Chess

The purchase of these boards is part of a sponsorship package of the Scottish Championships in July 2012.

The project is to have a strong field of at least 80 players which should rival the 2009 event in Edinburgh City Chambers. There is potential to extend the deal for three years with a possible bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Championships to tie in with Glasgow 2014.

Main Lothians Prizewinners: Open 1st D Payada (Castlehill), 4/5; Challengers 1st= A Birnie (Irvine), J. Doyle (Shettleston), 4/5; Major 1st= K Pannwitz (Inverness), K. Roy (Kinross), S. Phillips (Bishopbriggs), K. Aitchison (Edinburgh), 4/5; Minor 1st D McDonald (Giffnock), 4.5/5.

Kai Pannwitz, aged ten, is one of the youngest winners of an adult event in Scotland. His performance has seen his rating surge to second place in the all-time Scotland age charts. But he will have to hurry. The elite are racking up the GM title in their early teens. Every player in the world top ten was a GM before 20, including current world no 1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway), a GM at 13 and four months, and world no 5 Sergey Karjakin (Russia), who holds the record for earliest GM status aged 12 years and seven months.

Lothians rd 4, White: D Payada, Black: J Malkin. (See Diagram) 27 h4 (the internet spectators didn’t think White would fall for 27 Rxd5?? Qxf6!) 27...Re6 28 Rxd5 Rxf6 29 Rd8+ Qf8 30 exf6 Be8 31 Rxe8 1–0.