Farlington sixth former Amy Hoare is enjoying great success as a chess champion. Amy won her latest titles at the British Championships in Wales: under-18 British girl champion, British and English women’s champion.
Amy, 18, began playing chess in Farlington Prep School at a lunchtime club in prep 3 and now represents England at international competitions. Last year she was part of the England team at the European Youth Championship in Montenegro and achieved a top 20 placing in the prestigious Guernsey International Chess Festival.
Amy also competed in this year’s World Youth Chess Championships in Durban, South Africa. A hundred countries sent their most promising players, aged 8 to 18, to participate in this event. The England delegation consisted of 10 players and 3 coaches.
Amy says: “There were 11 rounds; most days were one round each but on two days we had double rounds which meant that I was playing chess for over 10 hours on some days! I scored 6.5/11 and came 16th overall. A typical day consisted of an hour of preparation with my coach, followed by some of my own preparation until the start of the round at 4pm. My games lasted up to five and a half hours, so it was then back to the hotel for dinner and time with my coach to review the game. It was a fantastic experience and I had the opportunity to play against people from all around the world.”
Louise Higson, Farlington’s headmistress, says: “We are very proud of Amy’s achievements and are delighted to have a champion in our midst. She has worked exceptionally hard to reach such high standards, and is an outstanding ambassador for Farlington and an excellent role model for the younger girls.”
