BRADFORD was filled with chess lovers from Grandmasters to complete novices as the second annual CHESStival took over City Park on Saturday.

Hundreds of people attended to check out the fun, which featured the chance to play on three giant chess sets, coaching with international players, and a battle between Bradford players and a 'Rest of the World' team for the Marsha Singh Trophy.

Players also had the chance to pit their wits against chess Grandmasters, who took on up to 20 players at the same time, played rapid games with a five minute time limit, and one, Nigel Davies, even challenged teams of players to games on one of the giant boards while blindfolded.

David Barlow, from South Bradford Chess Club, said the event, organised by the Bradford & District Chess Association and Bradford Council, was part of a varied programme to encourage people to come down to the city centre and enjoy it in lots of different ways.

"The main thing is just to promote the game," he said. "We obviously love it, and we just want more people to play.

"There's been lots of different levels of chess, from Grandmasters to people who are just beginning and wanting to learn the moves.

"It's fun, but in many other countries, children play chess as a matter of course in schools, as research has shown it improves social skills and other qualities like planning and time-management that are useful in the world of work."

The event also featured music and children's arts and craft activities to give the afternoon a family feel, and Sue Maroroa, a Women's International Master player, said the festival was great for both the public and the chess community.

"When some people see a chess board, it conjures up memories from their childhood or school days, and it's good to see so many people playing here today in such a public domain," she said.

"Chess is quite a mentally-challenging game, but it does appeal to lots of people, and anyone can play."

Ihor Lewyk, from Bradford Chess Club, said a lot of new members had joined chess leagues on the back of last year's inaugural event.

"We're the only clubs in the UK who seem to do this type of event, so it's unique in that sense," he said.

"We've actually got someone here from the North-East today getting some pointers on how we've organised this so they can maybe run something similar up there.

"We're encouraging kids, who love having a go with the giant chess sets, to play, and we've also had past members who have come along today and now want to get back into the game, which will really help us and boost chess in Bradford."

For more information on where to play chess across the Bradford district, visit www.bradfordchess.co.uk.