When Essex and Suffolk were the only two teams eliminated from the EPSCA under-9 Competition in early March, it occurred to the Team Managers that a little extra coaching would come in handy. It was then agreed that 24th April, the date of the Final that neither team would be attending, would be the day in question so that was settled. What happened next was something of a revelation as Norfolk were approached and agreed to send a team and Essex decided it had enough resources to field 4 teams. In the end, a 5-round all-play-all with 30 minutes on the clock was the agreed format. Tim Huband generously bought a trophy so we now have another Annual Event to add to the calendar.
It was agreed that 5 members of each team had to be under 9. Essex made a tactical error in that they divided their resources up regionally and diluted their teams as a result. Although each team provided resistance at times, none of our teams was sufficiently strong to make consistent inroads into the "whole County" teams of Norfolk and Suffolk. In the end, Norfolk won comfortably, beating Suffolk by a large margin in the final round. Just previously, North Essex had held Suffolk to a hard-fought draw and then, just to prove that all the teams had considerable worth, S.E. Essex II drew with N. Essex. W & Central Essex, spearheaded by talented players from the Epping Forest Chessmates club, were within a point of catching Suffolk at the last.
| Team | A | B | C | D | E | F | Totals | Pos | |
| A | West & Central Essex | x | 4½ | 8 | 3 | 8½ | 10 | 34 | 3rd |
| B | Suffolk | 7½ | x | 6 | 3½ | 8½ | 9½ | 35 | 2nd |
| C | North Essex | 4 | 6 | x | 2½ | 5½ | 6 | 24 | 5th |
| D | Norfolk | 9 | 8½ | 9½ | x | 8½ | 11 | 46½ | 1st |
| E | South-east Essex I | 3½ | 3½ | 6½ | 3½ | x | 9 | 26 | 4th |
| F | South-east Essex II | 2 | 2½ | 6 | 1 | 3 | x | 14½ | 6th |
In addition to the Championship, there were several side-shows in the form of chess puzzle and problem competitions, a Basic Mates competition, a Toughest Game award, a Best Scoresheet award and a Top Player award. Click the links below to see the problems.