Prize for chess master

A CHESS grandmaster from Shaw has finished runner-up in the British Championships.


Stephen Gordon (25) narrowly missed out on first place after going head-to-head with the top-seeded Yorkshireman Gawain Jones. He received a prize of £3,765.

The pair were level after the scheduled final round of the 99th championships, held in North Shields, and were forced into a play-off.

Stephen has previously won the British under-21 title four times and was European Union under-21 champion in 2006.

He began playing at six, at first against his father and brother and later as a member of Oldham’s 3Cs chss club. He turned professional after graduating from Birmingham University with a degree in maths and business.

“Chess is a game of mini puzzles,” he said. “You have to anticipate what your opponent will do and react accordingly. I’m quite logically minded and enjoy solving puzzles — so I picked it up okay.”


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