BRITISH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS - THE GAMES

[Alex Holowczak]

If Dave puts the files in the right year folder that might help!

Well, "/british/2011/champ/r12a/tfd.htm" 2011 looks like the right year. He's just linked-to it before he's set it up, perhaps?

Which sure enough, he's now done.

[Carl Hibbard]

Yes a refresh on the live games page on the main site will pick it up now

[E Michael White]

My database contains approx 5000 games which continued to lone kings. Michael Adams is the player who has played the most of these at 10 games closely followed by Tartakover on 9. Nigel Short is in joint 7th on 7 games. Of course I have proportionately more UK games than other databases.

Playing on for the benefit of beginner spectators is to be encouraged, as they wish to know how the game might conclude. In this respect Gawain Jones should probably have played on another 4 or 5 moves at the end of his game v Short in this championship even though mate was inevitable.

[Carl Hibbard]

Game 1 has begun

[Jonathan Rogers]

I never look these things up before posting, so maybe - but what is the precedent?

L W Barden and A Phillips in 1954.

Ok, I stand corrected. But there had been several tie breaks between then and 1997. Notably in 1986, when there was a three way tie between Speelman, Chandler and Mestel. Mestel was knocked out of the first round but Speelman and Chandler played on, and did not just go home... put it this way, it was obvious to everyone else, except perhaps the arbiter, that Adams and Sadler were expected to resolve their tie. Leonard wrote to this effect in CHESS and suggested that a match should still be arranged. But he was a lone voice (another example for JB about how English ches magazines are unable to criticse our top players).

It is because of this that I would quite like Short to win the play-off today, though I would not support him in ordinary circumstances.

[Paul Cooksey]

I've seen the bf4 QID called the Miles variation, somehow appropriate

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Been watching the playoff game 1 since move 4. Anything new to theory yet?

[Carl Hibbard]

A slightly passive choice from Short I felt?

[Jonathan Bryant]

Leonard wrote to this effect in CHESS and suggested that a match should still be arranged. But he was a lone voice (another example for JB about how English ches magazines are unable to criticse our top players) ....

An excellent example of what chess journalism can be from John Saunders:-

http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/monarch2003/p ... html#short

critical where the author finds it necessary but always reasonable.


Pity it can't always be like this.


I'm hoping Nosher will win today. Not sure why - I certainly have no antipathy towards Adams. I think it's just because Short's the older man. Us mid40s guys have to stick together.


He's not moving very quickly though. Half his time gone already.

[E Michael White]

Been watching the playoff game 1 since move 4. Anything new to theory yet?

Shorts 9.0-0 seems to be the first new move.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Prefer Black at the moment. Not sure what 20.f4 is about (I suppose moving that pawn before Nf3 is the idea, also gives the King some more space).

[Paul Cooksey]

Prefer Black at the moment. Not sure what 20.f4 is about.

I think it threatens to take the knight on e5

[ThomasThorpe]

The idea of f4 and g4 is an interesting one, considering the lack of defense on the black king. It might be a little premature though as the white pieces are attacking the centre and queenside.

[ThomasThorpe]

Now with the queens off I prefer black. The attack is going nowhere and the g2 pawn could become a long term weakness

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Queens off. Don't like the look of White's queenside pawns.