English Chess Forum

All videos linked to the 2015 Championship will be posted on this thread.

First,a brief preview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxs1k3s ... e=youtu.be

Looking back: the best game of the British Championships 1998-2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNxxuOh ... e=youtu.be

You may have your own opinion.

British Championship shockers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1hhuObEg9A

Now that Chief Barker, David Gilbert, has re-joined the ranks of the performers it is over to Ringmaster, IM Andrew Martin, for commentary on the thrills and spills. Is the Indian mystic fakir Ravi joining him this year I'll have to have a look see...

Can't see any sign of IM Ravi just yet but I did come across this finality in "Special Events" -

Thursday 6/08 8pm / Murder Evening / Volunteers needed / Admission £1 per person

For a complete list see -

http://www.britishchesschampionships.co ... al-events/

John McKenna wrote:Can't see any sign of IM Ravi

According to the Programme, he is sharing commentary duties with Andrew Martin.
http://www.britishchesschampionships.co ... ck2015.pdf

Pairings for the first round now available. Malcolm Peacock gets the top board against David.

http://chess-results.com/tnr179427.aspx ... =30&wi=821

74 players, all English bar three Welsh, one under a Greek flag and one (adopted) Australian.

Thanks Roger, and thanks for the news that IM Ravikumar is joining IM Andrew Martin in the commentary, again.

GMs 11, IMs 3, WIMs 2, FMs 4, WFM 1, CMs 2 Total 23 titled players

Ioanis plays for Marple in the Manchester League and is at school in Manchester, I think his family have only been here for a couple of years now - will be interesting to see how he does

Storey against Rice is my pick for the day.

74 players, christ almighty. I bet draughts and scrabble get more than that. ECF's doing a sterling job obviously.

74 for the top ranked Open event. An awful lot everywhere else!

If anything - and this complaint comes up every year - you'd ideally want rather rather fewer/consistently stronger people in this specific event. Peter Shaw say is a very solid player indeed but you'd prefer the event to start around that standard than top half of the draw.

Anyway. That is how it is and reasons it won't change any time soon. Should be good

This morning I went into the Rootes Restaurant intending to eat breakfast only to be told that they would not serve the Chessplayers!

Bring your own food if you do not want to starve.

Carl Hibbard wrote:Storey against Rice is my pick for the day.

Good to see those two forumites in the mix - maybe the first time they've met otb.

Mick Norris will be keeping an eye on Bd. 18 where Ioanis Lentzos has White against IM Jack Rudd today, I see.

I also see (in the PDF file linked to below), amongst a host of other things, the following -

A message from ECF President Dominic Lawson -

Last time the event was held at the University... in 1970 it was won outright by Robert Wade... the only (adopted?) Briton to have played Fischer... outside Olympiads. I wish all players... good luck... at least one game of beauty that they can be proud of...

Followed one from Warwickshire Chess Assoc. President David Thomas -

Delighted to welcome the Championships back... [they] have been held in the county on three previous occasions... John Penrose won the first of his ten ... in Leamington Spa [1958, after play-off]. Stratford-on Avon hosted...1925 when Henry Atkins won his 9th and final Championship.
Best of luck to... local players... across all events, with particular congratulations to those who qualified for the Championship itself this year - John Edge... Paul Lam... Andrew Paterson... Mark Page... Don Mason... Richard Weaving.

http://www.britishchesschampionships.co ... ck2015.pdf

It will be interesting to see how they do.

So, today, my one to watch is a former British Champ against the Birmingham League Champ -

Bd. 11 GM Chris Ward v. John Edge

MartinCarpenter wrote:74 for the top ranked Open event. An awful lot everywhere else!

If anything - and this complaint comes up every year - you'd ideally want rather rather fewer/consistently stronger people in this specific event. Peter Shaw say is a very solid player indeed but you'd prefer the event to start around that standard than top half of the draw.

Anyway. That is how it is and reasons it won't change any time soon. Should be good

Bd. 33 Peter Shaw (2146)...

The problem we seem to have here is shown in that list of titled players: the players with sub-GM titles are not entering. (We have, what, 60 or so IMs eligible to take part? And 3 actually doing so.)

By the way, I had a very nice cooked breakfast in the Library Cafe this morning.