MONMOUTH Junior Chess Club will re-start on the 21st January after the Christmas break.

Set up for the benefit of youngsters of Monmouth and the surrounding areas, it will take place on Wednesday evenings from 6–7pm at the Grange, next to Monmouth School Sports complex.

The club is run by County Master Kevin Thomas, who is Gwent Junior Chess Organiser.

"This term the children will be competing in the UK Chess Challenge 2015", said Mr Thomas.

"This competition is hugely popular with children and is firmly established as the biggest chess tournament in the world, with 75,000 children taking part.

"All Monmouth club members will win prizes, including badges, gold spots and mascots, and the top performers will proceed to the Wales Megafinal in Cardiff in May."

"It is a great place to make new friends, and each week the session is a mixture of learning and playing.

"We welcome children from Monmouth and from a wide radius of outlying villages – Whitchurch, Cross Ash, Llandogo and the Forest of Dean.

"The main requirement is enthusiasm and all members tend to have that in abundance!"

The club is geared towards the 6-11 (school years 2-6) age range but does have younger and older members. For more information, email [email protected]">[email protected]