Howell sets World Record at the Mind Sports Olympiad!

1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5 a6
4 Ba4 Nf6
5 d3 b5
6 Bb3 Be7
7 0-0 0-0
8 Nbd2 d6
9 c3 Na5
10 Bc2 c5
11 Re1 Re8
12 Nf1 Bf8
13 Ng3 g6
14 Bg5 Bg7
15 Qd2 Bb7
16 h4 h5
17 Rad1 Nc6
18 a3 Rc8
19 Bb1 Na5
20 Ba2 c4
21 d4 exd4
22 cxd4 Qb6

23 d5 Ng4
24 Nd4 Ne5
25 Bb1 Nb3
26 Nxb3 cxb3
27 Be3 Qd8
28 Bg5 Qb6
29 Qe3 Qxe3
30 Rxe3 Nc4
31 Rxb3 Nxb2
32 Rc1 Rxc1+
33 Bxc1 Nc4
34 Bd3 Bxd5
35 exd5 Re1+
36 Kh2 Rxc1
37 Ne4 Ne5
38 Be2 Nd7
39 g3 Be5
40 Kg2 Nc5
41 Nxc5 Rxc5
42 Rd3 Rc3
43 Kf3 Rxd3+
44 Bxd3 f5

45 Ke2 Kf7
46 Kf3 Ke7
47 Ke2 Kf7
48 Kf3 Bb2
49 a4 bxa4
50 Bxa6 Kf6
51 Ke2 Ke5
52 Bc4 Kd4
53 Ba2 Kc3
54 Kd1 Ba3
55 Ke2 Bc1
56 Kd1 Kb2
57 Bc4 Bh6
58 Ke2 a3
59 Kd3 a2
60 Bxa2 Kxa2
61 Kc4 Bd2
62 Kb5 Be1
63 Kc6 Bxf2
64 Kxd6 Bxg3+
65 Ke6 Bxh4
66 d6 f4 White resigns

Coverage by IM Malcolm Pein, who writes for the

Electronic Telegraph

The Mind Sports Olympiad, at the Olympia Conference Centre in West London, inspired one of Britain's schoolboy chess prodigies to new heights yesterday as an age world record was shattered. David Howell, aged just eight, from Seaford in East Sussex became the youngest player ever to defeat a Grandmaster when he stunned John Nunn, a former British champion, ranked in the world's top 100 and a winner of several gold medals for the England team.

Howell's win came in the first round of the Blitz tournament. Blitz chess is a super-fast version of the cerebral game where the players have to complete all their moves in five minutes or lose by time forfeit. At the MSO the players were given an extra three seconds per move to help them avoid blundering, an innovation backed by the former American world champion Bobby Fischer.

Nunn shook hands with the youngster after the game but looked shocked and walked off, obviously angry with himself. He did recover and won his next five games. Howell, seemed just as stunned as the Grandmaster. "I can't believe it", he said afterwards and went off with his mother Angeline to try and reconstruct the game from memory. Possibly in shock he lost his next two games before recovering to 3/6.

Howell's victory smashed the record held by another English prodigy Murugan Thiruchelvam, from New Malden in Surrey, who defeated Londoner GM Jonathan Levitt earlier this year aged ten years and three months. Murugan responded by turning in a superb performance at the MSO Masters a nine round 'classical chess' event and turned in the best ever tournament perforance by a ten year old to score his seventh world record - he scored 4.5/9 in exalted company.

It capped a wonderful summer for Howell just as he prepares to go back to St Andrews School, Eastbourne. Howell has just clinched a sponsorship deal with Gameplayer.com, an online games network who recently floated successfully on the stock market. Backed by Gameplayer, Howell recently had a great success at the World Open in Philadelphia, the world's biggest chess event, where he came 7th out of 264 players in his section, mainly adults.

Howell then went on to Scarborough for the Smith & Williamson British Championships where he captured the British Under nine and ten titles. The youngster also found time to compete in an adult speed chess event at Scarborough where he defeated Britain's top woman chess player Harriet Hunt. Howell's sponsorship will enable him to receive coaching from top English expert International Master Andrew Kinsman and former British champion Grandmaster Chris Ward.

David's father Martin, a doctor who taught his son the basics of the game at age 5 and a half and found himself losing shortly afterwards, took him to Eastbourne Chess Club where he came to the attention of local experts. He then rapidly progressed through the ranks of Sussex junior chess and is still a member of six clubs in his home county.

Mr Howell said David hoped to break another record and become the youngest player ever to compete in the British Championship at Millfield School next August. Next week he travels to Litohoro near Athens for the European Under ten championships. He described him as "a normal eight year old who plays football, likes reading Tin-Tin and Asterix, watches videos and despite the distractions of chess performs well academically. His ambitions are just to become as good a chess player as he can be. We hope he will reach the top of international chess."