The British Chess Championships have started in Hull

The 110^th edition of the Championship

The English Chess Federation is the organiser of the 2024 British Championships, currently taking place at the Hull City Hall and the DoubleTree by Hilton in Hull City Centre. The main event is the 110^th edition of the British Chess Championship, a tournament that was organised for the first time in 1904.

With 86 participants, the Championship is a 9-round Swiss tournament, with rounds taking place daily from 27 July to 4 August (there are no rest days). The action kicks off at 14.30 local time for the first 8 rounds, while next Sunday's final round will begin 4½ hours earlier, at 10.00 local time.

The Keymer Variation - 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3

This video course features the ins-and-outs of the possible setups Black can choose. You’ll learn the key concepts and strategies needed to add this fantastic opening to your repertoire. An easy-to-learn and yet venomous weapon.

Four players rated 2600 or above are the clear favourites to take the title: David Howell, Michael Adams, Gawain Jones and Luke McShane. Out of the four, only McShane has not won the championship in the past. Jones is a 2-time champion, Howell is a 3-time champion, while Adams has won the event 8 times and is the defending champion. Adams is, in fact, one victory away from tying Henry Ernest Atkins' record of 9 wins - the great English amateur is best known for having achieved the record in only 11 attempts, from 1905 to 1925.

The women in the 86-player field are fighting for the title of British Women's Champion. Lan Yao, who won the last two editions, is the top seed among the women, followed by Elmira Mirzoeva and Katarzyna Toma. Bodhana Sivanandan, the 9-year-old prodigy who has been stunning the chess world the last few years, is also participating.

Bodhana Sivanandan | Photo: European Chess Union

Saturday's first round saw most rating favourites claiming full points. The huge exception was Adams, who was held to a 51-move draw by CM Thomas Villiers.

On board 8, Bodhana played black against other well-known youngster, Shreyas Royal, who won the game in 33 moves. At 15, Royal is looking to get his third GM norm in Hull. About a month ago, Royal crossed the 2500-rating mark in Tenerife.

Typical Mistakes by 1000-1600 Players

After the success of the Typical Mistakes videos aimed at higher rated players, I have decided to focus on mistakes that are made by players rated from 1000-1600.

On boards 2 and 3, both Howell and Jones grabbed rather quick wins with black. Jones' victory was particularly flashy - out of a Benko Gambit, he out-calculated his opponent, untitled Scottish representative Declan Shafi.

22...Ra3 is a killer, good-looking blow. There is little White can do against the threat of ...Nd4+, with a discovered attack against the queen.

There followed 23.Ng5 gxh6 24.Ne6 Nd4+

This is already mate-in-11 for Black. Resignation came three moves later.

Standings after round 1

...86 players

All games

Links

• Official website
• Michael Adams and Lan Yao win British Championships 2023
• Michael Adams: My most memorable game