Bewdley chess star makes national final
A bright Wyre Forest schoolboy is set to represent Worcestershire and his school next month in the final stages of a national chess competition.
Cameron Henry, from Bewdley, has qualified for the first time for the final stages of the national junior chess Terrafinal.
The 10-year-old, who attends Kings Hawford School in Worcester, qualified in 11th place out of 267 children in his age group during the last round.
He also became the school’s first ever pupil to qualify for the final stage – taking a step up after qualifying for the national Gigafinal stage during the past four years.
Cameron will play the Terrafinal in early September against other top ranked children from across the UK - with the tournament taking place online due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Jim Turner, headteacher at Kings Hawford said: “Cameron’s progress with his chess has been superb and we are so proud he has become the first ever pupil from the school to qualify for the national chess Terrafinal.
"He has qualified for the Gigafinal over the past four years which was also a huge achievement, but this is a step up.
“He continues to play well beyond his years and he has already done his school and Worcestershire proud.”
The UK Chess Challenge first took place in 1996 and has since grown into the largest children’s chess tournament in the world.
The event welcomes all-comers from beginners to National Champions and schools from across the country.
Cameron is also the youngest member of Kidderminster Chess Club and this season was invited to play for the club in league matches.
A keen footballer with Kidderminster Athletic Hawks who play in the MJPL League, Cameron was also set to captain his school chess team before the summer break but games were cancelled due to Covid-19 and social distancing issues.
