Howell and Gormally lead 2015 British Ch

by Sagar Shah
8/3/2015 – The 102nd British Championships are being held in the University of Warwick, Coventry from the 25th of July to 8th of August 2015. That's right, the tournament is in its 102nd edition! With a rich history and champions from Sultan Khan to Nigel Short, John Nunn, and more, a win here is to join that rarefied roster. Enjoy this midway report chock full of positions, games, and videos.

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Until 2003, the tournament was open to players of all the Commonwealth countries, however, after victories by GM R. B. Ramesh in 2002 followed by GM Abhijit Kunte in 2003, it was argued that the tournament was not serving the interests of the British players. Hence, from 2004 it was announced that only British and Irish players would be allowed to participate in the British Championships.

The campus of Warwick University where the British Championships are currently being held

The tournament is an eleven-round Swiss event with 75 participants including eleven grandmasters and three International Masters. The schedule of the tournament is excellent with one round every day and a rest day after six rounds on the 2nd of August.

The playing hall that hosts various events from the British Chess Festival

This edition has sparked interest because of the participation of David Howell who recently broke the 2700 rating barrier and is currently world number 33. He looks forward to defending his title for the third time in a row. After six rounds, two players are in joint lead with 5.5/6 – David Howell and Daniel Gormally.

With wins over strong players like Simon Williams, Richard Pert and John Emms, David Howell
is in the joint lead with 5.5/6

Daniel Gormally has been the only one to stop David Howell and
has demolished all his other opponents. By beating Chris Ward
and Jonathan Hawkins, he is having a great tournament with 5.5/6,
gaining 15 Elo points so far and a 2721 performance.

The fight between the two leaders was a topsy-turvy battle, and Howell was pushing throughout the game with his superior knight against Gormally’s bad bishop. The 2700+ player had several winning opportunities but could not convert them. Finally the game ended in a draw after a 120-move marathon in which Daniel defended with great tenacity. The funny thing here is that after 117 moves, Gormally finally gets his winning chance, albeit far from easy to see, but even with a second chance on move 119 he misses his opportunity. Theoretically, the final position still offers the winning shot, but since it also represented a three-fold repetition, the game was a draw.

[Event "102nd ch-GBR 2015"] [Site "Coventry ENG"] [Date "2015.07.29"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Howell, David W L"] [Black "Gormally, Daniel W"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E94"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2484"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "239"] [EventDate "2015.07.27"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O c6 $5 {More usual is the move Nc6 which leads to the main lines of the Mar Del Plata Variation.} 8. d5 Na6 9. Bg5 {Played in the style of Tigran Petrosian. Now Nc5 can be pushed back with b4 as the e4 pawn would not be hanging.} h6 10. Bh4 Bd7 (10... g5 {creates a hole on f5 square which might not be such a great idea.} 11. Bg3 Nc5 12. Nd2 a5 13. Re1 Bd7 14. Qc2 {followed by Nf1-e3 and White makes use of the f5 weakness. Although it might not be such a bad position for Black. }) 11. Nd2 c5 $6 {The knight on a6 looks a little silly now and Black is left without any King's Indian type like play.} (11... g5 12. Bg3 cxd5 13. cxd5 Rc8 $14 {is better for White but black has some play.}) 12. Kh1 {I wonder what was Howell's intention with this move. Because f2-f4 is definitely not such a great idea.} (12. a3 {preparing b4 could have been a stronger idea.}) 12... Qb6 13. Nb5 $6 (13. Rb1 $14) 13... Nc7 {Black is able to exchange pieces which will help him come out of his space crunch.} 14. a4 a5 (14... Nxb5 15. cxb5 ( 15. axb5 a6) 15... Qc7 16. Qc2 g5 $5 (16... a6 $5) 17. Bg3 Nxe4 $1 18. Qxe4 f5 19. Qc4 f4 $14 {Black regains his piece. White will be only slightly better thanks to his control of the e4 square.}) 15. Qc2 Na6 16. Ra3 $5 {A very interesting rook lift but the rook doesn't have any occupation on the kingside yet.} Nb4 17. Qb1 Nh7 18. Bg3 g5 (18... h5 $5 {With the idea of activating the bishop on h6 would have been better.}) (18... f5 $5 19. exf5 gxf5 20. f4 e4 21. Bh4 Kh8 {And once again Black has decent play.}) 19. Qd1 f5 $6 {Now the light squared weaknesses will be terribly felt.} 20. exf5 $1 Bxf5 21. Bg4 $1 Bg6 { Black has to retain the bishop but allowing the white bishop to e6 cannot be a pleasant choice.} 22. Qe2 Nf6 (22... Nc2 $6 23. Rb3 Qd8 24. Be6+ Kh8 25. Ne4 Nd4 26. Nxd4 cxd4 27. Rxb7 $18) 23. Bf3 $6 (23. Be6+ $1 Kh8 24. h4 $36) 23... Qd8 (23... Nc2 $1 {With the idea of rerouting the knight to d4 was better.} 24. Rb3 Qd8 $1 $11) 24. Ne4 Nxe4 25. Bxe4 Bxe4 26. Qxe4 $14 Qd7 27. Qe2 Rad8 28. Nc3 Qf5 29. Ne4 {Black's only problem is that the knight on b4 can be removed by the g3 bishop but the e4 knight will always remain untouched.} Qg6 30. Rc1 Rf5 31. Rf3 (31. f3 {followed by Be1 looked more natural.}) 31... Rdf8 32. Rxf5 Rxf5 33. h3 h5 34. f3 Bh6 35. Re1 Bf8 36. Bh2 Be7 37. g4 $5 {Fixing more pawns on dark squares but to some extent weakening his own king.} hxg4 38. hxg4 Rf7 39. Kg2 Rh7 40. Bg3 (40. Rh1 {was more accuarate.}) 40... Qh6 41. Kf2 Nc2 $1 { With this cute little tactic, the knight comes into the game.} 42. Rg1 (42. Qxc2 Qh2+ 43. Bxh2 Rxh2+ 44. Ke3 Rxc2 45. b3 Kg7 $11 {is similar to the game continuation but the Black rook is just too active.}) 42... Nd4 $11 {Black is no longer worse.} 43. Qd3 Rf7 44. Nd2 Kg7 45. Kg2 Qg6 46. Qxg6+ Kxg6 47. Rc1 Rh7 48. Rc3 b6 49. Ne4 Bf8 50. Re3 Nc2 $6 {it was unnecessary to reroute the knight to b4. It was sitting pretty on d4.} (50... Be7 {was better.}) 51. Rb3 Nb4 52. Be1 Be7 53. Bd2 Rh8 54. Ra3 Nc2 55. Rd3 Nb4 56. Bxb4 $1 {The right exchange. Now the remaining minor pieces on the board are completely in White's favour.} axb4 57. Rd1 Ra8 58. Ra1 Bf8 59. Kf2 Be7 60. Kg2 Bf8 61. b3 Be7 62. Rh1 {Taking the open h-file.} Rf8 63. Kf2 Ra8 64. Ke3 {White's position is just so easy to play. Black is passive and has no counterplay. While White dances on the light squares.} Re8 65. Ng3 e4 {Gormally realises that he must seek some activity and so, sacrifices a pawn. But it is not going to be sufficient.} 66. fxe4 (66. Nf5 $5 exf3 67. Rh6+ Kf7 68. Kxf3 $18 {Here White is going to now take on e7 followed by picking off the d6 pawn.}) 66... Bf6 67. Nf5 Rd8 68. Rh6+ Kf7 69. Rh7+ Kg6 70. Rh6+ {David hesitates a bit as he doesn't want to give Black activity down the h-file. The engine who fears nothing gives the following winning variation.} (70. Rb7 Rh8 71. Rxb6 Rh3+ 72. Ke2 Rxb3 73. Rxd6 Kf7 74. Re6 Rb2+ 75. Kd3 Rb3+ 76. Kc2 Rb2+ 77. Kc1 Bc3 78. Nd6+ Kf8 79. Nb5 $18 {White is in control.}) 70... Kf7 71. Rh5 Kg6 72. Kf3 Be5 73. Ne7+ Kf6 74. Rh7 Re8 75. Nf5 Rd8 76. Kg2 Bf4 77. Rh6+ Kf7 78. Rh7+ Kg6 79. Rg7+ Kf6 80. Re7 Be5 {From this point onwards both players keep shuffling their pieces. Gormally defends with great tenacity and makes Howell's task as difficult as possible.} (80... Rh8 81. Re6+ Kf7 82. Nxd6+ $18) 81. Re6+ Kf7 82. Kf3 Rd7 83. Rh6 Rd8 84. Ke2 Bf4 85. Kd3 Be5 86. Rh5 Kf6 87. Ne3 Kg6 88. Nf5 Kf6 89. Kd2 Bf4+ 90. Ke2 Be5 91. Rh1 Bf4 92. Kf2 Be5 93. Rh7 Kg6 94. Rh6+ Kf7 95. Kg2 Bf4 96. Rh7+ Kf6 97. Kg1 Be5 98. Kf1 Bf4 99. Re7 Be5 100. Ke1 Bf4 101. Kd1 Be5 102. Rb7 {Finally White decides enough is enough and goes for it. But he hasn't chosen the most ideal moment.} Bf4 (102... Rh8 103. Rxb6 Rh1+ 104. Ke2 Rh2+ 105. Kf3 Rh3+ 106. Kg2 Rxb3 107. Nxd6 Bxd6 108. Rxd6+ Ke5 $132) 103. Rxb6 Ke5 104. a5 Kxe4 (104... Rh8 $5 {White should take a draw here as if he starts to get too ambitious he would be in trouble.} 105. a6 Rh1+ 106. Kc2 Rh2+ 107. Kd1 Rh1+ 108. Ke2 Rh2+ 109. Kf3 Rh3+ 110. Kg2 Rxb3 111. Nxd6 Rb2+ 112. Kf3 Rb3+ 113. Ke2 Rb2+ 114. Kd1 Kd4 {White has to be careful here as the Black pieces are menacingly placed.}) 105. Ke2 $1 Be5 (105... Rh8 106. Nxd6+ Bxd6 107. Rxd6 Rh2+ 108. Kf1 $18) 106. a6 Kf4 107. a7 Rh8 108. Rb8 Rh2+ 109. Kd1 Rh1+ 110. Kc2 Rh2+ 111. Kc1 Rh1+ 112. Kc2 Rh2+ 113. Kd1 Rh1+ 114. Ke2 Rh2+ 115. Kf1 $6 (115. Ke1 Rh1+ $2 116. Kf2 $1 Rh2+ 117. Kg1 $18) 115... Kf3 $1 {Now White is in trouble. His pawn is queening on the other end but his king has been surrounded. Still he remains within the realms of a draw.} 116. Kg1 $4 (116. Nh4+ $1 gxh4 117. Rf8+ Ke3 118. a8=Q h3 $1 {There are no checks here and White has to play} 119. Kg1 $1 Rg2+ 120. Kh1 (120. Kf1 $2 Rd2 $1 $19) 120... Rh2+ 121. Kg1 Rg2+ 122. Kh1 Rh2+ $11) 116... Rg2+ 117. Kf1 Rh2 {Gormally isn't able to find the win here. He had less time on his clock. But even with more time, the win is quite subtle and not all that easy to find.} ({Black misses the chance to strike a blow to his opponent with} 117... Rc2 $3 {that owuld have been winning (see analysis on move 119). Tragically, he will have two chances but misses both of them.}) 118. Kg1 Rg2+ 119. Kf1 Rh2 {The way to win was the following.} (119... Rc2 $3 {[#]} 120. Nh4+ (120. Ke1 Rc1+ 121. Kd2 Bf4+ 122. Ne3 Bxe3+ 123. Kd3 Rc3# {is a nice geometric motif.}) 120... gxh4 121. Rf8+ Ke3 122. a8=Q h3 $3 {A beautiful end. With an extra queen also, White can do absolutely nothing against Rc1#.}) (119... Rb2 120. Nh4+ (120. Ke1 {also leads to a draw.}) 120... gxh4 121. Rf8+ Ke3 122. a8=Q {and now Black must make a draw with perpetual checks. If he gets too greedy with} h3 $2 {then he will lose after} 123. Qa1 $1 {That's why you should have your rook on c2 and not b2 as then a1 would be controlled.}) 120. Kg1 {Even in this last position Black has an interesting win with} (120. Kg1 Rb2 $3 121. Ne3 Bh2+ $3 122. Kh1 Bf4 $1 123. Nf1 Rf2 124. Kg1 Rg2+ 125. Kh1 Kf2 126. Ng3 Rxg3 127. a8=Q Rg1# {This Bh2 followed by Nf4 was not at all an easy maneuvre to find.}) 1/2-1/2

Gormally’s tweet after the game

David has already played 1.Nf3, 1.d4 and 1.c4 at the event. Only 1.e4 remains to be tried!

Here’s an example that showcases what a cool and calm calculator David is:

Charles Storey – David Howell, (round two)

White's move last was Bd5xe6. The rook on c8 is hanging. What would you play as Black?

[Event "102nd ch-GBR 2015"] [Site "Coventry ENG"] [Date "2015.07.28"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Storey, Charles H"] [Black "Howell, David W L"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2245"] [BlackElo "2698"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2015.07.27"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bh5 5. exd5 cxd5 6. g4 Bg6 7. Ne5 Nc6 8. Nxg6 hxg6 9. Bg2 e6 10. d4 Bd6 11. Be3 Rc8 12. Qd3 Nf6 13. Qb5 a6 14. Qe2 Qb6 15. O-O Qxb2 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Bxd5 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Qxd4 19. Bxe6 {[#]} Qf4 $3 { As if absolutely nothing is threatened, David moves his queen to f4. It's mate in one but White has his move. He can pick up the rook with check and then defend with f3. What does black have up his sleeve after that?} (19... fxe6 $2 20. Qxe6+ Kd8 (20... Kf8 21. Qxc8+ $18) 21. Rad1 $18) (19... O-O $6 20. Bxc8 $14) 20. Bd5+ {Charles decide to give this check but now he is quickly mated.} ({The most critical line is} 20. Bxc8+ Kf8 21. f3 {The only move which prevents mate.} (21. Rfd1 Qh2+ 22. Kf1 Qh1#) 21... Rxh3 $3 {It's extremely difficult to see this calm move. The rook and queen are menacingly placed but it is the bishop who is going to deliver the coup de grace with a check on c5. It's impossible to stop that check. Here are some lines:} 22. Qf2 {This prevents Bc5 but now it will be a mate down the h-file.} (22. Rf2 Qg3+ 23. Rg2 Bc5+ 24. Kf1 Rh1+ 25. Rg1 Qxg1#) (22. Rfd1 Bc5+ 23. Kf1 Rh1+ 24. Kg2 Qh2#) 22... Rg3+ $1 23. Kh1 (23. Kh2 Qh6#) 23... Qh6+ 24. Qh2 Rg1+ $1 25. Rxg1 Qxh2# {A pretty little finish.}) 20... Kf8 21. Rfd1 Rxh3 {The threat is Rh1 Bxh1 Qh2 followed by Qxh1#.} 22. Qe4 Qf6 $1 (22... Qh2+ 23. Kf1 Rg3 $1 {is something only computer can find.} 24. fxg3 Rxc2 $19) 23. Re1 Bc5 24. Kg2 Qxf2+ 25. Kxh3 Bd6 {A very nice finish. Mate on g3 and h2 both cannot be averted.} 0-1

Charles Storey at the start of the game waiting for Howell to turn up

IM Andrew Martin analyses the game Charles Storey – David Howell in his Game of the Day Video

If David Howell is calculating sharply and accurately, his co-leader Daniel Gormally is not far behind. Here is one position which shows his brilliant creativity and control over the geometrical motifs on the chess board.

Chris Ward – Daniel Gormally, (round five)

The position is about equal but Gormally stirs up complications in
fantastic fashion. Can you find the move Black played?

[Event "102nd ch-GBR 2015"] [Site "Coventry ENG"] [Date "2015.07.31"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Ward, Chris G"] [Black "Gormally, Daniel W"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2423"] [BlackElo "2484"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2015.07.27"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 dxe4 7. fxe4 e5 8. d5 O-O 9. Nf3 Bg4 10. Be2 Bc5 11. Bg5 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 a5 13. Na4 Nbd7 14. Qd2 h6 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Qxe3 {[#] There are many good moves for Black in this position like b6 or Qe7 but Gormally finds the a very active continuation.} b5 $1 17. cxb5 {So why exactly did Black give up a pawn?} (17. Nc3 bxc4 $15) 17... Nxd5 $1 18. Qf2 (18. exd5 Qh4+ $1 19. g3 Qxa4 {Would you have ever imagined that the knight on a4 which did not have any piece or pawn defending it was in danger of getting captured?!!} 20. Be2 Qc2 21. O-O $11 {The position is just equal.}) 18... N5b6 (18... Nf4 $1 19. Rd1 Qe7 $15) 19. Nxb6 $6 (19. Nc5 {was much more logical.}) 19... cxb6 {The black knight gets a beautiful outpost on c5 now.} 20. O-O Nc5 21. Rfd1 Qe7 22. Rd5 Nb3 23. Rf1 (23. Rad1 Nd4 $17) 23... Nd4 {The knight clearly dominates the bishop.} 24. Qg3 f6 25. Bg4 Rad8 26. Rxd8 Rxd8 27. Rc1 Qf7 28. a4 Qa2 29. Qc3 Qxa4 {Black has won a pawn and White has hardly any compensation for it.} 30. Qc7 Rf8 31. Qxb6 Qb3 32. Ra1 Qe3+ 33. Kh1 Qxe4 34. Be6+ Kh7 35. Qd6 Nxe6 36. Qxe6 Rd8 $19 37. Qc6 Qe2 38. h3 Rd4 39. b6 Qxb2 40. Rxa5 Rd1+ 41. Kh2 Qf2 42. Qf3 Qg1+ 43. Kg3 Rf1 44. Qd3+ f5 45. Rxe5 Qf2+ 46. Kh2 Qf4+ 47. Qg3 Rh1+ 48. Kxh1 Qxg3 49. Rb5 f4 50. Rf5 Kg6 51. b7 Qe1+ 52. Kh2 Qb4 {Daniel Gormally not only showed a good feel for the tactics but also conducted the technical phase of the game pretty well.} 0-1

IM Andrew Martin’s analysis of the game Chris Ward - Daniel Gormally in his Game of the Day video

Nick Pert is in third place and is the only player on 5.0/6

Nicholas Pert – Mark Hebden, (round six)

The position is roughly equal. The black knight is under attack on b4 and
has three squares at his disposal – a6, c2 and a2. a6 looks incorrect as
after Bxa6, black’s pawn structure is ruined. What should Black play?

Nc2 was definitely the best choice. But Hebden moved his knight to a2 attacking the c3 pawn and after Pert’s simple Ne2, the black knight was trapped on the edge of the board! With Ra1 coming up, Hebden found nothing better to do than to throw in the towel.

The six-time British Rapid play Champion Mark Hebden had a bad day at the office in the sixth
round. He is currently on 4.0/6.

Jonthan Hawkins, also known as the Hawk, is considered as one of the most solid British players

He was joint winner at the British Championships in 2014 along with David Howell. This year he has suffered a defeat at the hands of Daniel Gormally in the sixth round but with a score of 4.5/6 he has every chance to make a successful comeback.  Hawkins is also the author of a very nice book named Amateur to IM where he discusses the methods that had helped him to become an International Master.

The endgame virtuoso Keith Arkell is currently on 4.5/6

All those who know Simon Williams know what a complete
hacker he is at the chess board. Simon is also the author of
numerous Fritztrainer DVDs for ChessBase. His most beloved
DVD is the one entitled “Most Amazing Moves”.

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Williams likes to practice what he preaches. In this tournament when he was up against the top seed David Howell in the fourth round, instead of playing solidly, he stayed true to his style and tried to create an “amazing attack” out of nothing. He sacrificed so many pieces that in the end was left with absolutely nothing!

[Event "102nd ch-GBR 2015"] [Site "Coventry ENG"] [Date "2015.07.30"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Williams, Simon K"] [Black "Howell, David W L"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2426"] [BlackElo "2698"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "2015.07.27"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 b6 5. g3 Bb7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O a5 8. Nb1 {is a rarely played move but has been played by strong players like Sergey Kasparov, Thejkumar, Perunovic and Ushenina.} (8. Qc2 {is the normal move and White has pretty decent results.}) 8... Be7 9. Re1 (9. Nc3 {would have been the normal way to continue.}) 9... Qc8 {The position is a normal one and majority of the players would choose moves like Nc3 or Bf4. But not Simon! He goes all out!} 10. d5 $5 exd5 11. cxd5 Bxd5 12. e4 $1 {When you have said 'A' you must say 'B'.} Bxe4 {Howell takes up the challenge and picks up the second pawn. But now he has a bishop on e7 that is hanging and White can create some dangerous threats.} (12... Bb7 {was the safer choice.}) 13. Rxe4 $6 (13. Nc3 $1 {was the normal developing move.} d5 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Ng5 Na6 16. Nxe4 $14 { And here White has excellent compensation for the missing pawn. He has the two powerful bishops and the one on g2 is extremely strong.}) 13... Nxe4 14. Qd5 { That was White's point. A double attack on a8 and e4.} Nxg3 $1 {You can bank on Howell to find the best continuation in this complicated position.} 15. hxg3 (15. Qxa8 $2 Ne2+ 16. Kf1 Nxc1 $17) 15... c6 16. Qh5 d5 {Black has three pawns and a rook for White's two minor pieces. That's quite a bit of material. White's only hope is to put these minor pieces to good use in the middlegame and launch an attack.} 17. Bh3 Qb7 18. Bf5 $6 (18. Nc3 {A normal developing move like Nc3 is not in the spirit of the position if you are Simon Williams.}) 18... g6 19. Qh6 Re8 (19... gxf5 $2 20. Ng5 Bxg5 21. Qxg5+ Kh8 22. Qf6+ Kg8 23. Bh6 {with a forced mate.}) 20. Ng5 $2 (20. Bc2 {would have kept White in the game but Black is in the driver's seat after} Bf8 21. Qh4 Bg7 $17 {with a rock solid kingside.}) 20... Bxg5 $1 21. Bxg5 f6 $1 {A very strong defensive idea clearing the second rank for the black queen to join in the defence.} 22. Bxg6 (22. Bxf6 Qf7 $1 $19 {was the neat point.} (22... gxf5 $2 23. Qg5+ Kf8 24. Qh6+ Kg8 $11)) 22... Re1+ $1 23. Kg2 fxg5 24. Nd2 $5 {In any case White is lost. Why not throw some more wood into the fire?} (24. Bf5 Qg7 25. Qh5 Na6 $19 { Black has co-ordinated himself and the game is over.}) 24... Rxa1 25. Bf5 Na6 26. Nf3 Qg7 27. Qxc6 Rf8 {An attempt at creating a brilliance which misfired.} 0-1

Five rounds remain at the British Championships 2015. Will Howell successfully defend his title for the third time in a row or will Gormally maintain his excellent form and win the British Championship for the first time in his career?

IM Andrew Martin (right) with IM Ravikumar Vaidyanathan doing the live commentary for the
event. You can follow the live commentary on the Youtube channel of English Chess Federation.

Andrew Martin's game of the day videos

 

A demolition job: Hawkins – Wager

 

A classic match between youth and experience: Golding - Arkell

 

Two old friends and rivals from Leicester slug it out: Flear - Hebden

Pictures from the official website

Standings after six rounds

Rk
SNo
Ti.
Name
Rtg
Pts
1 1 GM Howell David W L 2698 5.5
  6 GM Gormally Daniel W 2484 5.5
3 2 GM Pert Nicholas 2562 5.0
4 3 GM Hawkins Jonathan 2554 4.5
  4 GM Arkell Keith C 2502 4.5
  7 GM Emms John M 2460 4.5
  8 GM Flear Glenn C 2450 4.5
  9 IM Pert Richard G 2440 4.5
  12 GM Summerscale Aaron P 2416 4.5
  30   Hill Alistair 2159 4.5
11 5 GM Hebden Mark L 2500 4.0
  10 GM Williams Simon K 2426 4.0
  11 GM Ward Chris G 2423 4.0
  14 IM Cooper John G 2313 4.0
  15 FM Batchelor Peter J 2304 4.0

Click for complete standings


Links

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 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.


Sagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.

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