There was a very strong participation at the latest chess tournament organised for students at Stella Maris College, in Gżira, recently.

The 36 places available in the tournament hall were all taken up and the organisers are now discussing ways to increase the number of tables available for this popular series.

Six rounds, using the Swiss pairing system, were needed to decide the winner. It is worth pointing out that all players managed at least a draw, showing that the games were fought hard to the very last round.

Perhaps, the fact that there were prizes for the different age groups helped ensure that there was a reason to keep on fighting to the end.

Steve Mizzi was the only player to score a perfect result and so emerged the overall winner. Matteo Stagno finished in second place and took the prize for best U-16 player.

Stagno was followed by Christian Conti who won the U-14 category.

Brothers Luke and Matthew Fleri captured the prizes for best U-12 and U-10 respectively. Meanwhile, Sebastian Loporto was the top-placed player in the U-8 age group.

In a statement, the organisers noted the youngsters have shown that in chess it is possible to mix players from the tender age of seven with those who are as old as 15 and still obtain positive results.

“The ability to think calmly and constructively, together with the experience garnered from earlier editions of such tournaments, are more important than age in this game,” the statement said.