Furrowed brows in youth challenge to grandmaster

An air OF nervous anticipation as well as excitement pervaded Superquinn Shopping Centre in Ballinteer, Dublin, recently when 13 young chess players met by far their toughest opponent yet - the grandmaster Alexander Baburin.

The children, aged three to 16, are seated around a square table, enabling them to eye up the competition. A consummately Russian Baburin greets each competitor with a formal handshake and then it's down to business.

The grandmaster moves from one player to the next in quick succession, moving pawns, knights and queens with seeming ease. It's a serious matter for the children and each child contemplates his or her next move with the strained concentration and furrowed brow of a future professional.

Among the throng are two old hands - Annie Powell (13) and Richard Jones (16), the national junior champions of Wales.

Annie, who is visiting her grandparents, competed in the world championships in Spain recently. When she heard that Baburin would be taking part in the tournament in Ballinteer, she felt it would be a wonderful opportunity for a rematch.

The last time they clashed in a simultaneous event, the honours were even. But this draw does not seem to have gone to her head as she modestly says "I'm not that confident, I'll probably lose." Richard Jones seems to have a much more laid-back approach to the whole competition, taking the occasional snack between thoughts.

It takes all of 25 minutes before the first of the budding young chess-masters is knocked out, a respectable feat considering the opponent. One undaunted boy sets his chess board up again in the hope that he will get another chance at beating the grandmaster. But, it is not to be. Barburin sticks to the rules, playing each child only once.

By twelve o'clock the excited buzz has subsided as only the more serious contestants are left. Proud parents look on, hoping their child will be the one to outwit the grandmaster. The person behind the event is Frances Parnell, supervisor of the creche in the shopping centre. She holds chess classes for the children every Thursday night. Parnell says that chess teaches them to "focus" and "concentrate". In a world where the joystick and the keyboard afford rapid two-dimensional gratification, the slow progress of the chess pieces is a delightful 3-D rarity.