British Championship 2018

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Other notable results were the losses by Emms and Ward in round 8. Emms was winning, but failed to find the correct continuations. Ward appears to have made an unsound sacrifice.

[Roger de Coverly]

I can't understand why nobody is talking about RdC v Sugden with the two ancient Cambridge graduates trying to knock lumps off each other.

I'll have to check the "textbook" aka Raymond's Flank Openings when I get home. Otherwise 8. .. Bd7 as in 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 d5 6. N1d2 Be7 7. 0-0 0-0 8. Re1 Bd7 is unknown to me. Checking the history reveals that it had been played in the 1966 Olympiad, so it was known back then.

[Nick Grey]

It's an early KO today. If there is a play-off when is it expected?
There is still a slim chance of McShane winning outright (my prediction). But the championship is likely to be tight over 9 rounds.
Best wishes for Eggy and Koby with their norm chances.

As for the legends I hope you qualify next year. Your games have been entertaining as well as your postings.
The essential equipment for chess now includes kitchen roll and that means a trip to Poundland before the start of the season.

[LawrenceCooper]

It's an early KO today. If there is a play-off when is it expected?

See "G" on page 10 https://www.britishchesschampionships.c ... -Rules.pdf or read below:

Section G: British Championship Tie-Break
In the event of a tie at the end of the Championship, there will be a playoff, held as soon as possible at the end of the
Championship.
The n tied players will seeded, from 1 to n, based on their tournament performance rating (TPR) for the tournament.
This TPR will be calculated using the assigned ratings outlined above in this document.
Where n > 8, only the top 8 players will qualify for the playoffs.
Where players are tied on TPR, then the winner of the head-to-head game between the players, if one was played,
shall split the tie: The winner of the game shall be placed higher. If this game was a draw, then the higher seed shall
be determined by lot.
Playoff Match Formats
The playoffs will be run on a knockout basis, and matches within this format will be played in one of the following
formats:
Format 1 – Two players are tied
Round 1 Two games, G/20 + 10’.
Round 2 If still tied, two games, G/5 + 3’.
Round 3 If still tied, an Armageddon game, white G/5, black G/4, 2’ from move 61.
Format 2 – More than two players are tied
Round 1 Two games, G/10 + 5’.
Round 2 If still tied, an Armageddon game, white G/5, black G/4, 2’ from move 61.
A coin toss will be performed before each round. The winner of the toss can choose to have white in the first or
second game of that round. The player will have black in the other game. In the case of the Armageddon game, the
winner of the toss can choose to have white or black in that game.
In the Armageddon game, the black player shall need only to draw the game to win the match.
The playoff match will end on the first occasion that a player is winning the match at the end of a round.
Players are entitled to a 5-minute break between each game within a match, and a 10-minute break between each
match.
Pairings for the Playoff Matches
The pairings for the playoffs will be determined by the seeding established above.
3-player SF: 2 v 3
Final: 1 v Winner SF
4-player SF: (1) 1 v 4 (2) 2 v 3
Final: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2
5-player QF: 4 v 5
SF: (1) 1 v Winner QF (2) 2 v 3
Final: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2
6-player QF: (1) 3 v 6 (2) 4 v 5
SF: (1) 1 v Winner QF2 (2) 2 v Winner QF1
Final: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2
7-player QF: (1) 2 v 7 (2) 3 v 6 (3) 4 v 5
SF: (1) 1 v Winner QF3 (2) Winner QF1 v Winner QF2
Final: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2
8-player QF: (1) 1 v 8 (2) 2 v 7 (3) 3 v 6 (4) 4 v 5
SF: (1) Winner QF1 v Winner QF4 (2) Winner QF2 v Winner QF3
Final: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2
Prize Money
Where a Championship Tie-Break is required, the winner of the Tie-Break will receive the prize money for 1st place.
All other players involved in the Tie-Break, or who were excluded from it based on their TPR, will be deemed to have
finished in 2nd place, and the prize money for those players will be awarded in the normal way.
English Championship
All players who are FIDE-registered to England are eligible to win the English Championship. In the event of a tie,
there will be no playoff and the prize money will be divided equally between the tied players.

[Richard Bates]

Just on the issue of qualification (mentioned briefly by Nick, above) as i don't think it has been commented on. It is possibly worth observing that of the 10 qualifiers from the new Qualifying Grand Prix, only one(!) is actually competing in the Championship. 2 are playing in the seniors O65, and one is in the Major Open (on the grounds of cost?! - I assume he was actually aware that he had qualified). I suppose it is possible some might have deferred their place (if this is still allowed). Presumably places aren't transferable if anybody declines a place, since the 11th placed individual (Jonah Willow) is also playing in the Major Open, and would presumably have chosen the Championship if given the option.

[LawrenceCooper]

the 11th placed individual (Jonah Willow) is also playing in the Major Open, and would presumably have chosen the Championship if given the option.

That's correct.

[LawrenceCooper]

Arkell-Eggleston is drawn meaning a GM norm for David.

[Alex Holowczak]

Just on the issue of qualification (mentioned briefly by Nick, above) as i don't think it has been commented on. It is possibly worth observing that of the 10 qualifiers from the new Qualifying Grand Prix, only one(!) is actually competing in the Championship. 2 are playing in the seniors O65, and one is in the Major Open (on the grounds of cost?! - I assume he was actually aware that he had qualified). I suppose it is possible some might have deferred their place (if this is still allowed). Presumably places aren't transferable if anybody declines a place, since the 11th placed individual (Jonah Willow) is also playing in the Major Open, and would presumably have chosen the Championship if given the option.

All 10 of the players who qualified were contacted, informing them that they had qualified for the Championship; and they could either play in it in 2018 or 2019 as per the regulations. I've seen four emails from people saying they intend to play in the Championship in 2019.

Places are not transferable. We had arranged with Jonah Willow that if the Championship had an odd number of entries, then we would have promoted him to the Championship.

[Paul Cooksey]

Gormally has unbalanced his game against Adams. Looks a good opportunity for Mickey to play for outright first.

Night owl Roger presumably suffering from the 10 am start

[LawrenceCooper]

Arkell-Eggleston is drawn meaning a GM norm for David.

His final norm to be precise: https://ratings.fide.com/title_norms.ph ... 0&title=GM

[Christopher Kreuzer]

So Eggleston needs to gain about 80 rating points for the GM title?

McShane and Howell both heading for severe time trouble. Could be entertaining.
Jones and Adams not making much progress in their games.
Howell could still win outright, or Adams may be end up in a playoff against one of McShane or Howell.

EDIT: OK, Gormally-Adams is getting interesting, with an exchange for two pawns (Adams has the two pawns). Anyone care to say whether that is the sort of position Adams could grind out a win from?

[Carl Hibbard]

EDIT: OK, Gormally-Adams is getting interesting, with an exchange for two pawns (Adams has the two pawns). Anyone care to say whether that is the sort of position Adams could grind out a win from?

After 26... c5 I expect Adams to make it look easy.

[Nick Grey]

Yes. The pawns look good.

[Nick Ivell]

It's looking like Adams is taking control. In the meantime, Howell has demonstrated nothing with White. So it looks like Mickey again. He had a huge slice of luck against Fodor (who seems to be crushing a perhaps tired Hebden), but no one else has shown much. Hence a deserving winner, if so it turns out.

[Richard Bates]

https://www.timeforchess.com/chess/gran ... pangenberg