On 18th April 2026, a young but experienced Essex team travelled to Loughborough for the EPSCA U11 National Championship.
After last year’s fantastic performance, Essex arrived as defending champions, with seven of the 2026 squad already proudly displaying their 2025 trophies at home.
Retaining the title would be a real test—something Essex had never managed before.
This year the tournament had a new format: teams fielded six players plus three reserves, and results were calculated on county v county match points—a first for this event.
Starting with the Reserves, youngsters Sarah and Eva played 4 matches against opponents from Oxfordshire. Sarah won all 4 and Eva won 2. Ezara and Ava also played 2 games each in the Reserve area and all 4 games were won. A brilliant performance in that section of the tournament.
In the main tournament, Essex began against Warwickshire. Kayal scored first to put us 1–0 up, and Aashini and Ava soon extended the lead. Mary then finished her game to make it an unassailable 4–0. Grace and Dyuthi both found the time control tough and were narrowly beaten, but Essex still took the match 4–2.
There was little time to regroup before round two against Cheshire and North Wales, who had started strongly with a 5–1 win over Leicestershire. Once again we struck first, with Aashini giving us an early lead. Ezara then faced a very strong sequence and was checkmated. After a quieter spell, Mary and Kayal both converted to take us into a 3–1 lead, and Dyuthi’s draw secured the match. Grace rounded off the match with an excellent win, earning immediate praise from the opposing manager.
With only eight teams in the Major tournament, the standings formed quickly. After two rounds, just two teams remained on maximum points—setting up a decisive clash with a very strong Oxfordshire side.
For the first time that day we were outgraded on half the boards, so it was especially pleasing to take an early point, with Ezara scoring a fine win. Aashini was next to finish, but a strong opponent edged ahead in the middlegame. With the other counties finishing their matches more quickly, all eyes turned to the top table, where the remaining four games were all finely balanced. Dyuthi was the first to conclude, taking a well-earned draw in a tight game. At that point Grace was pressing in a very promising position, Mary’s game was too complex to call, and Kayal had reached a drawish-looking endgame. Kayal and her opponent agreed and shook hands on a draw. With Grace looking increasingly likely to convert her advantage, Mary realised that a draw in her game would secure the team win. Mary offered; Oxfordshire accepted. When Grace then finished her game in style, Essex sealed a 3.5–2.5 victory and went into the final round in first place.
That set up a final-round showdown with Kent, where a 3–3 draw would be enough to retain the Championship. Kent are historically tough opponents, but not this time. Early wins for Aashini and Dyuthi, and a queen advantage for Kayal, meant the match swung our way quickly. Kayal soon converted and Essex had retained the title. In keeping with the team’s determination all day, Grace, Mary and Ava all fought on to the finish. Grace added another win, and the final 4–2 scoreline meant Essex were champions again—four matches played, four matches won.
So, it was another proud day to be an Essex girl, as the team proved for the second successive year that they are the best in the country. I’m sad to say goodbye to three of our team: Grace, Ezara and Ava all move into senior school this year, so they will be too old for next year’s tournament. Thank you for all your efforts over the years—and you can proudly leave us with the title of double champions!
A special mention for this year’s Board 1, Grace. She has played in all the U11 girls’ tournaments since 2022 across boards 1 to 3, scoring an incredible 13.5 out of a possible 16 points. She will be greatly missed next year, but there are plenty of youngsters coming through who will be eyeing up that impressive record.
Congratulations to the whole team.
