The NEJCA exists to promote chess at both Primary and Secondary level in the North-East of Scotland and to provide a range of tournaments across venues in the NE and N of Scotland.
The NEJCA supports all organisations that foster junior chess within Scotland.
The NEJCA exists to promote chess at both Primary and Secondary level in the North-East of Scotland and to provide a range of tournaments across venues in the region. The majority of junior chess tournaments held in the North-East of Scotland (extending as far as Inverness) are promoted, supported and organised by the NEJCA. The NEJCA supports all organisations that foster junior chess within Scotland.”
OBJECTIVES
Chess provides a source of enjoyment for many youngsters. There is no barrier to playing based on age, gender, race or handicap and NEJCA tournaments are arranged to ensure that pupils play within their level and so gain maximum enjoyment from close competition. As a secondary objective, chess has been shown in several studies across both Scotland and world-wide to have positive benefits in educational terms (see http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Research/Research/14478/SRChess)
Youngsters like to know how good they are and how they improve. This is done through a grading system operated by Chess Scotland (www.chessscotland.com) that uses the results of any pupil to provide a grade (similar to a handicap in golf) based on the results of 8 games played against already graded players in the various competitions held throughout Scotland. Players can then chart their improvement as their skills develop. More than 1000 active juniors are now graded in Scotland. Nearly all NEJCA events qualify for grading.
To help youngsters improve, individual training sessions are organised during the tournament days. Two coaching manuals are also available in electronic format. One is produced by Chess Scotland while the other was devised by David Leslie. Teachers and other chess coaches can request copies of these manuals. Training programmes such as these have led to 10 of our competitors across the various age groups being selected recently to represent Scotland in events within the UK, in Europe and even further afield.”
SPONSORSHIP
The NEJCA is a purely voluntary organisation that relies totally on sponsorship obtained from a variety of commercial and private sources. These generous supporters are acknowledged on this Web Site, on the entry forms for the various competitions and in various press releases. Each year such sponsorship helps in the running of 7-10 tournaments and training events at a variety of venues, including Aberdeen, Kemnay, Stonehaven and Inverness. This sponsorship has helped to keep entry fees to a minimum (they are the cheapest in Scotland) and the use of different venues has been deliberate to allow easy access for keen youngsters. Currently our competitions attract participants from as far afield as Orkney, Inverness, Aberdeen, Perth and Dundee. If you think there is a demand for a tournament in your area then please contact us (at g.lobley@abdn.ac.uk) and we will offer advice, encouragement and support.”
