Chess champion stalked woman he met on dating app

MARRIED MAN JAILED AFTER CAMPAIGN OF THREATS TO VICTIM

- By KENNY PARKER

A CHESS champion stalked a woman and threatened to smear her as a prostitute after she refused to rekindle an affair they began via a 'sugar daddies' dating site, a court heard.

Married Paul Keevil, 55, had been gifting her money, but resorted to 'effectively blackmail' when she began a relationship with another man, the court was told. Over a five-month period, obsessed Keevil, who's won UK chess tournaments and coached the game, vowed to publicly slur her unless she got back with him. He even sued her for £5,000 for the return of the cash, telling her she would face jail for fraud.

In one message Keevil told the victim: "The best thing you can do right now is say ok and that means sleeping with each other (willingly), it means flirting with each other and it means nice messages and emojis. And yes it means telling a few people we're together. If you do that, any threats will go."

Keevil, the court heard, also watched the homes of both the woman and her mother. He followed her new boyfriend and took pictures of his car. He also sent the woman thousands of menacing messages.