Congratulations and well played to the 2023 English and English Women’s Chess Champions – GM Mickey Adams and WGM Katarzyna Toma!

The English Championships and English Women’s Championship took place between May 26 and May 29, 2023, at the Holiday Inn Kenilworth-Warwick. Both competitions were 7-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control.

Michael Adams confirmed his status as the rating favourite and won the title in the open event, although,  it was not a walk in the park for him. Coming into the final round on 5.5/6 a full point ahead of IM Jonah Willow, IM Marcus Havey, GM Peter Wells, IM Matthew Wadsworth and Peter Finn, he needed just a draw to seal the deal.

However, his last-round opponent Jonah Willow was in a feisty mood and made the leader work hard. After the opponents traded several mistakes in a complicated middlegame Willow achieved a winning position but missed the decisive move, and this exciting battle ended in a draw by perpetual.

Jonah played 34.Rc4 and let Michael off the hook – 34…Qxe5 35.Qxf7+ Kh6 36.Rh4 Kg5 37.Rg4 Kh6 with a draw, whereas after 34.Nxf7! Qf5+ (all other continuations are even worse) 35.Qxf5 gxf5 36. Nxd6 White’s central pawns are unstoppable.

Meanwhile, Havey and Wadsworth scored victories and tied for second place, with the former claiming silver thanks to a slightly better Buchholz.

Final standings

Complete results

The women’s event was also a close race that came down to the wire. Neither player completed the competition unbeaten.

Again, the top seed WGM Katarzyna Toma did not disappoint as she came out on top with 5.5/7 after scoring a crucial final-round victory over the leader, WCM Zoe Varney, who was a half-point ahead.

Zoe Varney, WFM Audrey Kueh and Kamila Hryshchenko shared second place, with Varney and Kueh taking silver and bronze, respectively, by dint of a superior Buchholz.

Final standings

Complete results

Photo: English Chess Federation Facebook

The Chessable British Chess Championships held in various categories took place at the Riviera International Centre in Torquay from 8th to 21st August 2022. It was the 108th British Chess Championship in a series which has run almost unbroken since 1904, with Torquay having previously hosted the Championships on six occasions, most recently in 2019.

The Championship event, a 9-round Swiss tournament, saw a major sensation as the 16th-rated FM Harry Grieve scored a fantastic 7.5/9 and came out on top. Harry completed his final IM, first GM norm and picked up 59 rating points.

Photo: Brendan O’Gorman

The defending champion Nick Pert finished a half-point behind the champion and took silver; James Jackson tied for third place with David Eggleston but claimed bronze thanks to better tiebreaks. 

Final standings:

The women’s title goes to Lan Yao (pictured below) who netted 5/9;  Kata Toma is second (4.5/9); Sheila Jackson came third (3.5/9).

Photo: Brendan O’Gorman

Midhun P U emerged as the winner in Major Open; Paul Motwani lived up to his rating-favourite status in the Over 50 section and took the title; John Nunn was head and shoulders above the competition in the Over 65 section winning all seven games. 

Complete results on chess-results.com

Official website: britishchesschampionships.co.uk/

A new name was etched on the Grand Chess Tour trophy as Ding Liren was crowned the 2019 champion after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final. The Chinese player earned $150,000 for his efforts, bringing his winnings to a total of almost $300,000 for the entirety of the tour. Vachier-Lagrave consequently finished in second place and collected $100,000. Magnus Carlsen won his match against Levon Aronian, claiming the third qualifying spot to the 2020 tour and $60,000, while Aronian took home the remaining $40,000. The 2020 season will kick off in Bucharest, Romania in May.

Ding Liren vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 

The six-point lead going into the day gave Ding Liren a huge advantage, allowing him to clinch the title in the first two games. Vachier-Lagrave must have felt an enormous amount of pressure to score in the rapid games, choosing the risky Benoni with the black pieces in game one. Perhaps the lack of experience of playing those structures was the main culprit, but the Frenchman’s position went down in flames shortly after the opening stage. The eventual champion was under a bit of pressure in the second game with the black pieces but managed to hold without many difficulties. There was some consolation for Vachier-Lagrave, who scored 3.5/4 in the remaining blitz games. The win was a big confidence boost for Ding, who now believes that in his best shape he can compete with anyone. His next big event will be the Candidates Tournament, in Yekaterinburg, Russia, where he is one of the favorites to win and earn the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen’s crown. Vachier-Lagrave conceded graciously, telling Maurice that Ding played “amazing” in the second classical game and “struck when it counted and struck very hard.”

Magnus Carlsen vs Levon Aronian

Just as Ding, Magnus Carlsen also entered the day with a six-point advantage. He, too, was close to putting away his opponent when the unthinkable happened and he blundered a checkmate in a completely winning position. The World Champion couldn’t help but chuckle at the ludicrousness that had transpired at the board after resigning. The win in the second rapid game practically meant the end of the match, as Aronian would need to win the rest of the blitz games to tie the score while Carlsen only needed a draw. The World Champion achieved the desired result in the first blitz game, thus bringing the match to a conclusion. The final score in the blitz was 2-2. Carlsen has had a phenomenal year, specifically in the Grand Chess Tour, but felt that he was already in poor shape in London and felt that “the right two people played in the final.”

Photo: Lennart Ootes (Grand Chess Tour)

Official site

The 2019 Grand Chess Tour is nearing the end after another action-packed day in London. Levon Aronian was very close to equalizing the score but ultimately was unable to break Magnus Carlsen’s defense. Ding Liren, on the other hand, played a clean game to put away Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Both Carlsen and Ding will enter the final day with a 6 point lead, putting an enormous amount of pressure on their opponents to score in the rapid to collect as many points as possible. The winner of the tour will be decided tomorrow at the end of two rapid and four blitz games followed by tiebreaks if required. As a special treat, legendary former World Champion Garry Kasparov will be calling into the show to share his thoughts. It’s not a day to miss!

Results after the classical games

Ding Liren vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave: 1-0

After failing to deliver the decisive blow yesterday, Ding Liren proceeded more methodically in the final moments today. The commentators thought that Ding didn’t get any advantage out of the opening in the Symmetrical English, but that he simply played better than his opponent thereafter. The critical developments in the game happened on move 33, when the opening of the kingside made the g-file available for Ding, while he still kept control of the queenside and the center. While Vachier-Lagrave’s pieces were overcommitted on the queenside, the Chinese star was able to launch an unstoppable attack on the opposite wing by lifting his rook. The game ended with a beautiful sacrifice by Ding, who admitted to double-checking the line several times in order to avoid yesterday’s fiasco. Tomorrow, one of these two fine players will be crowned the 2019 Grand Chess Tour Champion.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave after Ding Liren’s making 48.Rg7! 

Levon Aronian vs Magnus Carlsen: ½ – ½ 

Magnus Carlsen ended the year without a single loss in classical chess after a miraculous save, extending his undefeated streak to 107 games. Trouble began for the World Champion right out of the opening when he felt compelled to sacrifice a pawn in order to muddy the waters. He gave up another pawn a few moves later to open the center and get at his opponent’s king, but could never claim enough compensation for the material deficit. The evaluation of the position was changing throughout the game as Aronian kept allowing his opponent back in the game. The final blunder occurred on move 43, when Aronian miscalculated a tactic, ultimately entering a queen ending which ended with a perpetual on move 82. Carlsen described the game as “objectively awful quality-wise”, but to his credit, he did find amazing resources to survive.

Photo: Grand Chess Tour

Official site

The players returned to the board after spending their day off at the Pro Biz Cup raising money for the UK charity Chess in Schools and Communities. After the opening phase, the commentators expected to see two victories. While Carlsen was able to put away his opponent, Vachier-Lagrave escaped by the skin of his teeth thanks to his resilient and resourceful defense. Aronian will have the white pieces tomorrow to try to overcome the 6 point deficit. The games will resume tomorrow 2 hours earlier, at 2 PM GMT/8 AM CST.

Results after first classical games

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Ding Liren: ½ – ½ 

Vachier-Lagrave miraculously weathered the storm in what looked like a completely lost position. Ding repeated the same line against the Ruy Lopez that he had played against Carlsen in 2017. The Frenchman misplayed the middlegame and found himself in an unpleasant position, with a bad knight against a superior bishop in a queen endgame. Vachier-Lagrave decided to give up a pawn in order to trade the minor pieces, but inadvertently entered a lost endgame where his opponent’s passed c-pawn was unstoppable. Ding’s king ran across the board in order to hide from his opponent’s checks and to support his passed pawn. The situation looked hopeless for the Frenchman, but at the critical moment on move 66, the Chinese star made the grave error of allowing his opponent to promote to a queen as well, thinking that he had a forced win. The unusual endgame with four queens on the board went on for 32 moves until Ding had to accept that the victory had slipped out of his hands, eventually settling for a perpetual. Vachier-Lagrave was very critical of his performace, calling it unworthy of a final match. Ding was disappointed but found some solace in his high-quality middlegame play. 

Magnus Carlsen vs Levon Aronian: 1-0

Carlsen returned to the board eager to recover from his loss against Vachier-Lagrave. The main culprit of Aronian’s downfall was his poor time management throughout the game. The World Champion maintained a small edge after getting the bishop pair but Aronian was in the game. The position blew up on move 32 when the Armenian sacrificed a pawn in order to activate his pieces. Unfortunately, he was already low on time and missed a key resource to fully equalize. After a few more inaccuracies by both sides, the players ended up in an opposite-colored bishop endgame where Aronian was down a pawn and already relying heavily on increment, making it practically impossible to hold. He conceded defeat after it became clear that another one of his pawns would inevitably fall. 

Photo: Grand Chess Tour

Official site

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ding Liren will meet in the finals after defeating Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian respectively. While Ding was dominant in his match, Vachier-Lagrave had to go all the way to tiebreaks to secure his spot. Ding and Vachier-Lagrave will be competing for the $150,000 first-place prize and the title of Grand Chess Tour Champion, while Carlsen and Aronian will battle it out for the third-place qualifying spot to the 2020 GCT in addition to a $60,000 prize. Tomorrow the players will take a break from the action to partake in the corporate day, where they will be paired with entrepreneurs in friendly games to raise money for the UK charity Chess in Schools and Communities. Action will resume on December 6.

Ding Liren vs Levon Aronian 

The Chinese player was completely dominant in his match, advancing to the finals with three blitz games to spare. Aronian was unable to deal with the complications arising from his opponent’s piece sacrifices in both rapid games, collapsing at the crucial moments. The two wins in the rapid gave Ding a 6 point lead, and he only needed 1 draw in the remaining 4 blitz games. He secured his spot in the finals by locking up the position in the first blitz game, forcing a draw and reaching 15 points. Aronian suffered two more losses but did manage to end the day with a win. The Armenian star felt “ashamed” about his play today, whereas Ding felt lucky to win the first game. 

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Magnus Carlsen

Unlike the smooth sailing by Ding, the match between Carlsen and Vachier-Lagrave was a complete roller coaster ride and was decided on the tiebreak. Carlsen later explained to Maurice that he felt sluggish and “not good enough in the critical moments.” After two tame rapid games, the World Champion escaped unscathed in the first blitz game only to go on to lose the next one. In his typical fashion, he bounced back immediately in the very next game with a win in a rook endgame. After a draw in the final blitz game, the match moved on to tiebreaks. The first tiebreak game was a wild affair with the evaluation of the position changing drastically several times. Carlsen had a crushing attack, but let the advantage slip with inaccurate play. After another blunder, he found himself in a difficult position, then ultimately in a lost knight endgame, which Vachier-Lagrave converted masterfully with seconds on his clock. The Frenchman sealed the deal with a draw in the second game. This marks the World Champion’s second tiebreak loss this year, a blemish on his otherwise flawless tiebreak record.

Photo: Grand Chess Tour

Official site

The finalists of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour will be determined in rapid and blitz as both classical games ended in a draw. The matches tomorrow will consist of two rapid and four blitz games, where a win in rapid is worth four points while a victory in blitz is equal to two points. Tomorrow promises to be an exciting day as faster time controls bring out the fireworks on the chessboard.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Magnus Carlsen: ½ – ½

Magnus Carlsen wanted to surprise his opponent in the opening again, opting for a rare line in the Open Spanish that he played in Zagreb GCT against Caruana earlier this year. Maxim Vachier-Lagrave decided to take a cautious route, probably keeping in mind the loss Aronian suffered against Mamedyarov at the 2018 Olympiad in the same line. The Frenchman had a better pawn structure but this advantage was offset by his misplaced minor piece. Although both opponents felt that the resources to continue the battle were petering out, they played it out until only the lone kings were left on the board.

9-year-old Amoako Selikem from Ghana makes the ceremonial first move in Vachier-Lagrave vs Carlsen

Ding Liren vs Levon Aronian: ½ – ½

Ding Liren escaped unscathed after finding himself in a worse position with the white pieces. An uncommon line in the Nimzo Indian Defense lead to a symmetrical position which the Chinese star thought would be better for him. However, he was unable to find a way to deal with the Bg4-pin and started playing “bad and unnatural” moves. Levon Aronian had a comfortable edge but still feeling unwell decided to end the day early with a repetition.

Photo: Grand Chess Tour

Official site