In September 2004 he took a break from his A-level studies at The Blue Coat School, Oldham to compete in the thirteenth Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International.

At the EU Individual Open Chess Championship held at Liverpool in 2006, he led the tournament after eight rounds and finished a very creditable (joint) second, a half point behind winner Nigel Short and level with Luke McShane among others.

Probably his best result to date however, was second place in the 2007 British Championship, narrowly losing his share of the lead in the final round.

In other rounds, he defeated both tournament victor Jacob Aagaard and previous champion Jonathan Rowson.

At the British Championship in Liverpool, he almost repeated his performance of the previous year, by taking a share of third place.