2012 British Championship

The 2012 British Championship kicked off last night, with a reasonably strong field. Missing the big 2 from last year (Short and Adams), it still has 7 GM's in the field, with Gawain Jones as the top seed. As in previous years the pairings are accelerated in the first few rounds, which means a couple of first round winners are playing GM's on a lower score in round 2.
While the Championship is the most important event, there are a large number of side events as well. Unlike Australia, the Junior Championship runs alongside the Championship, as does events like the Seniors, Major, and various 5 day and rapidplay events. Taking a quick glance at the entries I noticed that WIM Sue Maroroa is playing in the Championships alongside husband Gawain, and Bob Mitchell has traveled from New Zealand to play in the Seniors event.
There is live coverage of the top boards (of course), as well as a webcam feed from the venue. The website for the tournament is http://britishchesschampionships.co.uk/