Throughout the week of March 4, 2024, the two finalists of the Ilford County High School (ICHS) senior chess tournament (Ray Chu and Rayyan Asif, both in Year 10) battled through their final fixtures with each other. Rayyan Asif emerged victorious, winning three games and drawing one, after five closely contested matches were played between the two.

The ICHS chess club is held by Mrs. Hussain at lunch times. Every year, the club holds a chess competition where pupils from all across the school are encouraged to put their skills to the test. The tournament is divided into the senior (years 10–13) and junior (years 7–9) competitions, and the overall winner is decided when the champions of the seniors and juniors play each other.

This year, a total of 114 students took part. The numbers have increased significantly from the previous year, showing the club's growing popularity. There are various prizes for the winners; for example, trophies are awarded to the top three of the junior and senior divisions, while the top three seniors are also awarded with chess boards.

Chess has had a rich and successful history at ICHS, going back more than 100 years. In 1912, Mr. Hack first established the school’s chess club. 24 years later, in 1936, the school's chess team managed to win the London Cup, and even during the warring years of the 1940s, there was continued popularity for the game.

Today, the school possesses two old chess boards with several champions of the past engraved on them. One dates back to 1947, and another has the earliest winner from 1970. Since the resuming of the tournament, the overall winners of the competition also have their names included on one of these boards.

Ray Chu, the winner of last year's junior tournament, commented on his matches with Rayyan by saying, "I was struck by the precision of his play." He even went as far as to say that "at times it felt like he was reading my mind." Looking forward, Ray added that to win next time, he thinks he should "hone various openings," as he feels that they can put him in good positions that he can convert to victories.

After beating Ray 3-1, Rayyan mentioned that although his rating on paper was considerably higher, Ray still "played very well." He also recognised that time management was one of his weaknesses, noting that "I still found myself running low on time" in several matches, "such as the one that Ray ended up winning."

When asked about what inspired him to pick up the game, Rayyan replied by saying, “I started playing in the summer holidays of year 7, and it was because of my dad. I would always see him playing chess on his phone when he was at home.” He described how he “dived into the rabbit hole” of chess by trying to get better than his dad, and when he managed to achieve that, his interest and curiosity for the game took him to where he is now.

In response to the same question, Ray described how the game allowed him to find others like himself. He also mentioned that this caused him to “not only enjoy playing the game” but also “enjoy learning the game.”

Overall, this year’s edition of the ICHS chess competition has been a huge success, with high-quality games being played throughout. The senior finals showcased two talented players and consisted of some very exciting games. The junior tournament will be reaching its final stages during the week beginning May 6, 2024, and Rayyan Asif will be playing the junior winner to decide the school's overall chess champion!