Chess exhibition with Grandmaster Raymond Keene OA

On 11 June, 15 Dulwich College students took part in a chess simultaneous exhibition against OA Grandmaster Raymond Keene, a prestigious protagonist in English Chess and the first British player to achieve a Grandmaster norm. As a College student, he was on the top board of the school Chess Team and contributed to Dulwich's 2nd place in the National School Chess Championships in 1964, and to two consecutive victories in 1965 and 1966. He would go on to win the English Chess Championship in 1971 and the GM title in 1976. 

Keene faced a diverse field from beginners to players from across the chess teams, including five from the A-Team and three from the B-Team, reflecting the depth of talent and enthusiasm for chess at Dulwich. The exhibition took place outside the Christison Hall during the lunch break, allowing anyone to sit at a free board and easy access for viewing.

Keene played the white pieces across all 15 boards, and with each passing rotation the tension between the players grew as each chess board erupted with complexity and high-quality moves. After more than two hours, the exhibition concluded with Keene securing 13 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. The highlights included commendable draws by Gordon Chen (Year 11) and Suren Grigoryan (Year 12) and a notable victory by Roman Zadvorn (Year 11) who scored a victory after a wild sequence of fireworks on the chess board, leading to the entrapment of Keene’s queen and the first student win against him in such events.

The final score against the Dulwiuch Chess A Team was 3-2 in Keene’s favour. According to Keene, this simultaneous showed the toughest field of opposition he had ever faced from Dulwich. The art of chess is clearly growing at Dulwich, alongside student interest in the game.