On Wednesday 29 March, Chepstow School came fourth in the ECF National Problem Solving Team Championships held at Imperial College, London.
The team of four – Rachel and David McIntosh, George Smith and Sam Goodfellow – scored 57 points out of a possible 75. They finished just 0.5 points behind the third placed school, Heathside Prep, and only a few points behind the top two teams. St Paul’s won the competition with 60.5 points and The Judd School were second with 60.
To get to the finals, Chepstow School had to progress through two qualification rounds, with puzzles solved within school, and solutions sent off to the organisers for marking.
The finals began with a one-hour lecture on interesting chess problem solving by Jonathan Mestel, a Professor in Applied Mathematics from Imperial College, who is also Chess Grandmaster, Chess problem solving grandmaster, and a player of contract bridge for England.
The competition began after lunch, with five rounds: three mates in one, three mates in two, three selfmates in two, three helpmates in two, and finally three assorted problems.
Entry to this competition, like many of the ECF competitions for senior schools, is free.