Thalia Holmes (Class of 2023) has been playing chess for a long time - since she was four years old! She went on to play with Newport Chess Club and Wolverhampton Chess club, before having a break for a few years. Thalia has been studying History at the University of Chester and offers Chess coaching and runs a Chess club for young people in Chester. 

In April, Thalia competed in the BBC programme - Chess Masters: The Endgame - under the name "The Tactician". She breezed through the preliminary rounds which included memory challenges and puzzles set by Chess Grandmaster David Howell to reach the final, where she eventually outsmarted 63-year-old Richie Kelly.