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Two weeks ago, Year 12 pupils Nickleby Simmonds and Jack Finnis organised a marathon chess tournament to raise money as part of the Captain Tom 100 challenge. Boys from across the school came together on Zoom and Chess.com to play 100 games of chess, in support of the five charities Eton Action is supporting this year, Ace Africa, The Teenage Cancer Trust, Glassdoor Homeless Charity, Schoolreaders, and The Felix Project.

Nickleby explains that he decided to create the Eton 100 chess challenge because he “found the cause to be worthwhile and meaningful, so I tried to organise an event that would engage individuals of my own age. Considering the success of the recent Queen’s Gambit TV show, and the popularity of the chess club here at Eton, I thought it would lend itself well to the Captain Tom 100 challenge.”

Jack has also supported many of the Eton Action charities in the past and said “I wanted to support the Eton Action charities because of the great work they do for such a variety of good causes. As there was no Eton Action fair this year and fewer fundraisers, the charities were in need of funding so we did what we could to help.”

In total, the team of about 10 boys played 112 games of chess in just under two hours, most of which had to be really fast matches. Chess coach, Dino Sujoldzic, was at one point was playing five boys simultaneously in one-minute-a-side matches, winning against all of them! Special thanks go to Ms Mehta and Dr Moston for helping to organise and coordinate the event, as well as to everyone who donated generously. In total the challenge raised £165 and even received a message of thanks from Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter and grandson, who admired the spirit of the challenge.