The British Schools Chess Championship is an annual competition for school chess teams that has been in existence continuously from 1958. The tournament is administered by the English Chess Federation and is open to all schools from the United Kingdom. The competition has been won by teams from all four countries of the UK.
At the height of popularity in the 1970s, in excess of 1000 teams took part, but since then a decline in the number of teams has taken place. In 2007-08, the accepted entry increased from 93 teams to 135 teams, which represented the highest number of entries for four years. Yateley Manor School,from Yateley in Hampshire, sponsors from 2008-2011, supported the event through a difficult period and deserve especial mention.
The competition, now known as the National Schools Chess Championships, is being relaunched by the English Chess Federation in 2012,with sponsorship from St Catherine's School,Bramley, who are supporting a wholly new school team tournament for girls,with both U11 and U19 sections, Heathside Preparatory School, from Hampstead, London for a new U11 open section and Winchester College (new in 2012) for the U19 open section. The competition also has a new website for 2012 at http://www.nationalschoolschess.org.uk. For the first time entry for schools is free (until 31st August 2012) and can be completed online. Each of these schools recognizes the value of chess in education, where it takes a place as an enjoyable gymnasium for the mind.
Read more about British Schools Chess Championship: Eligibility, Sponsorship
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