This time last year, Suffolk chess prodigy Justin Tan was setting his sights on becoming an international master.
Now the Woodbridge School student is set to achieve that goal before sitting his A-levels.
Justin, 17, who arrived from Australia in late 2013 with the specific goal of attaining the title, recently competed in the Bunratty Classic, in Ireland, losing only to the tournament winner and gaining an overall score that qualified him for International Master (IM) status. He even beat his mentor, Adam Hunt, the school’s director of chess and himself an IM, who said: “I am delighted for Justin that he has achieved the IM title during his time at Woodbridge.
“He is one of the most talented students I have ever worked with and the aim now is to try and raise his level further with a view to achieving Grandmaster results in the near future.”
The award will be ratified in April and Justin should become an IM in May.
After completing his A-levels, Justin plans to have a gap year to concentrate on his chess, and then hopes to read economics at Edinburgh University.
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