There was an excellent turnout for the School Chess League Finals, which were held on Monday 16th August at Perth Modern School. Nine Primary and nine Secondary Schools competed for the chance to represent Western Australia in the 2021 National School Finals. Both divisions were run as a team round-robin format. Players were ranked in approximate playing strength, and each school’s board 1 played each other school’s board 1, etc.

The Primary division developed into a three-horse race after five rounds, with Oberthur leading Nedlands and Carmel by half a match point. After the completion of the eight rounds, Oberthur Primary School had established themselves as clear winners with 7.5 match points. The second was Nedlands Primary School on 6.5, and the third was Carmel Primary School on 6. The fourth was Rosalie Primary School; the fifth was Caladenia Primary School, the sixth Mount Lawley Primary School, the seventh was Saint Paul’s Primary School, the eighth was Midland Home School, and the ninth was Lake Joondalup Baptist College. Congratulations to Oberthur Primary School, 2021 WA Primary Interschool Champions!!

The Secondary division was dominated by Perth Modern School, who won all eight matches. Wesley College and Trinity College contested the second and third places. By the completion of the eight rounds, Wesley College had six match points and earned second place with Trinity College on 5 points (third). The fourth was Bob Hawke College; the fifth was Fountain College; the sixth was Shenton College; the seventh was Aquinas College, the eighth was Balcatta Senior High School and the ninth was Kingsway Christian College. Congratulations to Perth Modern School, 2021 WA Secondary Interschool Champions!!

The winners

Primary schools division:

1. Oberthur PS

2. Nedlands PS

3. Carmel PS

Secondary schools division:

1. Perth Modern School

2. Wesley College

3. Trinity College

List of prize winners:

Primary School first place trophies: Oscar Gao, Angus Chen, Francis Lopez, Adam Chung (Oberthur Primary School)

Primary School second place trophies: Issa Majidi, Nithuli Liyanage Nizam Majidi, Olivia Hou (Nedlands Primary School)

Primary School third place trophies: Daniel Levin, Ezra Levine, Mia Cohen, Marcus van den Berg (Carmel Primary School)

Secondary School first place trophies: Jamie Laubbacher, Alex Pimenov Pranav Borude, Aarnav Gupta, Minh Nguyen (Perth Modern School)

Secondary School second place trophies: Shannon Koh, James McEvoy, Sean McGinty, Bentley Himler, James Savundra (Wesley College)

Secondary School third place trophies: Kundan Dharmapuri, Isaac Quadros, Anthony Milner, Xavier Audino (Trinity College)

Primary School Board 1 prize: Oscar Gao 7.5/8

Primary School Board 2 prize: Angus Chen 7.5/8

Primary School Board 3 prize: Mia Cohen 6/8

Primary School Board 4 prize: Olivia Hou 7/8

Secondary School Board 1 prize: Kundan Dharmapuri 7.5/8

Secondary School Board 2 prize: Alex Pimenov 7/7

Secondary School Board 3 prize: Pranav Borude 6/8

Secondary School Board 4 prize: Gautham Balamurugan 6/7

Special thanks go to the hard-working CAWA Volunteers: Devi, Kimberly Goh, Andrew Hardegen (drafting the schedules) JC Kong, Fred Maris (Arbiter), John Pimenov (data entry), Faith Tee and to Perth Modern School for providing such an excellent venue in particular Leanne Ensley for all the help provided in making this such a smooth flowing event. Finally, thanks to all players, parents and school coordinators who made this a memorable and pleasant occasion.

Alan Wolstencroft Chief Arbiter