Tuesday 30 July 2013

100th British Chess Championship

The 100th British Chess Championship started a couple of days ago, with what appears to be a record turnout. There are over 100 players in the Championship proper, while the total across all the events exceeds 1000.
Along with the normal chess activities the organisers seem to have thrown in some unusual extras. The tournament kicked off with a 1 hour bullet match between GM Keith Arkell and IM Gary Lane, with the goal of setting a record for such activity (most games in an hour maybe?). At the end of the hour Arkell emerged victorious 22-15, although the match had been tied at 14-14 at one point. There was also a curious all play all event, where 8 players played each of their opponents at the same time. This 'simultaneous simul' looked to be a lot of fun, but I wonder about the logistics of it, as I assume it involved a lot of running about (and knowing which boards were yours).
The actual serious business got underway yesterday with GM Gawain Jones as the top seed. There are over a dozen GM's in this years event, making it one of the tougher tournament in recent years.
The official website has all the details, including results from the various tournaments, and a broadcast of live games.

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