Budding queens of chess from across the country battled it out at the Welsh Junior Girls’ Championships hosted by a Monmouth prep school.

Inglefield House, Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls’ preparatory school, welcomed clever girls from all over Wales to go head to head in a tense battle of wits last week.

Among the 36 players were two pupils from HMSG and 11 from Inglefield House.

There were even five possible stars of the future from Agincourt School in the U8 category.

The girls played a full day of chess in various age categories, with Director of Women’s Chess in Wales, Olivia Smith, on hand for encouragement.

The double Wales international in chess praised the high standards during the event and drew particular attention to the intense competitiveness of several sections.

Girls from the Haberdashers’ family took five trophies between them on the day.

Kevin Thomas, chess coach at the school, said: “At U14, Stephanie du Toit was a worthy champion, while Emily-Rose Finch was fifth at U12.

“In the U11s, Asha Sparks took the third place trophy, just ahead of Amelia Phillips, Talullah Freeman and Elena Evans-Small.

“Lizzie Racz was our top player at U10, with Erlina Ainsworth close behind.

“The U9s saw Joana Anjos and Aneshka Walker both winning trophies in joint third, and well done too to Zoe Cripwell.

“The U8s’ third place trophy was claimed by Xanthe Harris, with early leader Niamh Dorman an agonising half a point behind.

“This section featured gutsy performances from Agincourt rookies Eloise Walker, Hannah Moore, Elizabeth Dale-Hickey, Matilda Urry and Thandi Katsande.

“We were hoping for some good results and to win five trophies was excellent.

“This is a terrific start for HMSG and Inglefield girls in the first important chess event of 2015.”

High-octane chess returns to Monmouth on the third weekend in March when the boys’ Welsh Junior Chess Championships 2015 will be hosted by The Grange.