bcfservices.org.uk/engjuniors.php

Ref Name Sex Age Club(s) Category Standard Previous Category Rapid Previous
243515K Zhou, Yang-Fan M 16 Richmond Juniors A 230 225 B 238 234
252763H Harvey, Marcus R M 15 Bicester A 212 181 C 190 190
252094B Clarke, Brandon GI M 15 Littlethorpe A 209 208 A 214 215
240138B Williams, Peter A jnr M 15 Coulsdon CF A 206 193 C 215 199
258821D Weaving, Richard M 17 Solihull Checkmates A 206 195 C 204 207
253430H Jones, Victor GL M 16 Kent Junior Congresses A 205 200 A 215 214
247094K Holland, James P M 16 Berkshire Junior A 204 192 A 202 202
245460K Hunt, Daniel M 16 RGS Guildford B 203 191 E 164
240716E Sathyanandha, Saravanan M 16 Haberdashers Askes Sch Herts B 203 193
240634C Franklin, Samuel GA M 17 Crystal Palace A 201 219 C 224 224
245243B Jain, Akash M 17 Wellington College A 198 200 C 205 220
257460D Galliano, Alexander M 17 Wellington College A 197 192 D 203
247219D Krishnan, Anand J M 17 Wilsons School A 195 170 A 187 180
253915K Lenier, Jude A M 15 Hastings & St Leonards A 193 177 B 190 185
263867J Craft, Isaac M 16 Letchworth & Hitchin A 193 176 155
253447C Scott, Gordon W M 16 Norfolk & Norwich A 193 179 C 193 189
263798E Haria, Ravi M 12 Barnet Knights A 192 174 B 193 171
258768D Merry, Alan B M 14 Bury St Edmunds A 192 182 A 189 176
246586D Lalic, Peter D M 17 Sutton Grammar School A 192 185 A 192 192
245528G Foster, James M M 17 Cowley A 191 177 D 188 188
255108B Walker, Samuel A M 17 Wycombe & Hazlemere A 191 182
263807B Sanders, Isaac B M 13 Highgate School A 190 176 A 183 176
247435K Weller, Jean-Luc M 16 York RI A 189 188 C 184 191
263174L Batchelor, Peter J M 14 Willesden & Brent A 188 165 B 178 171
240223D Boulton, William JK M 17 Norfolk & Norwich A 188 190
244415L Cumming, Rhys M 17 Sussex Juniors A 188 191 C 196 193
240338K Tunstall, George S M 17 Crowthorne C 188 171 E 171 167
240308A Whitfield, Craig M M 16 Cheddleton & Leek A 187 191 C 195 193
267851C McPhillips, Joseph M 13 Bolton A 186 177 169
247376J Milson, Samuel A M 17 Louth A 186 176 B 179 174
246580C Patel, Shyamal C M 17 Haberdashers Askes Sch Herts A 185 177 D 191 191
263740G Gupta, Aditya M 17 Wilsons School B 184 148 D 167 158
249633B Shaw, Dashiell L M 17 Hackney B 184 176 C 194 186
280299F Yu, Jeffrey M 17 Oxford City C 183 168 E 150 148
264348A Stepanyan, Henrik M 15 Sutton Coldfield A 182 172 D 170 172
251434F Schofield, Oliver M 17 Bath D 182 173
268641H Malhotra, Tarun M 12 Northwood Prep School A 181 167 A 175 178
260446C McGiff, Aidan Y M 14 Barnet Knights B 181 161 A 179 178
261849H Broadley, Henry M 13 Chorley A 180 169 D 161 159
284571E Kamou, Frank M 15 Chess Mates Northampton E 180
245535D Iyengar, Ilya M 17 Winchester College A 180 180 C 191 192
263827H Zhang, Roy Y M 14 Crowthorne A 179 176 B 180 179
247351D Archer-Lock, Adrian M 17 Wellington College A 179 170 B 181 170
267878A Murphy, Conor E M 12 Kent Junior Congresses A 178 168 A 171 168
258758A Andreev, Peter M 12 Richmond Juniors B 178 163 A 184 175
268790C Foo, William J M 13 Berkshire Junior A 178 171 B 191 183
276249D Fletcher, Michael JW M 11 Nottingham HS A 176 141 C 165 158
252323B Jain, Radha F 14 Pinner A 175 166 A 168 158
253225G Wang, Maria F 15 Cowley A 175 166
248256D Weller, Pierre M 15 York RI A 175 163 C 188 183
259650H Garside, Andrew M 15 West Nottingham A 174 163
247371K Horton, Jamie A M 15 Didsbury Dynamos A 174 154 C 159 159
263810B Wadsworth, Matthew J M 11 Maidenhead A 173 158 C 171 163
270933J Vikanis, Georgs M 16 Banbury A 173 174
271794D Brijmohun, K Louis M 17 SASCA A 173 171 C 178 176
256412K Lilburn, Tom M 17 Solihull Checkmates B 173 167
262210F Hoare, Amy B F 14 Sussex Juniors A 172 157 A 170 163
252093L Bowler, James P M 14 Yorks Copper Works A 171 180 A 187 178
263198C Taylor, Adam A M 14 Sutton/Cheam * A 171 171 A 179 169
279529C Hackner, Oskar A M 15 Rotherham Junior A 171 141 A 151 133
221900B Butler, Patrick A M 17 Winchester College D 171 164
253153H Noel, Daniel M 15 Berkshire Junior B 170 150 C 169 172
273578H Sangha, Manpreet M 16 Rushall B 170 160
258841K Clements, Thomas A M 17 Three C's B 170 175 D 164 162
268644C Shiatis, Rohan M 11 Coulsdon CF A 169 161 B 164 162
253646J Yates, Christopher M 15 Sussex Juniors B 169 154
242213L Pritchard, Abigail F 17 Poulton-le-Fylde A 169 151 C 153 153
258762C Fitzgerald, Robert C M 13 St Francis & Haywards Heath A 168 164
263856D Sabin, Frank M 15 Hendon B 168 146 A 149 148
258492L Senior, Thomas M 15 Haberdashers Askes Sch Herts B 168 166 D 161 163
263453D Qu, Xiyuan M 16 Eton College D 168 166 E 190
252002D Gahir, Jasdeep M 15 Kent Junior Congresses A 167 159 B 169 165
261119D Wang, X Anna F 12 Oxford High School A 166 147 E 150 146
267738G Bogoda, Sagara T M 16 Basildon A 166 157 C 162 160
246394F Payne, Matthew J M 16 Worthing A 166 159 B 178 183
240190D Barr, Gabriel J M 17 Norfolk & Norwich A 166 179 D 172 170
268307G Kalid, Raphael M 12 Kent Junior Congresses A 165 147 B 151 145
256567F Knott, Philip R M 14 Castles A 165 153 B 142 142
248590E Levene, Joseph M 14 Q Elizabeth School Barnet A 165 157 A 155 146
263087E Haxby, Felix M 14 Brighton & Hove D 165 171
267573A Nettleton, Charlie B M 15 Hayes (Middlesex.) A 165 145 X 143 136
269131A Leung, Jeff M 15 Newton Abbot B 165 145 C 167 157
275018B Purcell, Philip M 16 Shirley C 165 154
262220J Fitzgerald, Thomas R M 17 Sussex Juniors B 165 153
267856B Stepanyan, Astghik F 17 Sutton Coldfield B 165 169 D 177 175
276253F Balaji, Ananthanarayanan M 12 Harrow A 164 139 A 152 146
275583L Mitra, Roman C M 12 Northwood Prep School B 164 136 A 152 145
263788B Bommayya, Nishant M 13 Sutton/Cheam * A 164 135 E 141 150
263176D Redman, David J M 12 Cambridge City A 163 159 B 148 153
264418G Smith, Patrick L M 13 Kent Junior Congresses A 163 157 A 163 150
263853J Oliver, Martin M 14 Cirencester A 163 153
267799E Claridge-Hansen, William M 11 Aylesbury A 162 159 B 169 164
267769G Fortune, George T M 14 Padgate C 162 136
258770B Mohan, Shyam M 14 Hastings & St Leonards E 162 158 139
258893G Clanchy, Nicholas M 14 Kent Junior Congresses C 161 155 B 169 158
246808G Taylor, Nathan J M 15 Bolton C 161 172 A 171 172
267813F Tilston, Jamie D M 14 Wycombe & Hazlemere A 160 154 D 159 158
279572D Wadhwa, Amarvansh Singh M 17 Jesmond B 160 168 B 183 173
263862K Wilks, Simon M 15 Muswell Hill B 159 149 B 131 123
258769F Mohan, Ram M 14 Hastings & St Leonards E 158 155 161

100 Record(s) Found

I count just 18 juniors from anywhere north of Birmingham (Sutton Coldfield included). And barely more from anywhere outside the South-East. I wonder if this simply reflects the distribution of private and selective secondary schools.

David Robertson wrote:I count just 18 juniors from anywhere north of Birmingham

I count almost that many that I might have to play in the Berkshire League. I'd consider hiding up north, but I have heard it is grim.

I'd like to point out that my son (who appears in that list) attended a state primary school, his local comprehensive and now a state sixth form. I'm sure there are a few others there as well (but possibly not many).

David Robertson wrote:I count just 18 juniors from anywhere north of Birmingham (Sutton Coldfield included). And barely more from anywhere outside the South-East. I wonder if this simply reflects the distribution of private and selective secondary schools.

Don't know, but you can play a lot of chess in the London area. Multiple rapid play tournaments each month, London League (although not many juniors play in that) and leagues just outside/on the outskirts of London - e.g. Surrey, Thames Valley, Croydon are leagues that I have played in alongside the main London League - and that's all before you even get to talking about tournaments.

The amount of chess available must help.

Yes, I'm sure the much greater opportunity to play, especially the RP that may appeal to juniors, is a significant factor. Perhaps not causally though; more as a means of keeping juniors active/improving in the game.

One other aspect of the demographic of the 'top 100' seems noteworthy. Using the (admittedly shaky) evidence of family surname only, about 30% of juniors are of Asian/non-European heritage. This is very likely to be an under-estimate since juniors of mixed heritage, or of Afro-Caribbean heritage, may not be so readily picked up. So assuming 35% or more of the 'top 100' are from a minority ethnic heritage, that is colossally disproportionate to overall population share. I guess this should have some strategic consequences for ECF.

Further to my post above about the rising prominence of junior players of minority ethnic heritage, I find it instructive to note from the recently-concluded British Championships that nearly every junior champion appears to be of a similar background.

Champions at u8, u9, u10, u11, u13 & u14 are all of apparent minority Asian heritage. The sequence is broken at u12 by the impressive Matthew Wadsworth; and completed at u16 by the equally formidable Craig Whitfield. Of course, I'm relying for my evidence on surnames alone. Either of the latter pair may also be of similar/mixed heritage, as with David Howell

David Robertson wrote:Further to my post above about the rising prominence of junior players of minority ethnic heritage, I find it instructive to note from the recently-concluded British Championships that nearly every junior champion appears to be of a similar background.

Champions at u8, u9, u10, u11, u13 & u14 are all of apparent minority Asian heritage. The sequence is broken at u12 by the impressive Matthew Wadsworth; and completed at u16 by the equally formidable Craig Whitfield. Of course, I'm relying for my evidence on surnames alone. Either of the latter pair may also be of similar/mixed heritage, as with David Howell

I'm cautious about what has been proved so far - Haslingers and Buckleys dominated these categories recently, it was not about their ethnicity. But it is certainly interesting.

Anecdotally, I have worked in IT for two multinationals with partially outsourced IT. So I have worked with a lot of Indians and first and second generation immigrants from the subcontinent. It is well known I am a chess player, so many people mention chess to me at some time. The conversation I usually have with white colleagues is usually "I know the moves, how quickly do you think you could beat me?". The conversation with those of Asian heritage is usually about their children. I have refered a few people to Berks and Surrey Junior chess as a result.

Of course, there are many possible explanations. But on the conversations I have had, chess is seen very positively as an improving activity for children. I hope it it is relevant it is open to merit. Surprisingly, Anand's influence has not been strongly evident.

Another observation about working with Indians, is that you feel how much bigger than the UK India is. Maybe the AICF will determine our future more than the ECF!

David

You make a very important point. It's even more noticeable if you look at the top US junior lists which you can find here.

There has been an enormous change in parenting style over the past 15-20 years. It's been very noticeable here in Richmond, which, I admit, may not be typical.

I'm currently entering some old RJCC games into ChessBase. In the early to mid 1990s we ran two junior tournaments a year with about 30 strong players, mostly from our club, in the U18 section. You'll find names like Luke McShane, Richard Bates and Tom Hinks-Edwards taking part. Within 10 years or so it was no longer possible to run U18 tournaments at all. What's happening now here in Richmond is that most parents want their children to have what they consider to be a 'balanced' upbringing, which means that kids of primary school age do two or three 'improving' activities every day of the week. Chess is chosen because of its perceived academic benefits ("Chess Makes You Smarter") but parents have no interest at all in their children becoming good at chess because they consider it unhealthy to spend too much time on any one activity.

Contrast this with the typically Asian 'work ethic' in which children are expected to excel in everything they do. This has been described as 'Tiger Parenting' in the much maligned book by Amy Chua "The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother".

I have no intention of being judgemental - either system can work in terms of producing happy and successful children and the differences are largely cultural - but perhaps it's something we need to bear in mind when considering junior chess policy.

Richard's experience is very interesting.

I think the US has a markedly bigger population of East Asian heritage, where as the UK has a larger population with ties to the Indian sub-continent. I would expect Tiger mothers to be rarer here.

Of course, I have an SL postcode. Richmond may be different.