Exeter Chess Club:

For:	Fri. 14 ^th Jan. 2000

The attention of the chess world in early January is usually drawn to Hastings, the oldest established chess event in the world. First held in 1895, when the winner of a super-strong tournament was the rank outsider, the American Harry Nelson Pillsbury, Hastings has now taken place in 3 different centuries.

Running alongside the Premier Section has been the World Amateur Championship - "amateur" in this context meaning no players with a FIDE title or rating. The main local interest here was the achievement of Tiverton schoolboy, Nick Frost, in coming 1 ^st =, level on 7/9 pts with Sven Muhlenhaus (Germany) and V. Kachatkov (Belarus). Unfortunately for Nick, the title went to the German on tie-break, while he was presented with a bronze medal and the Harry Baines Trophy for the highest score by a UK player. However, he is hoping that the world chess ruling body will award him the title of FIDE Master, in recognition of his achievement.

Nick, just 16, is a member of the Tiverton Chess Club and a pupil at Exeter School, where he is studying 4 A levels in the hope of going on to university to read Law.

Bremridge Cup Rd. 3 results:

Tiverton 3 1/2 Exeter 2 1/2

Teignmmouth 1 Exmouth 5

The solution to the two Christmas problems were 1. Qf3, while the Pike/Howard composition was solved by 1. Nb5

Among those who correctly solved both problems were Ken Bloodworth, our former columnist, and John Dunleavy of Kingsbridge, who receives the book prize put up by Keverel Chess Books.

The solution to last week's problem was 1. Be4! Several readers sent in the correct solution to that as well, though this was not part of the competition. These included

R. I. Greenfield (Penzance) and