Watford chess prodigy Jeff Tomy has been nominated for the prestigious British Malayali Young Talent Award.

The six-year-old Laurance Haines pupil will be part of the England Team for the World School Chess Championship in Greece in May.

Jeff represented England last year in the World School Chess Championship in Romania at the age of five.

He is competing against other talents in the award who have excelled in activities such as mountaineering and karate.

Jeff learned chess at the age of three and is now one of the leading young players of England.

Phil Ehr, director of the Junior Chess English Chess Federation, said: "Jeff Tomy is one of England’s most promising young chess players. His technical skills and tournament endurance are improving rapidly. Jeff’s opponents, young and old, know that when paired to play Jeff they are in for a challenge."

Tomy Joseph, Jeff’s dad, firmly believes that the positive skills acquired from chess has not only helped his son to improve his level of concentration and numerical ability but his school studies and personality.

Jeff is now undergoing intensive coaching from Narayanan Jyothilal, the wellknown chess trainer from the southindian state of Kerala. Jyothilal uses modern softwares, DVDs and classic chess books to help the young champion.

Jeff has now set his sights on the coveted Grandmaster title and has started preparing chess at least a couple of hours daily and five hours on weekends.

To vote for Jeff log on to https://docs.google.com/a/britishmalayali.co.uk/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dE9jUEZjSWozeU9YSUtPd25aU3ZhSmc6MQ