8/6/2011 – It was a gripping final stage of the Darwin Strategic 98th British Championships. In round ten Nigel Short once again caught his main rival Michael Adams. In the final round both fell into some trouble with their games but managed to draw. This meant that there had to be a play-off for the title on Saturday, after the closing ceremony. Mickey Adams won it in the second game. Update.
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
The premiere chess database with over 11.7 million games
€229.90
The
98th Darwin Strategic British Championships took place in Ponds Forge, Sheffield,
from July 26th to August 5th 2011. The games were held as seven hour sessions:
100 minutes for 40 moves followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes
for the remaining moves with 30 seconds cumulative increment for each move starting
from first move. The Championship is also hosting events for seniors, U2000,
U1800, U1600, U1400, British U16, U14, U13, U12, U11, U10, U9, U8, the Major
Open, Five Day Open (a.m. and p.m.) Weekenders and Rapid Plays.
For most of the 98th British Championship it was a battle between the two top
seeds, Michael Adams and Nigel Short. Before round ten "Mickey" was
leading, but when he drew Nicholas Pert and Nigel beat Peter Wells the score
was even.
GM Nicholas Pert, rated 2555, drew Michael Adams in round ten
David Anderton, leader of the Seniors after nine rounds, chats with Championship
contender Nigel Short, before the start of round ten
We'll hold back on this one – you think of an appropriate caption
Addendum: here are some of the proposals sent in by
our readers:
"...then I sacricficed a pawn and got a huge lead in development"
(Thomas);
"The pies where this big when I was a lad in Bolton"
(Bryan Whitby);
"Yes, I saw it too. It's this big. We need to find a crocodile
hunter" (Volker Kraft);
"The size of the problems with FIDE is this big" (Paul Hopwood);
"I came this close to beating Mickey Adams in the playoff matches"
"I once caught a sea
bishop this size"; (David Scarian).
A sea bishop, the
inspiration for Nigel's narrative and gesture?
The stage was set for an exciting final round, with many different outcomes
possible. As it turned out both title contenders ran into serious problems and
at one time it looked as if both might lose (Nigel, it must be said, seemed
to have accepted an inferior position, Lasker style, to provoke his opponent
into over-reaching).
Top boards, spectators, players in the other championships in round eleven
Michael Adams vs IM Yang-Fan Zhou, GM Steven Gordon vs Nigel Short
The spectators: enthralled by the dramatic finish
Nigel Short tried to provoke errors by his opponent
The tie between the leaders, Michael Adams and Nigel Short, meant there would
be a play-off for the title: two rapid play games, at the rate of 20 minutes
for all moves plus ten minutes per move. In case of a tie then an Armageddon
game. The first game, in which Nigel had white, was drawn, the second was convincingly
won by Adams, who thus became the 2011 British Champion.
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the
chess server Playchess.com.
If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there
and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase
11 or any of our Fritz
compatible chess programs.
In this course, you will learn the foundations and key ideas of the Vienna Game and discover a variety of systems that make you extremely difficult to prepare for.
Tata Steel 2026 with analyses by Bluebaum, Giri, L'Ami, Woodward and many more. Opening videos by Kasimdzhanov, Marin and Zwirs. 10 exciting opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
In this course, Dutch Grandmaster Jan Werle presents a modern and practical repertoire in the French Advance Variation, focusing on the critical line 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3.
One of the major battlegrounds of the Queen’s Gambit Declined is the Catalan, and against it Zwirs chose an ambitious strategy: accept the pawn and hold onto it with …c6 and …b5, aiming for an unbalanced fight from the very start.
In almost every chess game there comes a moment when you just can’t go on without tactics. You must strike to not giving away the advantage you have worked for the whole game.
€39.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.
