HE is only eight years old but a Ukrainian refugee staying in York has just beaten the city's best chess player - International Chess Master Richard Palliser - in a special match.

Maksym Kryshtafor, who is Ukraine’s under eight chess champion, is living with a York family with his mother after they fled the current war.

He was one of 20 of York's best junior players who took on Richard in a 20-board simultaneous chess match, said Ben Rich, who organised the match and is responsible for junior chess in York.

He said Richard was in his 30s and was one of the top players in the UK and probably York's strongest player.

He was also an International Master and the editor of Chess Magazine, the pre-eminent chess publication in the UK.

He said Maksym and Aaron Rich, 15, a Fulford School pupil, both beat Richard, while Adrian Lee, 16, of Bootham, managed a draw.

"Overall Richard defeated the York Juniors by a score of 18.5 - 2.5 as he played all the juniors (one twice) at the same time, a remarkable feat,"he said.

“After a few years in which junior chess in York was relatively moribund, thanks to the new weekly chess club, we are once again on the up, and becoming a real Yorkshire powerhouse.

"The addition of Maksym - whose victory against Richard Palliser shows huge potential - will challenge our existing cohort to raise their own standards still further to keep up.”

He said Maksym and Aaron were amongst six York players who qualified for this year’s Northern Chess Gigafinal, a national chess competition which attracts over 50,000 under-18 players every year.

"Maksym won the under-8 section and now qualifies for the national final in the autumn," he said. "Max Wrigley has also qualified for the national runners up event."

He said the youngsters had been able to benefit from coaching and social chess at York’s Junior Chess Club, which meets weekly at Guppy’s Enterprise Club on Nunnery Lane on Wednesday evenings.

"While the Junior club will restart in September, the senior club which is also open to all will continue to meet on a drop in basis on Wednesday at 7.30pm throughout the summer," he said.

"Meanwhile, the Junior club will be holding two summer Chess in the Park events in Rowntree’s Park on Sunday 31st July and Wednesday 17th August, both from 3-5pm. Entry is free and on a drop in basis for anyone under the age of 18 who would like a game."

*For further information about junior chess in York, contact Ben Rich at ben@benrich.co.uk