Perth chess wizard causes stir by coming second in tournament

A Perth chess wizard caused the shock of the tournament when he was runner-up at a regional championship.

Michael Roth, of Perth Chess Club, showed his mettle at the Tayside and Fife Chess Association’s (TAFCA) 2015 Individual Championship.

Demonstrating that he was not intent to be a mere pawn in the proceedings, he defeated a player ranked more than 400 points higher than him.

A chess rating system is used to calculate the estimated strength of each player, based on his or her performance versus other players.

Michael (with a 1,636 rating) defeated Ed Spencer (2,057).

At one point Michael had a forced draw but, instead, sacked a piece to go for the win.

Under the Harkness rating system, a player with a score of 2,000-2,199 is considered an expert.

Michael falls into the class B category, where players have a rating of 1,600-1,799.

Michael finished with 3.5 points out of five, losing in the final round to number one seed, Dr David Findlay, from Dundee Chess Club.