A BUDDING young chess player from York has met the World Chess Champion and made a ceremonial first move against him.

Molly Bridel, from Clifton, was one of a group of chess players from St Wilfrid’s RC Primary School who went to the London Chess Classic, the UK’s top chess event.

She got to meet World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and make a ceremonial first move against him, on behalf of French no 1 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

Meanwhile, Molly’s school teammate, Grace, also nine, won a game against another child, playing on the same board as Magnus.

St Wilfrid’s is one of 1,000 schools across the country which have chess lessons as part of their curriculum, thanks to educational charity Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC). Molly and Grace started chess when CSC Yorkshire Coordinator, Dan Staples, started teaching it at St Wilfrid’s and have won medals and represented the county at chess.