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 ‒ 2023
Dates and venues have been set for Richmond Juniors participation in the U14 League for the 2022/23 season, as follows:
| Date | Opponent | Home / Away | Venue | Notes |
| Sat. 4 March 13:00‒17:30 | Surrey | Away | Wilson’s School | A friendly U18 match will be held at the same time. |
| Sat. 15 April 13:00‒17:30 | Sussex | Home | Orleans Park School | |
| TBA | Essex | Away | TBA | |
| TBA | Kent | Home | Orleans Park School |
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.
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:
- 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
Update 25 September 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.