Nine-year-old Rosa Mapp from Bunscoill Rhumsaa has won at the top board of the island’s primary school chess congress.

Hosted by Scoill Vallajeelt in Douglas, the awards were given out by International Master Dietmar Kolbus, who nominated Marcus Creer from Kewaige as best young player of the tournament.

The competition, whose trophy has been awarded since the 70s, involved eight teams from seven primary schools across the island.

‘Team B’ from Kewaigue won the overall prize.

Rosa’s father David explained how Rosa first got interested in chess during the first lockdown, having made her way through a lot of board games.

‘I’m not really a player, but I taught her the rules and have been trying to learn the theory as we go along while we try and find a teacher for her,’ David said.

He added: ‘And there’s big opportunities for girls, international master Kolbus explained how something like only ten percent of professional players are women, and in the top 1,000 it’s one percent, and none in the top 100’.

David told us that Rosa practices with a website called chesskid.com, which includes lessons from the likes of the Woman Fide Master.

She is also a part of Ramsey Chess Club which meets on a Thursday evening in the town’s courthouse, and goes to two chess clubs a week at Bunscoill Rhumsaa, which David has helped to set up.

He added that Rosa’s little brother Ted (six) came in to cover board 3 after a player was sick at the last minute.

‘He was playing his Minecraft video game in his pyjamas when I told him he needed to get his uniform on and come play,’ said David.

Asked if the primary school players were starting to use strategies at that level, David replied: ‘They are.

‘The quality of the competition at that tournament is amazing, especially from the other kids who have proper chess players for teachers.

‘She had to work really hard, I’ve never seen her play as well as she did on that day.

‘The opponents were using deep strategy.’

He continued: ‘You saw a lot of trick openings, like one known as “Scholar’s mate” -– two or three move checkmates.

‘They call them “sharp openings”, extremely high risk openings but if your opponents aren’t prepared for it you can win in seconds.’

The congress was sponsored by Onchan Rotary Club, as it has been for years.

Organiser Nick George, a teacher at Scoill Vallajeelt, explained that winners tend to be older than nine (Rosa’s age) and that the ‘quality of matches’ was very good this year.

The event is adjudicated by members of the Isle of Man Chess Association, whose connections arranged for the international master to come along and speak.