More on the new grades

The new grades which were published last Monday included 151 players who either live in Suffolk, or who play for clubs affiliated to the Suffolk County Chess Association.

The breakdown is as follows:

Adults   –   129
Juniors   –   22
Females   –   10

67 have seen their grades increase;
65 have decreased grades;
19 grades remain the same.

The most noticeable fact is that there are three Juniors in the Top 8, all graded over 200.   The last time we had a couple of juniors graded over 200 was in the era of Nick and Richard Pert; when Suffolk won the Under 18 inter-counties championship in 1997, they were graded 222 and 221.   Now we have Justin Tan (227), Alan Merry (223) and Adam Taylor (201).   Adam has leapt from 190 in July 2013.

Who will be the next Junior to reach the ‘magic’ 200?   16-year old Silas Peck looks to be the likely candidate, graded 171, up from 162.

The biggest improvement is by 9-year old Anita Somton, who gained 14 points, followed closely by David Green and Mike Coughtrey (+13).