Michael Adams and Lan Yao win British Championships 2023

Michael Adams was the favourite going into the 109th British National Championships and he more than lived up to that role. The former World Championship contender won the tournament with 7.5/9 to become British National Champion for the eighth time. Adams remained unbeaten, winning six games and drawing three and in the end was a full point ahead of his nearest rival.

Top pairings

Michael Adams won his first national championship in 1989 at the age of seventeen. He won the title again in 1997, this time with Matthew Sadler. He also won the National Championships in 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

The second place finish of Steven Jones was a surprise. With an Elo rating of 2175, the 31-year-old untitled Jones was 32nd on the seeding list, but in the final standings he was the only player with 6.5 points. Jones lost two games, to new champion Michael Adams in round one and to Ankush Khandelwal in round four. But he also had six wins (and two draws) and defeated GM Daniel Fernandez in the final round.

Fernandez was still the top-ranked player in the group with six points and won bronze.

Lan Yao

As the best woman in the field, the women's championship went to Lan Yao. She scored 5.5 points, finished 36th and made a WGM norm.

The British Championships have been held since 1904. This year, De Montfort University in Leicester hosted the event from 20 to 30 July 2023. In addition to the championship tournament, a nine round Swiss which featured 64 players, the British Senior and Youth Championships were also held. The supporting programme also included a general open, weekend, rapid and blitz tournaments.

Keith Arkell was Senior Champion +50, Alan Punnett Senior Champion +65.

Final standings

64 players

Games

Tournament page...