Young masters in battle of the boards (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Young masters in battle of the boards

Ref. 29210-02PLAYERS from all over the UK, including a higher number of girls than ever before, did battle at the Wiltshire and West of England Junior Open Chess Championships in Swindon over the weekend.

Organisers said there were some very strong competitors at the event, which has been held for the past 18 years and is the third biggest tournament of its kind in the country.

Tournament secretary Bev Schofield said they had noticed more girls among the 300 plus competitors and at least one of them was in with a strong chance of becoming their first female champion.

"It is mostly male dominated, but we have had a definite upturn in the girls' entry this year," she said.

It was an encouraging sign for the game. "I think it is very good. Anybody playing chess as far as we are concerned is good.

"We have tried to run girls' sections in the past and we have not had enough entries, so we amalgamated the sections and it hasn't put them off at all."

Youngsters taking part in the tournament at Greendown School, Grange Park, were also under scrutiny from two national squad selectors who were acting as game controllers.

Several of the players were expected to be invited to take part in trials being held this April in Liverpool. After that they could find themselves competing against junior players from Europe.

Look for full results and more pictures in tomorrow's Evening Advertiser.