UKCC (Delancey UK Chess Challenge)

The UK Chess Challenge is one of the main national tournaments for junior players in the UK. It was established by IM Michael Basman in 1996, but was taken over in 2017 by Sarah and Alex Longson. It is sponsored by Delancey, a real estate investment company.

The tournament has traditionally run in four stages:

  • Schools – a qualifying stage for players in years 6 and below. In the past, there were also Last Chance Saloon tournaments to give those who had failed to qualify for their school another chance, as well as providing an opportunity for those whose school did not participate.
  • Megafinal – a zonal stage from which the strongest boys and girls in each age category from Under 7 to Under 18 qualify by scoring 3½ points or more from 6 games. The winning boy in each age category is called the Supremo and the winning girl is called the Suprema.
  • Gigafinal – a national semi-final, held in two or three venues (e.g. Northern, Southern and Midlands) and run along similar lines to the Megafinal. The winners from each age category are called the Ultimo and Ultima.
  • Terafinal – The national final, currently held in five ages categories, Under 8, 10, 12, 14 and 18. Additionally, there is a Challengers consolation final for those who narrowly failed to qualify for the Terafinal.

Richmond Juniors has supported the UKCC for many years, encouraging local schools to hold qualifying competitions, running a very popular Last Chance Saloon and running a large Megafinal over two days.

Richmond Juniors did not take part in 2022, but does intend to hold a Megafinal in 2023.

Pairings and results from some previous years can be found at chess-results.com: