 He first came to the notice of the chess world for his phenomenal prowess as a junior, whilst at Hammersmith Chess Club in West London; he was London under-18 champion at 12 years of age and won the British Boys under-21 title aged just 14.

International Master and Grandmaster titles followed in 1983 and 1988 respectively.Tournament successes, either shared or outright, included second place Lloyds Bank Open 1986