Dorset Chess Players versus Grandmaster

Twenty competent Dorset chess players will simultaneously play Raymond Keene, a Chess Grandmaster (GM), at the Mind Your Head Showcase, which is to be held at Kingston Maurward College on the afternoon of Sunday 12^th August. Four of the twenty places have already been allocated to the winning team of a chess competition played after our launch last August.

Grandmaster Ray Keene, OBE, is one of the world’s most influential figures in the chess universe, bringing many notable chess events to London. He is also the author of 140 chess books, which is a world record. Keene rose to prominence in the chess scene in the early seventies. He won the British Chess Championship at Blackpool in 1971. At that time the UK had no GMs, and its best known player was the highly respected Jonathan Penrose (who famously beat Mikhail Tal in 1960). Keene was the first British player to achieve a GM result, so playing against him is a great opportunity.

“We are looking for mainly people over 50, but not exclusively. It is a unique prospect to play against a Grandmaster of this calibre” said Malcolm Steevens, Secretary of Dorset Chess Association. “Anyone wishing to apply should contact me for an entry form as soon as possible. If over subscribed, we may have to run a competition before August to select the final contestants.”

There is an entry fee of £25/player to help cover the costs of hosting the event.  A special chess board is being created at the Verne Prison as a prize.

If you would like to play chess against Ray Keene, then contact Malcolm Steevens on 01305 781225 or email: malcatmerit@aol.com for an entry form. Anyone interested in chess generally is welcome to be a spectator and sample the taster sessions being run.