1989 British Championship now on BritBase

[John Saunders]

I've just uploaded a new item on BritBase - the 1989 British Championship, which was held in Plymouth and was won by a 17-year-old Mickey Adams...

https://www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn/1 ... iewer.html

There are 296 games available from a possible 429. These are the same ones which appear on Big/Mega Database - I've not managed to find any additional scores as yet - with the difference that I've worked out quite a lot of the round numbers, which the Big/Mega offering doesn't have, based on a partial crosstable published in BCM, October 1989.

However, it's not as comprehensive as I would hope to make it as I would like to have all the games' round numbers (from which I can work out the date), and ideally of course some more games. I would also like to have the complete results of subsidiary sections as this makes a nice addition to the file. The irony is that, the bigger the British Championship became in the 1980s, the harder it became to gather all the results data. Whereas for many historical British Championship files on BritBase going back to the year dot I have been able to put together a complete set of results from all sections, I have struggled with some of the more recent ones.

Can anyone help? One particular problem is that I have very few BCF Yearbooks for the 1980s. I have the 1981/2 issue but then nothing until 1993. Some scans of the British Championship results pages for the intervening years would be a good start.

[Richard James]

I've just uploaded a new item on BritBase - the 1989 British Championship, which was held in Plymouth and was won by a 17-year-old Mickey Adams...

https://www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn/1 ... iewer.html

There are 296 games available from a possible 429. These are the same ones which appear on Big/Mega Database - I've not managed to find any additional scores as yet - with the difference that I've worked out quite a lot of the round numbers, which the Big/Mega offering doesn't have, based on a partial crosstable published in BCM, October 1989.

However, it's not as comprehensive as I would hope to make it as I would like to have all the games' round numbers (from which I can work out the date), and ideally of course some more games. I would also like to have the complete results of subsidiary sections as this makes a nice addition to the file. The irony is that, the bigger the British Championship became in the 1980s, the harder it became to gather all the results data. Whereas for many historical British Championship files on BritBase going back to the year dot I have been able to put together a complete set of results from all sections, I have struggled with some of the more recent ones.

Can anyone help? One particular problem is that I have very few BCF Yearbooks for the 1980s. I have the 1981/2 issue but then nothing until 1993. Some scans of the British Championship results pages for the intervening years would be a good start.

I have the BCF Yearbooks here with the information you want. I can send you copies of the relevant pages or, if you prefer, you can borrow them. Come to think of it, I could have dropped them round this morning!

[John Saunders]

I have the BCF Yearbooks here with the information you want. I can send you copies of the relevant pages or, if you prefer, you can borrow them. Come to think of it, I could have dropped them round this morning!

That’s very kind, Richard. Let’s try scanning the relevant pages, starting with those for the 1989 championship. Thank you very much.

[MJMcCready]

Nice work. I remember going and watching Adams vs Plaskett late on in the tournament. That game got rather tasty!

[Jonathan Rogers]

If no one has the bulletin, then another way to work out some round numbers might be to use Mestel's article in a late edition of the BCM in 1989. There he gave most of the results, round by round, as a way of showing how swiss tournaments do not reward those who made (in some objective, mathematic sense) the best performances. I don't think he gave the full table of results but probably he gave the top 40 or so finishers, with all the details you are looking for.

(I finished way down that year - though a bit unjustly, according to Mestel! - so I don't think my results were given. If it helps, I played in order - Forbes, Hassapis, Hamid, Beaumont, Cavendish, Motwani, Jackson, Cullip, Franklin, Foster, Carr. It is less than happy to reflect how many of those still actively play chess).

[John Saunders]

If no one has the bulletin, then another way to work out some round numbers might be to use Mestel's article in a late edition of the BCM in 1989. There he gave most of the results, round by round, as a way of showing how swiss tournaments do not reward those who made (in some objective, mathematic sense) the best performances. I don't think he gave the full table of results but probably he gave the top 40 or so finishers, with all the details you are looking for.

(I finished way down that year - though a bit unjustly, according to Mestel! - so I don't think my results were given. If it helps, I played in order - Forbes, Hassapis, Hamid, Beaumont, Cavendish, Motwani, Jackson, Cullip, Franklin, Foster, Carr. It is less than happy to reflect how many of those still actively play chess).

Thanks for taking the trouble to address this, Jon, and, yes, it does help. I looked at that Mestel article when I was looking up the tournament in BCM but it doesn't give as much data as the partial crosstable which is published elsewhere in BCM. Richard James has come to the rescue by sending me the full crosstable from the BCF Yearbook but this is also slightly incomplete in that it doesn't indicate colours of games. Thank you for giving me your games in the order that they were played - that tallies with the yearbook crosstable. Do you recall the colours? I have the scores of your games from rounds 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11, which gives me a clue as to your colour sequence. My best guess is that you started with white and thereafter alternated colours exactly. Is that correct?

Even better would be the scores of your unpublished games. The same applies to other members of the forum who played games at Plymouth 1989. It doesn't seem such a long time ago, does it? At least it doesn't until you remember that it was before the current world chess champion was born...

[Jonathan Rogers]

yes, I started with White and kept my sequence. (I also remember the Telegraph commented on the womens' championship being subsumed into the open for the first time, observing that defending 1988 Champion Cathy Forbes drew her first game with me. "For whom was that supposed to be a good result?" many asked. Well, I thought I had a lost position when the draw was agreed ...)

I ahould be able to help with colour sequences of many others, eg. I think Adams started with black (and drew with loz) and kept his sequence until a double black in 9 and 10, then White in 11. Hassapis, who make the headlines as a 13 year old beating Peter Large in round 3, started as the lowest rated player, with Black, and I think he might have kept his sequence throughout, but cannot be sure. But are you missing everyone's sequences?

I would have to find my games in a dusty box somewhere, and quite probably do not have them at all. I admit to also having had little incentive to store them...

[John Saunders]

I should be able to help with colour sequences of many others, eg. I think Adams started with black (and drew with loz) and kept his sequence until a double black in 9 and 10, then White in 11. Hassapis, who make the headlines as a 13 year old beating Peter Large in round 3, started as the lowest rated player, with Black, and I think he might have kept his sequence throughout, but cannot be sure. But are you missing everyone's sequences?

I only have the colour sequence for certain of those games that appear in the download (which tend to be those of the players towards the top half). For players who only have two or three games missing from the download, it's possible to guess the colour of missing games with a reasonable expectation of being right but of course it becomes progressively harder as you try to deal with players with only a handful of games published.

Perhaps the bulletin has this info, if someone can supply.

I've now updated BritBase to show a complete crosstable, thanks to Richard. And the games in the download now all have round numbers and dates.

[John Saunders]

I've just added a page on the 1983 British Championship (played in Southport) to BritBase...

https://www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn/1 ... iewer.html

The games in the 1983 Championship section are complete. They have been available from BritBase for some years but now feature round numbers and dates, plus a crosstable. Also new are 24 games from subsidiary sections, including Ron Bruce's games from the Veteran's section and my own efforts from the Major Open. So far I've not found much in terms of results from subsidiary sections but hope to remedy this deficiency in due course.

A player called C Smyth scored 4/11 in the British Championship that year. Does anyone know his full name? Also, a player called Brian Smith scored 3½. I don't think this was the Wood Green manager/sponsor. Can anyone provide any further info and/or give me a middle name/initial for him?

[Jonathan Rogers]

1983, subsidiary sections ... I wonder whether Darren (or Mark?) Wheeler won the U-14. What I am more sure about is that Adams was leading it, going into the last round, but there he lost to Philip Rossiter.

I myself played in the U11, where I was supposed to be the favourite - something I justfiied in subsequent events in 1983 but not at all in that one. As usual the gradings/pairings were all over the place and I played and lost to one of the other best players, Robert Akehurst, in round 2. I recovered to 4/5 only to lose to Sadler. Other strong players such as James Cavendish played. But the winner was one Jason Glass. There were three strong players from the North East in that event then (he and the Akehurst twins) and it is a great shame that they all stopped playing, and so soon - I don't think I saw any of them again after 1986.

[Nick Ivell]

I had a dim memory of playing a quite dreadful game against a guy called Smyth, so John's request got me rooting through my bottom drawer. Success - I found the scoresheet. Unfortunately, my opponent is only shown as C Smyth. So can't help you John.

He wasn't bad though!

[David McAlister]

A player called C Smyth scored 4/11 in the British Championship that year. Does anyone know his full name? Also, a player called Brian Smith scored A3½. I don't think this was the Wood Green manager/sponsor. Can anyone provide any further info and/or give me a middle name/initial for him?

I had a dim memory of playing a quite dreadful game against a guy called Smyth, so John's request got me rooting through my bottom drawer. Success - I found the scoresheet. Unfortunately, my opponent is only shown as C Smyth.

Despite the use of the initial C., the player was Michael Smyth. He qualified by winning the Ulster Championship. He played for Bangor Chess Club in Northern Ireland and I believe at the time of the 1983 Championship he was a student at Warwick University. The game against Ivell was published in the chess column of the Belfast Telegraph.

[Nick Ivell]

Oh no, don't tell me that game got published!!

Smyth followed a known bad line in the Sicilian, then spent 2 tempi getting his bishop to b4. I thought it was going to be an easy day for me.

Then I went horribly wrong and he displayed a keen tactical eye in dispatching me. A dangerous opponent, for sure.

[John Saunders]

I'm much obliged to David, Jon & Nick for helping me with this game. I shall make the name change forthwith - thanks for that, David.

Jon - it was Philip Rossiter who won the U14 that year as listed elsewhere on BritBase. BCM's report seems to tally with the list of champions which several helpful forumites and I all worked on some years ago, though the snippet from BCM I've included on the 1983 Championship page is not comprehensive and doesn't mention inter alia that Cathy Forbes won the U16 girls' title.

Nick - I'm sorry to add to your woes, but I couldn't resist having a look at that game...

[Event "GBR-ch70"] [Site "Southport"] [Date "1983.08.11"] [Round "4"] [White "Ivell, Nicholas W"] [Black "Smyth, Michael"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "2350"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "1983.08.08"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "GBR"] [SourceTitle "BritBase"] [SourceDate "1999.11.01"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.11.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. f4 e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Nc3 Nge7 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nxd4 7. Qxd4 Nc6 8. Qf2 Be7 9. Be3 Bb4 10. Qd2 Qa5 11. Bc4 O-O 12. O-O d5 13. exd5 exd5 14. Qxd5 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Qxc3 16. Qc5 Qf6 17. Bd3 b6 18. Qh5 g6 19. Qf3 Rb8 20. f5 Bxf5 21. g4 Ne5 22. Qg3 Nxg4 23. Qxg4 Qxa1 24. Bxf5 Qxa2 25. Bh6 Rfd8 26. Qf4 Qd5 27. Be4 Qd4+ 28. Rf2 f5 29. Bd3 b5 30. Qc7 Rbc8 31. Qb7 Rb8 32. Qc7 Rbc8 33. Qb7 b4 34. Kf1 a5 35. Bxf5 Qa1+ 36. Kg2 gxf5 37. Kh3 Qc3+ 38. Rf3 Rc7 0-1

Instead of the desperate 35.Bxf5, the analysis engine gives 35.Re2 with a winning position for White since there is no adequate defence against Re7 and a huge attack on the black king. If 35...Re8, I wanted 36.Bc4+ to be a clever win but the engine refuted that with 36...Kh8! and it's only a draw. Instead White continues with the plan, 36.Re7!, and wins, though I wouldn't claim it is easy for an organic player to work out all the details. Since you have the scoresheet, it might be worth checking that the moves have been entered correctly.

Thanks again for helping.

[Nick Ivell]

Thanks for posting the game, John. It wasn't my finest effort but there were some interesting tactics.

Yes, it looks as though the moves have been recorded correctly. I thought I had entered my best swindling mode when he kept the queens on, but it wasn't to be. By the state of my scoresheet, it looks as though there was a time scramble.

A game I had completely forgotten about. I wonder why?