Suffolk Junior Chess Awards 2022

On 27th July during the last club evening before the summer break, Suffolk Junior Chess handed out some awards for notable achievements throughout the year.  Unlike for the 2021 Awards, this year’s awards were simplified to the following categories:

• Player of the Year
• Most Improved Player
• Club Player of the Year
• Best Newcomer

It was very tough making some of the decisions because every junior performed brilliantly over the past year.  Overall, all juniors demonstrated excellent fair play, spirit and learnt lots about chess together as a team.

Player of the Year

ADannatt26

ADannatt26 demonstrated that they have come a very long way in one year:

• Their online blitz rating has almost peaked the 2000 Elo mark and their Rapid rating is well over 2000 and still rapidly improving!
• Their knowledge on openings and chess structures impressed us a lot.
• They were a super contributor and competitor online chess and helped others a great deal throughout the season.
• They’ve also made their debut in the over-the-board Four Nations Chess League for one of the top national teams.

Most Improved Player

AbleLopsidedGiraffe

• They improved the most in terms of points on lichess.org, the platform SJC uses to play online events. Their blitz rating increased around 200 points and their rapid rating also improved by around 100 points.
• They also have been very keen throughout the season to share knowledge they’ve picked up on various chess openings and what resources they’ve been using outside of SJC’s club night, like the Chessable website/app.
• Like ADannatt26, they’ve also been playing as much chess as they can since over-the-board events resumed, playing in various local and not-so-local junior and adult events.

Club Player of the Year

Oganesson123Nitrogen & ChessPlayer24_7

• Very rarely have both these players missed a club night.
• Both players demonstrated that they’re keen to learn and share their chess knowledge with other members.
• Their ‘never give up’ attitude sets a great standard for other juniors and their attacking-style can be very entertaining.

Best Newcomer

CoolHandL1 & talllennyh1

• Considering both of these players have only joined very recently, it’s pretty remarkable how much they’ve picked up and contribute to the club nights.
• Both players prove that any Suffolk juniors who join the club are able to quickly establish a competitive chess-playing style whilst having lots of fun at the same time.