Chess Club

“Chess club has certainly proven popular with the new year 7s”, writes Ms Gilbert. “Mr Hennessy and myself were delighted to see so many new faces on a Friday lunchtime. It may be noisier than a normal chess tournament but there was certainly a lot of concentrating going on!

Especially interesting was the Japanese chess set, or Shogi, brought in by Mr Hennessy – from his own special collection. Members were curious to have a go at this version of the game (Mr Hennessy obviously decided that normal chess wasn’t hard enough!) Instead of pieces, hand drawn tiles represent the knights, bishops, castles and pawns but there is no Queen; the lonely King is guarded by gold and silver generals. Your pieces get additional powers in the enemy zone and if you capture a piece you can put it back on the board as one of your own. Needless to say it generated a lot of interest amongst club members who are now waiting to play the Chinese version!”