There was success for local competitors as the Holiday Inn in Kenilworth was taken over for the 2024 English Chess Championships last weekend.

The tournament attracted some of the country's leading chess masters, headed by grandmaster and former world number four Mickey Adams and bolstered by a healthy contingent of strong amateurs.

Kenilworth Chess Club was proudly represented on home ground by no fewer than four members, which included three juniors.

Club stalwart Joshua Pink scored a creditable 3.5/7.

Sixteen-year-old Keatan Patel, the current KCC clubman of the year, scored 2.5/7, playing his first-round game only the day after completing his GCSE exams.

Fourteen-year-old National Master Jude Shearsby and twelve-year-old Billy Fellowes scored an impressive 4/7 each which included draws against titled opponents up to the rank of International Master.

Among the non-playing spectators was former Kenilworth A team board one, national master Paul Lam.

Paul, who has coached Jude, Billy and Keatan, attended the event on all four days to support them. He was left delighted not just by their results but also by the high quality of play on display and the effort given, with some individual games lasting for over four hours.

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The results cap a hugely successful 2023-2024 season for Kenilworth Chess Club, which saw it claim the Leamington & District Chess League division one title, along with all three of the Team KO Cups.

Notably, juniors made up half of the Kenilworth teams that sat down to play the Team KO Cup final and all of them won their individual games.

On the back of the latest success, the future looks very bright indeed for the club.