A 16-year-old schoolboy has become the youngest chess grandmaster in the UK. David Howell, from East Sussex, earned his place in the record books at an international chess competition in Sweden. The title of grandmaster is one of the highest rankings in chess to be awarded by the world chess organisation. David, who started playing chess at the age of five on a £1 set bought from a jumble sale, said, “This is something I’ve aspired to all my life.”

David became the youngest player to score against a world chess champion when he was 11. He has high hopes. “I’m the kind of person who lives for the passion of the game and of winning and I want to prove myself,” he said.