2025 National Primary Schools Chess Championships

On Sunday 2 February, the SPJ U11 A and B teams and U9 A and B teams travelled to Orleans Park School in Twickenham to compete in the 2025 National Primary Schools Chess Championships qualifier.

As the longest-running dedicated primary school chess competition in the UK, this prestigious event aims to find the strongest chess-playing schools in the country.

Each team played five matches, battling for a coveted spot in the semi-finals in May. The top two teams from the semi-finals will advance to the Grand Final in June, where England’s best primary school chess team will be crowned.

One U9 team (Neo, Liam, Kingsley, Leonardo, Spencer, and Aadit) played exceptionally well, securing 17½ points out of a possible 25.

Meanwhile, the other U9 team (Noah, Haocheng, Max, Guhan, Louis and Krishna) delivered an outstanding performance, scoring an impressive 21½ points.

In the U11 category, the team of Fanbo, Patrick, Yuan, Umar, and Louis demonstrated great skill, earning 15½ points. Their only significant challenge came in an SPJ vs SPJ round where they faced off against their schoolmates.

Our other U11 team of Junyi, Harvey, Junyan, William, Anbo, and Albert gave a phenomenal performance, achieving a near-perfect score of 24 out of 25 points.

I am delighted that all four SPJ teams successfully qualified for the semi-finals. Whether it was their first official chess tournament, or they were seasoned competitors, every boy rose to the occasion and gave it their all. A huge thank you to the boys for their dedication, and to Mr Hodgson and the parents who came to support them. We now look ahead with excitement to the semi-finals in May.

Written by Mr Henderson