Strong Start and Fighting Finish Earn Chiswick’s Chess Team a Podium Place

Chiswick School produced an outstanding performance at this year's Borough Chess Championship at Springwest Academy, exceeding all expectations to finish 3rd out of 8 schools after a day of high-quality competition.

Having placed 7th in 2025, Chiswick entered the tournament as clear underdogs. However, a rejuvenated squad of Year 9 and 10 players quickly showed they were ready to challenge the established favourites. The team made a flying start, recording 13 wins or draws from their opening 18 games, and went into the lunch break in the lead.

The afternoon session presented a sterner test as Chiswick's top performers found themselves paired against the strongest players from rival schools. Despite the tougher opposition, the team continued to battle on every board, refusing to give ground. When the final pieces had been packed away, Chiswick had secured an impressive third- place finish, ending the tournament just 1.5 points behind the champions.

The result represents a remarkable improvement on last year's performance and marks Chiswick as one of the competition's success stories. The team showed determination, resilience and, above all, excellent sportsmanship throughout the day.

Special thanks go to Nurdan, Zack and Taira, whose experience provided valuable continuity from the 2025 team. Thanks are due to Yagiz, who not only joined the team this year but persuaded others to do so. Special congratulations to Jake and Oliver, who finished joint second and third respectively among the tournament's 48 players, underlining the strength of Chiswick's individual performances as well as the team's collective achievement.

A superb effort from everyone involved and a result the school can be extremely proud of.