AN ELEVEN year old boy from a Worcester school is the only student from the county to get through to the finals of a national chess competition.

Cameron Henry, 11, from Royal Grammar School Worcester is representing Worcestershire in the under 12's category in the Delancey UK Chess Challenge.

The chess ace, started his love for the game at age 7, after joining the chess club at school.

Lorraine Henry, Cameron's mother, said she's extremely proud of him.

She said: "My husband and I never played, so we were really surprised. It's his fifth year in the competition representing the county, it's such a big achievement".

Cameron, who is from Bewdley, is also the youngest member of the 175-year-old Kidderminster chess club.

John Pitt, headteacher at Royal Grammar School Worcester said: "Cameron has showcased tremendous skill and consistent achievements with his chess and is rightly rated as one of the best players in the UK in his age group.

"Everyone at RGS wishes him all the very best for the Terrafinal and I am sure he will do himself and the school proud."

The Delancey UK Chess Challenge first took place in 1996 and has since grown into the largest children’s chess tournament in the world. It is a multi-stage event with Megafinals (quarterfinals), Gigafinals (semifinals) and Terafinal (final).

This year, 50 children have reached the Terrafinal from all over the UK. The competition has worked remotely for the last two years due to the pandemic.

Mrs Henry said: "It's very strict, they monitor everything and watch you on screen. He's sometimes playing up to 8-9 hours, against the clock. He works really hard at it. He was trailing for England in January in 2020 – then covid struck and they couldn’t do the face to face."

Ahead of the final on September 4 and September 5, Cameron said: "I'm just going to try my best and do my county and school proud".