A FAMOUS face visited a Hereford pub this week.

Chess grandmaster Keith Arkell went to the Herdsman in Widemarsh Street for a special event, in which he played simultaneously against 37 local people.

Hereford Times: Chess grandmaster Keith Arkell at the HerdsmanChess grandmaster Keith Arkell at the Herdsman (Image: Lee Davis)

Hereford Chess Club's tournament director Lee Davis said: "Chess grandmaster Keith Arkell played at Hereford on Wednesday (March 13) in a mammoth five-hour playing session in the function room at the Herdsman Public House. The event was organised by Hereford Chess Club and featured players from Leominster, Malvern, Worcester and Abergavenny, as well as members from the Hereford club and Hereford Cathedral School.

"On the night his youngest opponent was eight and his oldest was 86. Three players from Hereford and one from Worcester proved victorious on the night and can now tell their friends and family of the day they beat a grandmaster at chess.

"Hereford Chess Club meets every Wednesday from 7.15pm at the Herdsman Public House. Players of all ages and experience are welcome."

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Arkell has had success in England, Europe and world chess championships, and is from Birmingham. He has been playing chess since the age of 13, and established himself as a famous face in the chess world when he won the English championship in 2008.

Recently, the Herdsman has been the talk of Hereford because of a brand new mural that has been painted on the building as part of a council initiative to bring public art to the city.

The "cow and calf" mural is the work of spray-paint artist Curtis Hylton, and celebrates Herefordshire's farming heritage.