YOUNG players from the Swindon area dominated the regional round of this year's UK Chess Challenge, winning nearly half of the 20 age group titles being contested.

Almost 300 young qualifiers from schools in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Avon descended on Swindon's Headlands School for the North Wessex Megafinal on Saturday, vying for the top titles and the chance to progress to the national round to be held at Sheffield University in the summer. Five boys and five girls from the local area won their events, four of them with maximum points.

Robbie Dams, from Commonweal School won all six of his games to take the title of under-13 supremo, and Lewis Martin from Westlea Primary also won every game to become the top under-10.

Two girls, Nicola Thomas, from Ridgeway School and Shivano Jobanputra from Lawn, also scored 100 per cent to become under-12 and under-11 suprema respectively.

Six more players completed the local roll of honour. Charlotte Wood (Wroughton) dropped only one point to become under-10 suprema and Kirsty Lafferty (Ridgeway) and Edith Glennie (Common-weal) each scored four out of six to become under-13 and under-14 suprema respectively.

Adam Wiltshire (Lethbridge) and Richard Webb (Warneford) took the Under 11 and Under 14 Boys titles with five out of six each and Thomas Cooper (Dauntseys) took the under 15 title with four out of six.

Local runners-up who also qualify for the Gigafinal in Sheffield are Luke Armstrong 14, (Dauntseys); Jack Cleeves, nine, (Lawn), Alex Cooper 11 (Dauntsey Aided); Nathaniel Garner, 11, (Lethbridge); Aidan Glennie, 12 (Commonweal); Paul Grosvenor, 11 (Lethbridge); Sam Lawson 13, (Warneford); Aedan Mansfield seven (Lawn); James Moore 14 (Ridgeway); Emma-Louise Parker 10 (Wroughton); Mark Pepper 12 (Warnford); Oliver Pool 11 (Lethbridge); Ben Smith 11 (Lawn)l Sarah Thomas 12 (Ridgeway); Paul Walden (Sherston).

, fresh from his qualification for the England Squad last month,