'I've lost count of how many chess grandmasters I've beaten'

Frederick Waldhausen Gordon won the British Rapidplay Championship last month [BBC]

Frederick Waldhausen Gordon is in the middle of revising for his National 5 exams.

But ask the 15-year-old how many chess grandmasters he has beaten, and he claims he does not keep count.

The teenager, from Edinburgh, defeated one of the world's top 100 players in the final of the British Rapidplay Championship to claim the title last month - becoming the first Scottish player to do so.

He is now gearing up to represent the Scottish senior team at the Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan later this year.

However, there is a business studies exam on 24 April for the George Heriot's School pupil to navigate first.

"I just want to get better and just see what happens," he said.

"I have my exams soon, obviously, so I just want to see where it takes me."

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Frederick is ranked 1,037th in the world by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

BBC Scotland spoke to him in 2021, shortly after he had defeated Croatian grandmaster Bogdan Lalic at the age of 10.

He is now ranked as a FIDE master and the organisation's council is considering whether to promote him to international master.

At the Rapidplay Championship in Peterborough Gawain Mororoa Jones, who is ranked more than 950 places ahead of Frederick, was the latest grandmaster to be beaten by the teenager.

He said he "never thought about winning" the tournament on the journey down.

"I thought I was doing very well at the beginning, it was a very steady game," Frederick said.

"I just wanted to keep calm, but on the final move, I knew I was winning and there was nothing else he could do."

He added: "I don't know how many grandmasters I have beaten now.

"I try not to count them to be honest because I want to keep on getting better and some point to become a grandmaster and at that point, you need to beat other grandmasters."

Frederick is set to represent Scotland at the Chess Olympiad in September [BBC]

Rapidplay chess differs from the classical variety in the length of matches and the amount of time players are granted between moves.

It means they are more instinctive, with players at an increased risk of missteps due to the time pressure and games less likely to end in a tie.

"I like the fast chess a lot more," Frederick said.

"If I play classical against someone it is much harder to beat them than a rapid one.

"But it is also much easier to lose, so it is more interesting."

Sports stars driving chess interest

Chess is having something of a resurgence in interest among younger players, particularly thanks to the influence of elite athletes.

Carlos Alcaraz, the world's number one ranked tennis player and Victor Wembanyama, of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs are avid players of the game.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland announced an investment in the FIDE-backed Total Chess World Championship Tour alongside grandmaster Magnus Carlsen just last month.

It has also benefited from funding in England, where chancellor Rachel Reeves, herself a former junior champion, previously announced a £1.5m pot to help "identify, support and elevate" players to compete at a global level.

But while the English team will go the Olympiad in Samarkand this September on the back of government funding, Chess Scotland are relying on a crowdfunder.

In an unassuming tenement block on Alva Street, the Edinburgh Chess Club has welcomed the best Scottish players for over 200 years.

There is no sign on the door to signify it is one of the world's oldest continuously active clubs and a neighbour's bike partially blocks the stairwell.

Inside the flat on the first floor, every crevice is stuffed with literature on the game, while the main room has about a dozen tables set up for play.

Its president, Craig Thomson, said Scotland had punched above its weight in previous years.

However, he said future generations of players needed more support to help them realise their potential.

"This club is 200 years old, we could do with some new carpet," he said.

Craig Thomson said chess in Scotland needed more funding to support players [BBC]

"Scotland is not the centre of chess, we're a very small chess country, but Frederick's success shows what is possible here.

"All activities that are community-based, or sport-based, there are limited funds. Chess struggles, certainly in Scotland, but that has been put right a little in England recently."

Craig added: "We're lucky enough to have some fantastic junior players, but everything around it, it's all voluntary."