A Barnet man was celebrating last week after scooping the British Mastermind title but it had nothing to do with the famous black chair.
Instead Vic Lennard, 45, of Grasvenor Avenue, High Barnet, won the Mensa-sponsored event in Birmingham based on the board game beloved of a generation of schoolchildren. The game is played by guessing the combination of four coloured pegs in a board in the least amount of time and requires skill and much practice, Mr Lennard said.
"I've been playing it since I was at school," explained Mr Lennard, who emerged victorious on December 1 after months of preliminary rounds.
Mr Lennard, who works for Golders Green-based charity Jewish Care, said: "The final (series) took just under 12 hours and I put in a fair amount of practice for it as there are a lot of strategies you can use. It is the same as chess. In fact you are probably working further ahead than if you were playing chess.
"The games tend to be relatively short and you tend to get the right answer in four or five goes but it is a hell of a lot of work."
Winning a trophy and a certificate Mr Lennard said he was more than satisfied with the hours of practice he put in. "It was nice to win the tournament and it gave me a really good feeling."
December 12, 2001 18:04
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