Global audience for city chess tournament

Players to visit Dundee for 150th anniversary

Ten chess grandmasters will visit Dundee next month to take part in a prestigious tournament with a global audience.

The tournament has been organised by the enthusiasts from Dundee Chess Club and Castlehill Chess Club to mark the 150th anniversary of the city’s historic 1867 tournament.

The 1867 Dundee International Tournament brought Wilhelm Steinitz, then the world’s best chess player, to Dundee, where he competed against the best in a round-robin tournament.

A centenary event was held in 1967 and coordinator Jean Chalmers said organisers hope the 150th anniversary event will be “even bigger and better”.

The event will begin on July 14 and run until Sunday July 23.

Matches will be played in the Bonar Hall and will be streamed live on the internet so chess aficionados from around the world will be able to follow the action move by move.

The Scottish championships will also run alongside the anniversary tournament, the first time in 40 years they have taken place in Dundee.

Among the competing grandmasters will be Dr Colin McNab, who is originally from Dundee. The 56-year-old became Scotland’s second grand master in 1992.

Other notable players taking part include Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, the first woman to win the Scottish title. Another Scot will be Craig Pritchett from Glasgow.

There will also be grandmasters from Sweden, Iceland, England, Lithuania and the Czech Republic competing.

Picture: Kim Cessford. Keith Rose, left, and Jean Chalmers, of the 150th anniversary committee, with Chris van der Kuyl and Paddy Burns, of sponsors 4J Studios in Dundee, at Slessor Gardens.