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Malcolm Pein, the organizer of the London Chess Classic, confessed that he “couldn’t have asked for more” from the thirteenth edition of the now traditional tournament. Besides English legend Michael Adams clinching the title and English rising star Shreyas Royal collecting his second GM norm at 14 years of age, the tournament was one of the most entertaining classical-chess events of the year.
While a lot of the attention throughout the round-robin went to the race for the Candidates, 52-year-old Adams quietly showcased his class to get a plus-three, undefeated score that granted him outright victory. The man from Truro beat Amin Tabatabaei, Mateusz Bartel and Jules Moussard on his way to what he described as “probably my best result ever”.
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He was a child prodigy and he is surrounded by legends. In his best times he was considered to be unbeatable and by many he was reckoned to be the greatest chess talent of all time: Jose Raul Capablanca, born 1888 in Havana.
Adams explained that his biggest successes came when he was in his prime as a player, while this triumph, obtained at 52 years of age, feels entirely different. To get the title, he outscored the likes of Gukesh and Hans Niemann, two of the strongest and most ambitious juniors in the world. Not to mention the ever-dangerous Amin Tabatabaei and Nikita Vitiugov.
A few of the many professional achievements of Adams’ include:
Fittingly, Adams became the first English player to win the London Chess Classic.
17-year-old @MickeyAdamsGM, portrayed in Muswell Hill (London) the day he achieved his final GM norm, on July 21, 1989. Playing at the "Ickicki Masters Tournament", organised by @TelegraphChess, he only needed a draw in the last round against Mordechai Shrentzel, but he went on… pic.twitter.com/VXDnoUVe2H
— David Llada ♞ (@davidllada) December 10, 2023
A very entertaining tournament, the London Chess Classic saw at least one decisive result in all nine rounds of the event. On the last day of action, only Hans Niemann grabbed a full point, as he defeated fellow prodigy Gukesh with the white pieces.
Gukesh’s decisive mistake came on move 20, when he castled on the ‘wrong’ side of the board amid a double-edged struggle.
Castling queenside here keeps the dynamic balance, while Gukesh’s 20...0-0, played after thinking for more than 10 minutes, gives way to 21.Ra4, attacking the black kingside pawns along the fourth rank. It is White who can create more threats on that side of that board!
Attack like a Super Grandmaster
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM†with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
The queens soon left the board, and Niemann showed great positional play until getting his second win of the event.
Gukesh shared third place with Andrei Volokitin, both with 5/9 points, while Niemann finished a half point back, with a fifty-percent score. These results left Anish Giri as the frontrunner in the race to get a spot in the Candidates via the FIDE Circuit.
Shockingly the 2% chance didn't hit. As the London Chess Classic concludes, Anish Giri retains the lead for the FIDE Circuit Candidates spot.
— Chess by the Numbers (@ChessNumbers) December 10, 2023
Congrats to Mickey Adams for winning the event, and Shreyas Royal for the GM norm!
Next up in the Candidates hunt: Dominguez at Sitges.
