‘Wonderful,’ says Hugh. ‘What’s his name?’

‘Who?’

‘Your granddad. What’s his name? Is he here? Maybe we could get a picture.’

Hugh holds his pen above the pad, waiting for my answer. But even if Granddad was here, he’d hate to have his picture taken. He doesn’t even open his curtains, so there’s no way he’d want to be on the front of a magazine.

‘No,’ I say. ‘My granddad’s not here. And I don’t think he’d like me to give you his name.’

‘That’s fine,’ says Hugh. ‘As long as we’ve got you and the trophy.’ Then he shakes my hand and says the article will be on the Chess Monthly website by the end of the day.

I take a deep breath as he walks away. Finally I’m on my own. For the last four hours I’ve been in a trance, like a dream. What have I done? What have I done?

‘You’ve won the National Schools Chess Championship. That is what you have done.’

I know, Granddad, I think, smiling. I know.

I’ve won.

I have won.

I’ve never won anything in my life, except for a minion with the claw machine in the games arcade at Swanage. I walk over to the table and pick up my trophy. I run my hand over the smooth metal, up the body, over the sharp edges of the cross on the king’s head. It can only be about 15 cm high and probably weighs the same as a big bar of chocolate, but that doesn’t matter.

I’d never have won it without Granddad. I’d never even have lifted a chess piece onto a square. I’d never even have got the pieces out of the box.

‘It’s a beautiful trophy.’

Yes, Granddad. It is.

When We Are Famous

Jake said I’m going to be famous. That we’re going to be famous, and there will be a street party in the square at the weekend. He kept on and on about it in the minibus on the way home. He said there’ll be tables and chairs on the grass by our tree and people will hang banners out of their bedroom windows that read: Well done, Felix, it’s good to have you home. And then there’s going to be a bus tour around the city, like City and Rovers do when they get promoted. And there’ll be a statue of me like the one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and people will come for miles just to see it and they’ll set up a giant chessboard by the docks.