Stage set for Jubilee chess challenge

John Cooper, the top ranked player on the region, will take part in the challenge at Napoleons Casino and Restaurant in Hull on Wednesday, January 11, from 6pm.

The event is being organised by city-based company Studio Anne Carlton as part of its celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The firm is carving out its own place in history by producing a commemorative chess set to mark the jubilee, which is being made exclusively under licence following an agreement with St George’s Chapel at Windsor and the Lord Chamberlain’s Office.

Three of the players will receive one of the sets, as well as a cash prize from the venue.

Mr Cooper, 48, from South Cave, only dropped two points out of 20 when he took part in a similar event at Hull Chess Club last summer.

He said: “There were 20 players organised in a circle, each playing one gamer. I walked round in the middle and played all 20 games at once, so I did quite well but I felt I should have done better.”

Up to 16 players at a time will take part in simultaneous matches against Mr Cooper.

He said: “I’m sure I will know some of them because they are being recruited through local chess clubs, but hopefully there will be some new people. There will be some good players because Hull has always been quite a centre for chess in Yorkshire.”

The hand-painted pieces on the commemorative sets are expertly sculpted in England and marked with the Queen’s Cypher.

They include the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in their Garter Ceremony robes, while the bishop is the Dean of Windsor, the Rt Rev David Conner, and the pawns are choristers.

Anyone wanting to take part can email Studio Anne Carlton’s managing director, Michael Lee, at [email protected].