QMGS v Windsor High School

QMGS third  team 3 - Windsor High School 3
QMGS fourth team 0.5 - Windsor High School 5.5

A tough fixture against a very well prepared Windsor side. The fourth team struggled, however, well done to Amaron Bhatti for managing a draw after grueling 1 hour match, by far the longest of evening. Also, well done to Jon Yin Ho and Saif-Ullan Hussain for winning their matches and especially well done to Liam Berenbuam for recording his first win in the chess league.

QMGS v KES

All four teams were in action on Friday in a tough away fixture against Kings Edwards Edgbaston. Unfortunately, there were no wins for any of the QMGS teams, with the first team coming closest losing narrowly 4-2. Well done to Fahim Nasiri and Ben Nevett-Farman for winning their games and well done also to Abu Bakr for a credible draw whilst making his first appearance in the second team.

Queen Mary's 1st Team 3 - King Edwards Camp Hill 1st Team 3

An excellent start to the chess season! After losing numerous star players last year, it seems we have a new generation more than capable of holding there own against the best teams in the league.

All of the games went to the wire, were keenly contested and lasted around an hour and half.

Well done to Ravi Patel and Fahim Nasiri for winning there games and especially well done to Ben Nevett-Farman for winning on his debut.

Chess Roundup and Trophies 2014

Another season ends and I make the annual journey from Walsall to the other side of Birmingham and the meeting at Camp Hill Boys school. Various issues are discussed including; trying to include more schools in the league and the possibility of hosting a tournament at QMGS next year. With last years trophies returned this years are distributed and QMGS receive runners up in division 4 and winners of division 2. Well done to all those involved! Unfortunately, only the division 2 winners trophy was available for collection, though attempts are being  made to track missing trophies down.

Imperial National Chess Final

During the holidays a team of 4 boys: Aslan Awan, Lorcan McCullagh, Daniel Law and captain Aamanh Sehdev, went down to Imperial University for the chess National Final. 

Having won the regional final with 14 teams in contention, the most of any county, the boys were up for the challenge. On arrival, team sheets were put up from each of the 12 schools that qualified, along with their grades. We went over to have a look at what the competition was like, only to witness the ghastly sight of grades averaging 170 plus, with the highest as 207, master level. To put that into perspective, the team was made up of 4 ungraded players, up against opponents, that play chess day in day out, entering regular tournaments, representing county’s and some of whom play chess internationally, we were simply ‘out-nerded’. Mr Elsden’s motivational pre-match speech of, ‘I think we’re done for so have fun boys, I look forward to tweeting the losses, seemed to set the tone but filled us with a glimmer of hope nonetheless.

The first part of the tournament consisted of a team match against the British Champion, who was playing against each team at the same time, a total of 10 matches. Evidently, we lost, as did all the teams, but much to everyone’s surprise, the GM filled us with confidence as he voted our team the toughest of the lot, only barely losing on time.

Now I’d like to write that we went on to fulfil the GMs expectation and put up a solid fight, but sadly, our individual abilities proved to be our downfall. Still, despite the lack of experience, we managed to rank in the top 8 in the country!! It was an amazing achievement given the circumstances, and a nice way to follow up the two trophies in the regional league. One last mention must go to the top player of the team and equal second tournament performer, who managed 4.5 wins out of 6, Daniel Law. He has proved to be the star performer over the season and will be remembered as one of the most unique players, and students, to play for the chess team.

First team round up of the season and QMGS Chess the movie

Last Friday proved not only to be a pivotal moment for Queen Mary’s in their last chess match of the season, but also signified the end of careers of some of the 6.2 veterans of the game. So rather then write a brief overview of the match, I would like to summarise the season, and careers, of these players.

The squad this year was made up of Aslan Awan, Sam Dewsbery, Kyrone Grossett, Daniel Law, Lorcan McCullagh, Fahim Nasiri, Ravi Patel and Aamanh Sehdev. This team led QM to two trophies and a National Final, putting the school back on the map and towards the top of the interschool chess spectrum.

The teams players’ each averaged 84% wins for the year, and only lost one match out of 10, despite only being formed last school year, therefore supporting the claim of being one of the strongest chess teams over the past decade!

Now we come to the individual players, and where better to start than Daniel. Despite his inability to speak, his cold-blooded approach to the game has led to many of his opponents fazed or in tears by his almost sadistic thirst for blood on the board. Sam will always be remembered for one of the most embarrassing losses seen to the game as his year 8 opponent left him hanging out to dry, while Lorcan’s sometimes questionable yet impressive wins have given him a memorable reputation.

Aslan may be seen as the tactical scapegoat in many matches, but his laid back approach to the game, though deemed unorthodox, has guided QM through to many wins, as he remains the longest serving first team player of the last two seasons. Kyrone, feared in King Edwards schools for his many sub 3 minute wins, guided us to a win in the Regional final where he remained unbeaten, and finished the year with 90% wins! Fahim Nasiri remains QMs strongest yet smallest member of the team; his baby-face looks have been overlooked by many opponents, leaving him with an unbeaten season this year in the ten matches played!

I must not forget to make two special mentions to our graded players. The first is for Ravi, who despite being reluctant to play for the team initially, has helped us through some heavy weight matches, undoubtedly winning in fine fashion. The second is Harvin Bhogal, the ex-graded player from Kenya who broke his spell in retirement last year to entertain us all to what was one of the most unforgettable matches that I can record! 

The team has had many enjoyable games, and will leave with lots of memories. As for the match last Friday, QM annihilated the winners of last year’s Division 1, King Edwards Five Ways, 6-0 leaving their last memory as potentially there best one. I’d like to thank the team, and Mr Smethurst, with a brief video of last Friday’s events.



QMGS1 6 FW1 0

Another good result for the first team, to end a fine season, beating King Edwards Five Ways. Fahim won his game with literally seconds to spare. In what seemed to be a drawn game Fahim eventually managed to out flank his opponent and mate him with less than 5 seconds on the clock. A very exciting game and a fitting end to this years league competition.

Year 7 and 8 at the Closed Play tournament

Well done to year 7 and year 8 for coming third in the Closed Play Tournament at King Edwards Camp Hill. Especially well done to Sarvesh Rajdev from 7P for winning all of his games!

QMGS1 4 CH2 2 - QMGS2 2 CH3 4

QMGS firsts team take the second division title with a win at Camp Hill, well done to everyone involved! Also a good contest for the second team in their final game. Although it has been a difficult season, well done to all involved.

QMGS1 4 KES1 2 - QMGS2 1.5 KES2 4.5

Last Friday saw both the first and the second chess teams come up against the highly regarded King Edwards Edgbaston. The private school was well structured with 3 graded players in their first team, and a 5 match unbeaten second team, so competition was stiff.

Intimidating stares and awkward competitive handshakes exchanged, the rowdy library erupted with silence as the clocks began. The first clock was stopped 12 moves later, a first loss for QMGS second team, soon followed by another. 2 – 0 down wasn’t the start we were hoping for, but with the 7 o clock showing of EastEnders in the mind of Kyrone Grossett, a quick win boosted team morale for the first team, leaving us 1 – 0 up after the 30 minute mark.

The second team had nearly finished all their matches by the half way mark, finishing with a win from Lorcan McCullagh and a draw for John of 6.1. Sam Dewsbery was the only one left to finish from the second team, against his year 8 Board 1 opponent.

Ravi Patel lived up to expectations to win his second match of the season, soon followed by a

loss for Aslan Awan. Luckily for Aslan, his loss was overshadowed by Sam Dewsbery’s, whose year 8 opponent ripped him to shreds, forcing him to resign for one of the worst losses seen of late, leaving the second team with a final loss of 1.5 – 4.5. It was 2 – 1 Queen Mary’s firsts and things were looking promising! But the top 3 boards, were still left to finish as the clocks struck one hour. 

Daniel Law, the most ruthless player of the team, was next to finish, but his opponent resigned before allowing for a fourth queen promotion, leaving him distraught and outraged. Mr Smethurst was left to calm him down with a cookie and some sandwiches, but the win ensured a definite draw!

Nearly at the one and a half hour mark, Aamanh Sehdev was next to fall to his board 2 opponent breaking his 8 match win streak, ultimately reducing him to tears on the Library floor, but Fahim Nasiri was ‘player of the match’ as he overcame the highly graded first board player in an intense final minute speed chess battle, to give Queen Mary’s first team yet another overall win for the season!

Years 7 and 8 at the Lightning Tournament

Last Friday two teams of year 7 and year 8 students competed in the 'Lightning Tournament' at King Edwards Edgbaston. As the name would suggest the tournament was of a quick play format, with rounds of length 10 minutes consisting of 2 games each of 5 minutes, with players alternating colours between games. The competition was certainly tough, however, most QMGS players managed to win at least 1 game in what would prove to be a very sharp introduction to competitive chess. Special mention to Rohan and Saif of year 8 for winning 5 out of 8 and 4 out of 8 games respectively and also to Jagpreet and Vishal of year 7 for winning 4 out of 8 and 3.5 out of 8 of their games.

The first team start the new year with a win!

Last Friday saw the first team play their first match of chess of the New Year against King Edward's Five Ways second team. Their opponents were a young but experienced King Edwards Five Ways side, unbeaten since January last year. Friday also saw the break in retirement for Ravi Patel, and ex-graded player, to boost the strength of the team. Soon after the clocks were started, one minute and 9 seconds to be exact, the first match was over. Aamanh Sehdev retained his 100% win streak of the season, forcing the play for an early victory. Captain Kyrone Grossett was soon to follow along with Aslan Awan on board 6, with two more wins to Queen Mary’s. One more win for the match! Daniel law was next to finish with a win, his emotionless approach to the game has resulted in him holding the best league record for Queen Mary’s over the past two years! Ravi was next to finish, failing to disappoint with a hard fought win. Fahim Nasiri finished soon after defeating his board 1 opponent on time. A fantastic 6-0 victory for Queen Mary's!