Michael Adams wins Cambridge International Open

by ChessBase
2/22/2023 – The first Cambridge International Open took place from Wednesday 15th to Sunday 19th February at the historic University Arms Hotel in Cambridge. In the first round top seed GM Michael Adams (2757) only drew against Henry Adams (1738), but still won the strong tournament convincingly with 8.0/9. Nigel Towers, director of Home Chess at the English Chess Federation, reports. | Photos: Shohreh Bayat

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Cambridge International Open

The University Arms Hotel in Cambridge

The event was organised by ECF Events Director Shohreh Bayat with generous support from the University Arms, and an experienced arbiters team consisting of IA Shohreh, IA Matthew Carr and FA Satish Gaekwad.

The University Arms Ballroom ready for round 1

The event was staged in the hotel ballroom and has proven itself to be one of the most sought-after events in England, with entries reaching capacity a full month before the event, with a waiting list of over 50 players looking for a place.

The tournament was played over 9 rounds with 121 players from 19 different federations taking part, and players coming from as far away as the USA and Vietnam.

The majority of players were English, with 93 out of the 121 from the host nation. Leading the charge and top seed for England was Michael Adams, the England number 1 for many years.

WIM Natasha Regan provided commentary on the event - in round 6 and round 8 with GM John Emms, and in the 9th and final on Sunday morning with WIM Lan Yao.

You can follow the commentary replay on the ECF Twitch Commentary channel: https://www.twitch.tv/ecf_commentary  and also the ECF’s Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/EnglishChessFederation

In round 1 Michael surprisingly only drew against his namesake Henry Adams, who was much lower-rated.

But after this upset, Adams proceeded to win his next 7 games and powered his way through  to first place. Adams completed the event with a draw in round 9 to finish first with 8.0/9.

Here is Mickey’s critical 6th round win against early leader GM Daniel Fernandez after which Mickey took the lead for the first time. The opening was a Sicilian Najdorf with a sharp middlegame where Adams shows the power of the two bishops in an open position.

 

 

Final standings for the top 20 places are as below with Adams finishing in top place on 8 points, just clear of GM Fernandez in second place on 7.5 and a group of four players including the reigning British Champion IM Harry Grieve on 7 points alongside GM Oleg Korneev, IM Boris Golubovic and FM Nghia Bao Dong.  Harriett Hunt was the highest placed female player with 5.5 point, followed by WCM Nina Pert on 5 points and Julia Volovich also on 5.

Cambridge International – Final Standings

No.     Name Country Elo
1
 
GM Adams, Michael ENG 2757
2
 
GM Dardha, Daniel BEL 2612
3
 
GM Korneev, Oleg ESP 2589
4
 
IM Clarke, Brandon G I ENG 2588
5
 
GM Bosiocic, Marin CRO 2564
6
 
GM Fernandez, Daniel H ENG 2519
7
 
FM Czopor, Maciej POL 2519
8
 
IM Grieve, Harry ENG 2514
9
 
GM Hebden, Mark L ENG 2510
10
 
IM Roberson, Peter T ENG 2510
11
 
GM Arkell, Keith C ENG 2506
12
 
GM Gormally, Daniel W ENG 2493
13
 
GM Turner, Matthew J SCO 2487
14
 
IM Lutsko, Artem UKR 2414
15
 
FM Dong, Bao Nghia VIE 2414
16
 
  Ismail, Mohammed Aayan ENG 2353
17
 
IM Golubovic, Boris CRO 2349
18
 
IM Hunt, Harriet V ENG 2349
19
 
FM Bazakutsa, Svyatoslav UKR 2330
20
 
FM Wall, Tim P ENG 2305
21
 
CM Villiers, Thomas ENG 2295
22
 
  Shafi, Declan SCO 2265
23
 
  Saunders, Aron ENG 2260
24
 
FM Anand, Batsukh MGL 2239
25
 
  Bonn, Thomas FRA 2237

Cambridge International Winner GM Michael Adams with Chief Arbiter and Organiser Shohreh Bayat | Photo: Satish Gaekwad

Second placed GM Danny Fernandez with Shohreh Bayat | Photo: Shohreh Bayat

IM Harriett Hunt won the prize for best female player

Julia Volovich was the third best women player

Games

 

Tournament page


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