SIXTY of the top young chess talents in the country will be heading for North Yorkshire later this month to compete for one of the biggest prizes in the British game.

The Ampleforth Junior Masters, in its second year at the Catholic independent school, near Helmsley, offers a first prize worth almost £18,000 including a two-year scholarship to attend the school's sixth form as a boarder.

The tournament is an invitation event for the UK's top-ranked under-16 players, and in recognition of the quality of its entry and its rapidly established prestige, the winner will be awarded an automatic qualification for the 2002 British Chess Championship, to be held in Torquay.

Forty-nine boys and 11 girls will compete, taking part in six rounds of games over four days from October 25.

Director of junior chess at the British Chess Federation, Peter Turner, said: "This event, made possible by generous sponsorship from Ampleforth College, has proved a huge incentive to leading young players while giving them essential experience of top level competition."

Almost without exception the youngsters have already achieved county or international status and hold an impressive array of junior titles.

Two of the girls are reigning British champions and six of the youngsters have recently represented England in the European Youth Championships in Greece.