British Championship: Royal catches up with Adams

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/9/2025 – Round seven of the British Chess Championship saw Michael Adams miss a winning chance against Daniel Fernandez, allowing 16-year-old Shreyas Royal to draw level with him on 5½ points. Royal was the only player among the leader's chasers to win, defeating Matthew Wadsworth in a well-played endgame. With two rounds remaining, a large chasing group sits just half a point behind, setting up key encounters in round eight at Liverpool's St George's Hall. | Photos: Official website
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A strange miss by Adams

The seventh round of the British Chess Championship, played on Friday at Liverpool's St George's Hall, saw Michael Adams miss an important opportunity to strengthen his position at the top of the table.

The eight-time champion obtained a promising position against Daniel Fernandez and appeared to be on course for victory. At a critical moment, however, he declined a rook exchange which would have led to a clearly winning endgame.

Here 48.Rxf6 wins since there is no defence for Black after 48...Kxf6 49.c4. Adams played 48.Bg4 instead, and from that point on, Fernandez defended accurately until the game ended in a draw. Adams left the playing hall visibly disappointed, aware that his path towards a possible ninth title had just become more complicated.

British Chess Championship 2025

The beautiful playing hall in Liverpool

This result opened the door for 16-year-old grandmaster Shreyas Royal to draw level on points. Royal, who began the day half a point behind, made the most of the opportunity by outplaying Matthew Wadsworth in an instructive endgame (see analysis by GM Karsten Müller below). In doing so, he became the only one of Adams' closest pursuers to win in round seven, as the rest of the chasing players were held to draws.

With two rounds remaining, Adams and Royal now share first place on 5½/7, half a point ahead of a large group of 13 players on 5/7.

One of those in the chasing pack is Grandmaster Stuart Conquest, the 2008 British Champion, who has been enjoying a successful return to Liverpool. In round seven, he neutralised the initiative of IM David Eggleston with the Black pieces, before gradually seizing the advantage. Accurate tactical play in the later stages secured him the full point.

In the upcoming round, both joint leaders will play with the black pieces – Adams will face defending champion Gawain Jones, while Royal will meet Conquest – a situation that could provide further chances for those trailing closely behind.

Wadsworth 0-1 Royal

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Shreyas Royal

Shreyas Royal during his round-five game against Michael Adams

Standings after round 7

Rk. Name TB1
1 Adams, Michael 5,5
2 Royal, Shreyas 5,5
3 Vitiugov, Nikita 5
4 Maroroa Jones, Gawain 5
5 Conquest, Stuart C 5
6 Ghasi, Ameet K 5
7 Fernandez, Daniel H 5
8 Roberson, Peter T 5
9 Harvey, Marcus R 5
10 Czopor, Maciej 5
11 Han, Yichen 5
12 Mahadevan, Siva 5
13 Pert, Richard G 5
14 Claridge-Hansen, William 5
15 Banerjee, Supratit 5
16 Wadsworth, Matthew J 4,5
17 Bazakutsa, Svyatoslav 4,5
18 Gordon, Stephen J 4,5
19 Willow, Jonah B 4,5
20 Makkar, Rajat 4,5
21 Zhou, Yang-Fan 4,5
22 Kanyamarala, Tarun 4,5
23 Waldhausen Gordon, Frederick 4,5
24 Flear, Glenn C 4,5
25 Vijayakumar, Rishi 4,5

...100 players

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.