My name is Rob Willmoth. I took over the running of Barnet Knights in Sept 2011.

Since then the club has seen a number of positive changes. In addition to this, individual children have claimed a number of prestigious trophies, such as British under 9 champions, National Schools champions, London Junior U9 1st and 2nd place, various Terafinal Ultimo winners, Bronze medals in the European schools championship (a feat not achieved in this country for many years). Currently five children so far have qualified to represent England in the World Schools championships in 2013.

If I may quote Martin Luther King’s famous quote: ‘I have a dream’. When I played chess as a child many moons ago, the strength of junior chess in the late teenage years was much stronger than it is now. My dream is to bring back this success, using Barnet Knights as the tool to achieve this goal. For this to be a success, I will be providing the atmosphere and training designed to retain players once they reach secondary school age, providing a forum for the very strongest players to flourish.

I cannot do this alone. The most important factor in attaining this goal is the belief of parents. Once children go to secondary school, many requirements change for their children. I need the parents to ensure their children still attend the club. I want to be able to develop through the club children who will become stronger than myself, hopefully to become the FIDE Masters, International Masters or Grandmasters of the future.

I look forward to the new term.