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University of Warwick to host British Chess Championships

Chess at the University of Warwick 1970The University of Warwick will be hosting the British Chess Championships which take place from Saturday 25th July to Saturday 8th August. This is the second time that the University has hosted the championships, the first occasion having been back in 1970.

Many of the UK’s leading chess players will be competing in the main event, including defending champion Grandmaster David Howell, one of the world’s top 50 players. Play will take place in the Rootes Building and there will be free entry for spectators who are very welcome to come and watch.

The University will be represented in the main event by Paul Lam, a member of staff in the Postgraduate Admissions Service and former England junior chess international, who qualified by winning the Coventry Individual Chess Championship.

Paul also runs the Coventry Chess Academy, a thriving social enterprise established with the support of the University, which provides chess tuition for primary school children. Three children from Eversfield, Coppice (Solihull) and Crackley Hall (Kenilworth) primary schools who attend the academy, have qualified for the Junior Championship in their age category.

Paul had the following to say on the upcoming event:

‘It will be an honour to represent Coventry and the University on home ground against the UK’s top chess players. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to compete in an event of this calibre that will be literally around the corner from where I work. I am delighted that members of the Coventry Chess Academy will also be competing in the junior sections of the Championship. The event will be a fantastic showcase for their talents, our city and university.’

PR 162 22/7/15

Notes:

Further information on the British Chess Championships and the Coventry Chess Academy can be found at http://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/2015/ and https://coventrychessacademy.wordpress.com/.

Alex Buxton

Communications Manager, University of Warwick

Tel: +44 (0)2476 150423

Mob: +44 (0)7876 218166

Email: a.buxton.1@warwick.ac.uk