A BUDDING Kasparov has reached the national finals of a prestigious chess championship.

Nine-year-old David Fellows, from Worcester, qualified for the under-nines final of the UK Land Chest Challenge 2003 after winning five of his six matches in the area final.

Next month, he will come face-to-face with some of the finest chess players of his generation.

"I am a bit nervous at the moment, but I will be all right when I get there," said the pupil at Worcester's River School.

The UK Land Chest Challenge Terrafinal will be held at Keele University, Staffordshire, on Saturday and Sunday, July 12 and 13.