Ryan Griffiths, son of Noreen and Paul Griffiths from Bennettsbridge is the new British U18 champion. The British Chess Championship was held last week in the University of Kent, Canterbury, and attracted a large international field. Ryan played brillantly defeating several masters, but his best performance was defeating British Grandmaster, Aaron Sumerscale, with the black pieces to claim the U18 British Champion title. Ryan attends Kilkenny College and he is a member of Kilkenny chess club. He was for a long period a student of Chess School Polimac. This is not the first time that a Chess School Polimac student has won the British Championship. Some years ago Robert White won the British U12 championship.

Other students of mine have also had excellent results this year. Eoin Minnock and Arvind Menon are the reigning All-Ireland U12 and U16 Champions; John Courtney is the highest-rated U16 player in Ireland; Poormina Menon and Sarah-Jane Hearne are the two best U18 female players in Ireland; and of course Ryan Griffiths is the Irish U19 Champion. Michael Tierney and Turlough Kelly are also very promising talents. All of these Kilkenny students are representing Ireland internationally.

Once again this year, we are holding a chess marathon in front of the City Hall, High Street, Kilkenny. The date is Saturday the 28th of August with all funds raised going to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. The Marathon will last 14 hours and all challengers are welcome to play a game for a small fee. This Marathon is generously supported by the Mayor, Mr. Martin Brett and the Kilkenny People and we are very grateful for the support of local businesses.

Chess School Polimac reopens in September. If you're interested in chess coaching at your school, contact me at at or +353861629415. See also www.chessschoolpolimac.com.