On Tuesday 7 November the Judd first VI competed in the preliminary round of the English Chess Federation schools national championship and finished joint 2nd out of 8 teams qualifying for the regional phase. They started the event strongly with a 4-2 victory against Simon Langton, before defeat against Tonbridge 2.5- 3.5 in a tight encounter including three time pressured draws. The team needed something out of the final game against Skinners and squeezed over the line by a point. This was the squad’s best tournament performance so far and it will be interesting to see if they can reach the finals at Nottingham University. Well done to Tom, Ryan, Laurence, Daniel, Druha and special mention to debutant Edgar (year 8).