English Chess Forum

The Baltic Summer Chess Camp 2014 (BSCC2014) is an event in which children from different countries assemble together for chess training and competition and to have fun. Participants are expected from the Baltics, UK and other European countries. It is an opportunity not only to play chess but also have a family holiday in the European Capital of Culture for 2014. The training will take place over four days and will be conducted in English. Participants will learn a great deal and their enthusiasm for chess will be encouraged. The programme includes a FIDE rated blitz, a chess-themed tour of Riga, a dinner with Mikhail Tal's old trainer and a speaker programme. There is an option to stay three more days for the RTU weekend tournament. This will be a particularly strong event as several participants from the Tromsø Olympiad will be stopping there afterwards.

The trainers are from the famous Riga Chess School. Riga is the birthplace of Aron Nimzovitch, Mikhail Tal and Alexei Shirov and half the German Olympiad team (Fridman, Naiditsch). The level of chess training is high, based upon the Russian method. Representatives from the UK at the event include IM Andrew Martin, Senior FIDE trainer, and manager of schools chess for ECF as well as John Foley, Director of Training for Chess in Schools and Communities.

Find further details here: BSCC2014

Junior participants from the UK in the Summer Chess Camp in Riga, Latvia include Michael Green (Kent, 15), Megan Richards (Cardiff, 14), Emily Green (Kent, 12), and George Harman (Manchester, 10)

Megan Richards is the Chess in Schools and Communities Pupil of the Year. She was in the first group of children to learn chess in Year 4 when CSC started. Her school, St Pauls in Cardiff, went on to win the Welsh Primary Schools Championship. She moved to Bishop of Llandaff Secondary School and recently helped them to become the first state school to win the Welsh School Championships. CSC has awarded Megan a bursary for the trip to Riga.



Michael Green is ranked 3rd in the England U16 category in terms of tournament performance

Emily Green is the 13 y-o English Youth Girls champion

George Harman is aiming to make the National Under 11 junior squad.

The John Robinson Youth Chess Trust awarded bursaries to Michael Green and George Harman.

It is still not too late to enter the training camp. Baltic Summer Chess Camp