Catholic Student Network was delighted to bring a group of students, chaplains, and staff to Portcullis House for a friendly yet fiercely contested match against the UK Parliamentary Chess Club. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us all to face such distinguished opponents in such an iconic setting.
Representing us on the boards were Valery Joseph Jonathan, Anthony John Duncalf, and Fr Kensy Joseph SJ from Imperial College, Christian Nunez from the University of Bristol, and Ben Plimmer and Jasmine de Kretser from Catholic Student Network.
Many of the games were nail-bitingly close, and in the end, Catholic Student Network came through securing a narrow but hard-fought victory with a score of 5.5–4.5.
Following the match, Peter Hornsby kindly gave us a private tour of the UK Parliament. We had the privilege of sitting in on live sessions of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, adding to this unique opportunity. Peter also shared an engaging history of the building, deepening our awareness and appreciation.
We are sincerely thankful to Lord Harry Carter, Alfie Coulstock-Cockeram, Gordon Phillips, Lord Dafydd Wigley, Baroness Miller, Juneyt Kantarov, and Peter Hornsby for providing such a memorable evening for us all.