County Matches

The SCCA’s junior managers organise county teams that compete in the junior county championships. Some juniors also play in the adult county teams.

Juniors and their parents are welcome to get in touch if they would like to play county chess - contact details for junior managers and county captains can be found here.

Playing in the junior county championships
Several Surrey junior teams compete in the Southern Counties Chess Union (SCCU) championships. There are Open and Minor teams at both Under 18 and Under 14 levels. All are 6-board teams, selected by the SCCU’s junior managers based on age, grade and performance. Where possible, more than one Surrey team is entered for each section to provide more opportunities to play for the county.

A Surrey team also plays in the SCCU Under 14/Under 130 Championship (for players with an ECF standard grade of under 130). This 12-board team usually plays up to four games against other counties, home and away.

In addition, Surrey enters teams in the junior county championship organised by the English Chess Federation (ECF). This is a one-day event with 12-board teams competing for the Under 18 title, and 6-board teams competing for the Under 18 Minor, Under 14 Major and Under 14 Minor titles.

Richmond Junior Chess Club (RJCC) also participates in the county championships. Its teams play in the SCCU Under 14 Open section and the Under 18 and Under 14 minor sections, as well as the Under 14/Under 130 Championship. RJCC also enters teams in the National Youth Chess Association county championships and the Junior 4NCL (Four Nations Chess League), as well as arranging ‘friendlies’ against other clubs and counties.

Playing in the adult county championships
The SCCA enters teams in the County Championships each year at Open, Under 180, Under 160, Under 140, Under 120 and Under 100 levels. Most places in these teams are taken by adult players, but strong juniors are also welcome to play. The captains of the county teams are very supportive of keen, committed juniors and are happy to consider them for selection in their teams.

Juniors and parents are welcome to express their interest in any of the adult Surrey teams by contacting one of the relevant county captains - their email addresses can be found here.