Porthmadog area's new chess club will hold its third and future meetings at a different venue, on another evening, and with an earlier start time.

Starting from Thursday, 16 May, this friendly and free club will hold its monthly meetings from 6pm-9pm at Porthmadog Library in Byw Yn Iach Glaslyn Leisure Centre.

Anyone from the area who is interested in playing chess is welcome - all ages and abilities, from those who've never played before, to beginners who know the basic rules, and those who would like to compete at league level.

Chess enthusiast and a club founder, Mike Leaver, said the group has moved from the Royal Sportsman Hotel to the library, and to an earlier start time, in order to attract even more families/children.

He said: “Whether you enjoy playing socially against real people or virtually against a computer, and whether you need to learn from scratch or prefer advanced tuition from experienced league players to progress your game, we aim to offer a friendly and informal atmosphere.

“Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult guardian, and we we are still asking anyone with a standard chess set to bring it along, in case we run short.”

Up to 15 enthusiasts attended the first two meetings, including two adults advanced enough to join Mike and fellow founder John Bowers in forming a team to play friendly matches against other clubs within an hour's drive of Porthmadog.

Typically these clubs have around 20 regular members. Of them, many simply prefer to play casually to make friends, though some want serious games against others.

For any more information, please call John Bowers on 01766 514396.