The Southern Counties Chess Union was founded in 1892 to co-ordinate competition between the then emerging county chess unions in the South of England. Its geographical scope has changed dramatically over the interveing years, but with the foundation of the Welsh Chess Union, the West of England Chess Union and the East Anglia Chess Union, it has shrunk to a South-Eastern geographical core, comprising the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. In some years Hampshire participates, sometimes Berks and Bucks don’t. Additionally Non-County Members (NCMs) which are active in the SCCU area can affiliate. Richmond Juniors is an NCM.
Besides organising county chess in its territory, it also organises two annual junior chess team events:
- SCCU U14 Team Championship ‒ a league in which teams of 12 players and 4 reserves compete annually for the Fleming Trophy. The players must all have been younger than 14 years of age at the start of the Academic Year in which the championship started. The event is limited to players with rating below 1700. All games are ECF rated. The rules for the SCCU U14 Team Championship are given at: https://www.sccu-chess.com/index.php/en/u14-130-rules-19-20
- SCCU Junior Jamboree ‒ the Jamboree is an annual event in which teams of six compete in four sections, limited by age and rating. These sections are: U14 Minor (Under 1550 ECF), U14 Open, U18 Minor (Under 1700 ECF) and U14 Open. The Jamboree is held over three rounds in one day. The time control is 60 minutes for each player plus 5 seconds added per move completed. All games are ECF rated for standard play. There is a perpetual trophy which is awarded for the next year for the winner of the U18 Open.
SCCU U14 Team Championship ‒ 2024/5
Dates and venues have been set for Richmond Juniors participation in the U14 League for the 2024/5 season, as follows:
| Date | Opponent | Home / Away | Venue | Notes |
| Sunday 27 April 12:00‒17:00 | Sussex | Home | Orleans Park School | Won 12.5 – 11.5 |
| TBA | Surrey | Away | TBA | |
| TBA | Kent | Away | TBA |
Please note that the tournament will be held as a 4 team round robin this year. The time control in all matches will be 50 minutes per player with an increment of 10 seconds per move made. Each player will play two games, one with the White pieces, one with the Black pieces. In the second round, the Away team players will swap their board 1 for their board 2, their board 2 for their board 1, and likewise swap each successive pair of players all the way to the bottom boards. The games will be ECF rated for Standard Play.
Our Home games will be broadcast live on lichess.
If you are interested in taking part, please complete the following short form: https://rjcc.org.uk/our-teams/teams-declaration-of-interest-u12-to-u18.
SCCU U14 & U18 Jamboree ‒ 2025
The SCCU U14/U18 Jamboree has been cancelled for 2025, but the notice of cancellation was given in a highly unsatisfactory manner.
As teams had already been selected, Richmond Juniors has taken upon itself, and at its own cost, to hold a set of 3 round ECF rated standard play round-robins on Sunday 23 March at Orleans Park School for the young players who had been selected for the teams.
Details of this event can be found at: Jamboree Replacement Round Robins.
The SCCU U14/U18 Jamboree will take place on Sunday 23 March at Bishop Douglass School, Hamilton Road, LONDON. N2 0SQ. It will run from 10:00 to 17:30. Teams of six can participate in U14/U1550, U14 Open, U18/U1700 and U18 Open sections.
The Open sections will be played as 2 round FIDE and ECF rated jamborees with a Standard play time control of 60 minutes plus 30 seconds per move.
Round 1 – starts 10:45Round 2 – starts 14:15
The Minor sections will be played as 3 round ECF rated jamborees with a Standard play time control of 50 minutes plus 10 seconds per move.
Round 1 – starts 10:45Round 2 – starts 13:00Round 3 – starts 15:15
If you are interested in taking part, please complete the following short form: https://rjcc.org.uk/our-teams/teams-declaration-of-interest-u12-to-u18.
SCCU U14 Team Championship ‒ 2023/4
Dates and venues have been set for Richmond Juniors participation in the U14 League for the 2023/4 season, as follows:
| Date | Opponent | Home / Away | Venue | Notes |
| Saturday 27 January 13:00‒17:30 | Middlesex | Home | Orleans Park School | Lost 11‒13 |
| Sunday 4 February 12:00‒16:30 | Surrey | Home | Orleans Park School | Won 13‒11 |
| Sunday 25 February 13:00‒17:30 | Sussex | Away | Cherry Tree Centre, 55 Fairfield Road, Burgess Hill, East Sussex. RH15 8QB. | Lost 19½‒4½ |
| Sunday 3 March 13:00‒17:30 | Kent | Home | Orleans Park School | Won 15½ – 8½ |
Please note that the tournament will be held as a 5 team round robin this year. The time control in all matches will be 50 minutes per player with an increment of 10 seconds per move made. Each player will play two games, one with the White pieces, one with the Black pieces. In the second round, the Away team players will swap their board 1 for their board 2, their board 2 for their board 1, and likewise swap each successive pair of players all the way to the bottom boards. The games will be ECF rated for Standard Play.
SCCU U14 & U18 Jamboree ‒ 2024
Originally set to be held in North London on Sunday 24th March 2024, the SCCU Junior Jamboree has been cancelled for 2024. The organisers were apparently unable to obtain a venue.
SCCU U14 & U18 Jamboree ‒ 2022
Our U18 Open team won the SCCU Southern Counties Jamboree on Sunday 25th September. Our team, which scored 13.5 from a possible 18 points consisted of 1. Xavier Cowan (2/3), 2. Sagnik Chatterjee (1½/3), 3. Ben Hammond (1/3), 4. Henry Shard (3/3), 5. Bohdan Terler (3/3), 6. Brian Tang (3/3). Our U18 Minor Team came equal first with Maidenhead, just ahead of Surrey on tie-break. Our U14 Open team are also SCCU champions, Liam Clery scoring 3/3 on first board. Details can be found at: https://www.oxfordfusion.com/epsca/TeamsOverall.cfm?EventID=160.
Richmond Juniors in the SCCU U14 and the Junior Jamboree
In recent years, Richmond Juniors has done well, without particularly shining, in the SCCU Junior Team tournaments:
- 2023/24 – won two from four matches in the U14 Team Championship.
- 2021/22 ‒ won the U18 Open and the U14 Open sections of the Jamboree, and came equal second in the U18 Minor section.
- 2019/20 ‒ came second to Surrey in the West group in the U14 Team Championship.
- 2018/19 ‒ convincingly won the Under 14 Open section in the Jamboree
- 2017/18 ‒ won the South group preliminaries, but came third to Essex and Oxfordshire in the three-way final of the U14 Team Championship.
- 2016/17 ‒ won the U18 Minor section and came second in the U14 Open and Minor sections in the Jamboree