THE grandmaster defeated by an eight-year-old chess prodigy admitted yesterday that he had not expected to be "beaten by a kid." John Nunn, who was as stonished as the rest of the chess world at his defeat in a tournament on Sunday by David Howell - who became the youngest person to beat a grandmaster - also had a message for his conqueror: "If I play you again, you will have much tougher time."

Dr Nunn, one of the world’s leading authorities and a former British champion, resigned after being forced into a hopeless position by the junior during an official tournament at the Mind Sports Olympiad at Olympia in West London. "I broke the golden rule in chess: never underestimate your opponent," Dr Nunn said. "You don’t really think you are going to be beaten by a kid. But after a bad experience like this one, you don’t think he’s a little kid any more." But David’s victory was no flash in the pan, according to experts who have analysed the game. What distinguished the win was partly the illustrious reputation of his victim, but also the hard-fought nature of the match. David played the opening perfectly and achieved equal chances. On move 34 came the dramatic moment when he outwitted his opponent to snatch a pawn. The game was played at blitz speed, with both sides having only five minutes to complete all their moves. Afterwards, Dr Nunn shook hands with David, turned on his heels and abruptly left the room. "I wouldn’t say I left in a huff. I didn’t want to talk to anybody because I had another game in five minutes. I wanted to regain my equilibrium. But I’m afraid I lost the next four." He added: "Any loss in a blitz game is not a matter of great moment. When you’re going to make moves in two seconds, you’re going to make blunders. OK, the boy played well, but in a blitz game anything can happen." David, British under-nine and under-ten chess champion, said yesterday: "I think he was maybe a bit embarrassed. He played far too defensively. He blocked the game up, and I got better."

Speaking at his home in Seaford, East Sussex, David, who wants to become a professional player, said: "My chess hero is Garry Kasparov. He beat me in an Internet match quite badly. I don’t really want to play him again. But I would quite like to play Nigel Short [Britain’s No l]. I think I have a chance against him." Martin Howell, 48, taught his son the basics of chess three years ago after buying a board for £1 at a jumble sale. Within two hours the boy was winning. He gained a scholarship to St Andrew’s School, Eastbourne, last year and has just achieved mostly As in his end of year examinations. His mother, Angeline, 42, said: "He simply loves chess. It’s just fun for him."