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The 101st British Chess Championships are taking place 19th to 30th July 2014 in Aberystwyth in West Wales. The event is open only to exempted or qualified players. There are a number of sections: Senior Championships; Major Open; Under 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16; Rapidplay Open, Weekenders, etc.
The official tournament poster
GM Simon Williams put a damper on Howell's early favoritism. He himself
had a seesaw tournament, alternating wins with losses, and ending on
6.5/11. One thing must be said, he was the most uncompromising of all
the grandmasters with only one draw in eleven rounds.
David Howell showed great grit with his comeback to share the title
Sharing top billing was the pre-tournament favorite: GM David Howell. After an unexpected slip in round four to GM Simon Williams, while Hawkins seemed to be taking the title by storm, the reigning British Champion never gave up. After 5.0/6 in the final stretch from rounds five to ten, he had finally moved within a half-point of the leader, but needed two things: for Hawkins needed to draw at best, and he himself needed to beat Mark Hebden, none of which was obvious. To his enormous credit, he defeated Hebden and Hawkins failed to win, so he tied with him for first, and they shared the title. This will be a heartwarming result for the upcoming Olympiad days later.
Both IM Jonathan Hawkins (left) and David Howell (right) were delighted with their result
Short video of the prize ceremony
IM Andrew Martin provided live commentary to the spectators and excellent videos of commented
games. He is also the author of many DVDs, from openings to the First Steps series.
In round nine, we are shown Williams-Hebden. Andrew Martin describes Simon
Williams as "one of the most exciting and daring grandmasters on the planet"
Watch the video to see more.
IM Yang Fan Zhou faces the Sicilian Dragon played by IM Richard Pert in round ten
Once the game between Hawkins had ended in a draw, all eyes turned to Howell-Hebden
| Rk | Name | Pts | Rtg | TPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Howell, David W L | 8.5 | 2650 | 2615 |
| 2 | IM Hawkins, Jonathan | 8.5 | 2516 | 2621 |
| 3 | GM Pert, Nicholas | 7.5 | 2564 | 2544 |
| 4 | GM Hebden, Mark L | 7.5 | 2554 | 2533 |
| 5 | GM Emms, John M | 7.5 | 2456 | 2476 |
| 6 | GM Arkell, Keith C | 7.5 | 2433 | 2448 |
| 7 | IM Pert, Richard G | 7.5 | 2430 | 2498 |
| 8 | Haria, Ravi | 7.5 | 2202 | 2295 |
| 9 | IM Fernandez, Daniel Howard | 7.0 | 2396 | 2507 |
| 10 | FM Storey, Charles H | 7.0 | 2241 | 2251 |
| 11 | IM Zhou, Yang-Fan | 6.5 | 2475 | 2325 |
| 12 | GM Williams, Simon K | 6.5 | 2462 | 2405 |
| 13 | GM Ward, Chris G | 6.5 | 2422 | 2412 |
| 14 | FM Tan, Justin | 6.5 | 2375 | 2333 |
| 15 | FM Jackson, James P | 6.5 | 2320 | 2354 |
Photos courtesy John Upham, Roger Bennett and the official tournament site
LinksThe 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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