Two young brothers have shown off their chess skills on the international stage by competing in the World Youth Championships.

Frankie Badacsonyi, 16, and his brother Stanley, who’s just 13, are the pride of their school in Muswell Hill and the toast of their family and neighbours in East Finchley.

The pair have just returned from representing England in the city of Batumi in Georgia.

Frankie had a ‘mixed’ tournament, while Stanley finished sixth in the rapid play section.

Stanley recorded several impressive wins, most noticeably beating young International Master Artem Uskov.  

“I was feeling really good when I beat the top seed,” he said. “It put me on board 1 for the next game, but I ended up losing on ‘time’ which ultimately cost me.” 

Chess organisers wrote to Fortismere School in Muswell Hill to ask for the brothers having time off to represent the country and take part in the event, which was bringing 450 participants together from 35 countries. The letter cited Stanley as “England’s best quick-play player” in his age group and Frankie as second-best for his age. 

The boys completed all their classwork assignments at home during lockdown, with spare time to improve their chess skills. They spent “countless hours” online playing games and solving tactic puzzles. It paid off when competitive over-the-board chess returned after lockdown, brushing aside strong club players and then beating several grandmasters.   

Their love of chess started at Muswell Hill’s Coldfall Primary School.

Their dad, Andy Badacsonyi, said: “We can still easily remember the early days at the school chess club. We probably should have known something was up when Stanley completed 20,000 games of rapid, blitz and bullet chess during the first Covid lockdown.”

The brothers compete at next month’s British Championships in Leicester. Frankie pits his wits against adults in the highest section, having won last year’s under-16 championship. Stanley is in the major section to take his quick-play form into the classical format, known as slow-play.   

They have played at events all over the UK as well as in Ireland, Italy and Greece. The boys' mum and dad take turns as ‘chess parent’ with a huge commitment in time and money, as sponsorship is only available for a few elite players.