The Southern Semi Finals of the English Chess Federation National Schools Girls Chess Championships were held on Sunday 15th January at St Catherine's School in Bramley, Surrey. The team from Howell's won the under 19s section last year, so the pressure was on for our girls to defend their title.
The U19 Howell's A team (Alyssa, Shayanna, Venetia) won the semi-finals a point ahead of North London Collegiate and Nonsuch School - both very strong chess playing schools that also count England Internationals in their chess squads, and the U19 Howell's B team (Susie, Neya, Emily) came 5th, only half a point behind St Paul's School.
Both teams qualify for the Finals in Bramley in April.
The U11 Team (Nayana, Bindu, Lara) played superbly and there were several very close games that ended up in a tense time scramble. However they were unlucky to miss out on qualification by one point, finishing 7th.
