National Chess champions

By Bradley van den Heuvel, Chess Club Coordinator

Well done to the Radford Chess Team, consisting of Thomas Gatzen-O’Keefe, Matthew McFarlane, Dexuan Kong, and Eshaan Extross, for qualifying for the national play-offs earlier this term. After beating nearly every other school in the ACT Junior Chess League tournaments, the Radford team dominated Canberra Grammar in the play-offs and secured themself a position to represent the ACT at the upcoming Australian Schools Teams Championship in Cairns. This is the annual, national chess event for school-aged participants, with the best school teams from each state attending.

This is the most successful team of chess players Radford has seen in a long time, and can be attributed to the students’ differing abilities on and off the board: Thomas is succinct and determined in his approach, and a strong and cohesive leader; Dexuan is brutal in his planning and execution; Eshaan is known for his strategic skillset and ability to capitalise on his opponents' weaknesses; and Matthew is a dark horse who is hard to read, with a playstyle that is difficult to pin down. We wish these students all the best as they represent Radford, and the ACT, in the upcoming national championship.

The Radford Girls' Chess Team placed third in the ACT Girls Competition, and we congratulate Indigo Buckman, Grace Armistead, Isabelle Race and Tilly Firth for their participation and enthusiasm.