Michael Adams wins British Online Championship

British Online Championship 2020

Usually the British Championships are big chess festivals with many tournaments that cover all ages and rating groups. However, in 2020 such a festival was not possible. Therefore, the chess federations of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Ulster, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man decided to go online and the various British Championships were played virtually from December 18, 2020 to January 3, 2021.

The championship tournament was a 9 round Swiss open, in which the field, however, was not particularly strong. 37 players took part, six of them grandmasters. With a rating of 2716 Michael Adams was the number one seed and clear favourite to win tournament and title as he was more than 200 Elo-points ahead of second seed Matthew Turner, who started with a rating of 2509.

Adams lived up to his role as favourite and started with 5.0/5.

In round six Adams played his first draw, against Bogdan Lalic. Then Adams also drew the three remaining games, which allowed  IM Ameet Ghasi to catch up to Adams. Now, the two had to play a two-game tiebreak match for the title. In the first game Adams was in trouble, but he managed to turn the tables and won the game. With a draw in the second game he then secured the title and became first British Online Champion.

Final standings after nine rounds

Games

The Women's Championship was more one-sided: Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant won with 7.0/7.

Women's Championship, final standings

Links

• Official tournament page...
• Chess-results...
• Michael Adams: My most memorable game