THE Bermuda Chess Championship started on Tuesday but it is still not too late to join in and see if you are the best chess player in Bermuda. This week my spotlight is on Sami Lill (pictured), winner of the recent Eric Kemper Memorial Tournament. <$>

It was a few weeks ago that I gave you the up-to-date results with Bobby Miller in the lead with 4|0xbd| points and still two rounds to go.

However, that same week Lill won his match over Miller and he also won his last match in round seven with me, a victory that gave him the Memorial Tournament title.

For Lill, who is currently working as creative art director for a local advertising agency, chess is just another piece of art. In the past year and a half he has won 90 per cent of his games; out of 23 tournaments, he had 19 wins.

Skilful Lill, born to a Swedish mother and an Estonian father, came to Bermuda in 2004. It was at the chess tables on Harbour Nights that I met Lill.

Shortly after that, he joined the local chess club. He was so good that he was asked to join the Olympiad team and in Turin, Italy in 2006 he represented Bermuda.

There he won most of his games — indeed enough to become a FIDE Candidate Master. That is just one of the steps in the chess world to being a Grandmaster.

His skills in art earned him praise and awards in London, France, United States and in Bermuda. One of the newest art galleries in Bermuda is the Old Elliott School in Devonshire.

There Lill and Meredith Andrews presented a show, a mixture of Lill’s cartoon art and some award-winning photography by Andrews. The show is on now from 10.30 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays until July 8. Or phone 504-3469 for an appointment.

Here is the game of the week, with Lill playing White and Miller playing Black.

Miller’s queen is under attack in diagram 1 and the c6 pawn cannot capture the knight. After the queen moves, Lill then keeps up his attack in diagram 2, but this time the attack is on the rook. And it’s so hard to move that knight from d6 square.

In diagram 3 Lill is breaking down Miller’s defence with the rook’s capture and the king is doing the work the queen should be doing. In diagram 4, after Miller makes his 27th move to try to free his non-working queen, it’s checkmate. The artist has arrived.

Sami Lill: White

Bobby Miller: Black

The Eric Kemper Memorial>

1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. f4 e6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd5 6. c4 Ne7 7. Bd3 d5 8. Nc3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c6 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Be3 Nd7 12. Bf2 Nb6 13. Bb3 Ned5 14. Qd2 f6 15. Bh4 Qc7 16. Rac1 fxe5 17. fxe5 Rf5 18. Nb5 Qd7 19. Nd6 Rf4 20. Bg5 Rf8 21. Nh4 Ne7 22. Bh6 Nbd5 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Rxf8 Kxf8 25. Qh6+ Kg8 26. g4 Nc7 27. Rf1 Ned5 28. Rf8