It has just been announced that the fight to keep CM Shreyas Royal in the country has come to an end and, thankfully, the Home Office has accepted he should stay.

Battersea Chess Club would like to echo what Shreyas has said below and thank everyone who has made that possible.

Shreyas is a very nice, down-to-earth young man who has a big future ahead of him on the world stage hopefully representing England.

We firmly believe he will do us proud. We wish him every success going forward. In 10 years’ time we hope he’ll be a household name as England’s first world champion.

Shreyas’s father Jitendra Singh told The Guardian: “We are very happy and Shreyas is very happy. He jumped up on the sofa when he heard the news.

“I want to thank all those who helped and supported us … I would also like to thank the Home Office and the home secretary who considered our case.”

Dominic Lawson, the ECF president, said: “We re delighted that our efforts to persuade the government to recognise Shreyas Royal’s exceptional talents have borne fruit.”