 Just a year later, playing in a telex match for Iceland against England, he drew as Black against Jonathan Mestel, an established master.Also in 1977, at Cagnes-sur-Mer, he won the World Under-17 Championship (ahead of other distinguished young talents, including Garry Kasparov), before becoming Icelandic champion on the first of three occasions (1977, 1982 and 1988).Shortly thereafter, he accepted an invitation to join the Botvinnik chess school.