A MUSICAL about a Cold War-era chess tournament and love triangle, with music by ABBA's Benny and Björn, will be staged later this month.

Members of Walmsley Church AODS are hard at work rehearsing for Chess, being staged from April 27 to May 2.

The World Chess Championship between an American and a Russian provides the backdrop for romantic and political intrigue in the show.

It will be on at the Parish Hall Theatre, Christ Church, Blackburn Road, Egerton, with a cast of talented actors including Tristan Nixon as Frederick Trumper and Steve Benson as Anatoly Sergievsky.

Director Nora Howcroft said: "We have built a giant chess board which will go on the theatre floor, in front of the orchestra pit, so that the company will represent the chess pieces and move as Steve and Tristan are playing chess at a table on stage."

The story involves a politically-driven, Cold War-era chess tournament between two men — an American grandmaster and a Soviet grandmaster — and their fight over a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.

The action of the show takes place in the early 1980s, at the World Chess Championship in Merano, Italy, and a year later in Bangkok.

It is set within the context of a Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, during which both countries wanted to win international chess tournaments for propaganda purposes.

Although the protagonists were not intended to represent any specific individuals, the character of the American was loosely based on chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer, while elements of the story may have been inspired by the chess careers of Russian grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov.

The musical features lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of Swedish pop group ABBA.

Hit songs from the show include One Night In Bangkok, Anthem and the iconic I Know Him So Well.

The cast also features Walmsley Church AODS members — Adrienne Wormald as Florence Vassy, Julie Ogden as Martha De Courcey, Mike Taylor as Alexander Molokov, Vicki Wilson as Arbiter and Lindsay Farnworth as Svetlana Sergievskaya.

The musical director is Tom Bowes and the choreographer is Lara Crombie.

Chess will be on at the Parish Hall Theatre, Egerton, Bolton, from Monday, April 27 until Saturday, May 2.

Tickets are available from the box office manager, Christine Taylor, on 01204 305812 or via walmsleychurchaods.co.uk.