British Championship games start at 2.15pm. The broadcast
is delayed by about 5 minutes. The intention is to broadcast up to 20
games and spectators are very welcome. The games take place in the Sports
Centre, CT2 7NL.
31 July -
Best way to describe things today - 'packed to the gunnells' as the
weekender, seniors and U9's join the Championship, Major Open, U16's, under
U13's and Week 1 afternoon
players ... more
Under 8's, Under 180/2000 and
Under 140/1600 Championships (30 July).
Early rounds in the main
Championship and other side events (28th July)
more ...
Amanda Cottrell opened the
Championships on Monday 26th just before the start
of round 1 at 2.15pm.
Amanda as been a magistrate for
23 years, Chairman of her local Parish Council,
school governor, County President of the Girl Guide
movement and President of the NSPCC, Amanda was High
Sheriff of Kent (2006-07) and is now Chairman of
Visit Kent.
She is also a Kent Ambassador, a
Trustee and Friend of Canterbury Cathedral, Trustee
of the Kent Community Housing Trust and the Kent
Wildlife Trust, a Vice President of the Canterbury
Festival and Patron of Produced in Kent. A very
distinguished guest indeed.
The 1st rapidplay again proved to be a popular curtain raiser to
the British Championships with 60 entries.
Going into the final round (6) top seed IM Andrew Greet on 3½ faces Nathan
Talbot and Chris Briscoe and James Adair battle it out for a share of first
place. Both have 5/6.
Final scores: BRISCOE, Chris M 189A 6/6,
ADAIR, James, 211C, COMBIE, Alexander, 183B, SALIMBENI, George PW, 194* 5/6
... 60 players.
GM's Nick Pert 2551 and Danny Gormally 2480 have entered
this year's Championship at the last minute. Confirmation from both players
has been received by the Congress Secretary.
'The country's top chess players are
arriving in Kent for the British Chess
Championships.
It's the 97th time the British Chess
Championships have been held and this year
the University of Kent in Canterbury is
playing host to the hundreds of competitors
and spectators.' [Read
more]
Kings and
Queens come to Canterbury
The Championships start next Monday and will
run until 7th August. This is the first time
they have been held in Kent since Ramsgate
in 1929.
GM
Mickey Adams
Grandmaster Michael Adams, Britain’s No 1,
heads the field and will be doing battle
with some of the country’s other elite Grand
Masters, including former champion
Stuart Conquest.
CJ
de Mooi
CJ de Mooi of BBC Eggheads fame is President
of the English Chess Federation. He says in
his programme
notes “A great number of players consider
the Championships as central to their season
and we are delighted to see so many
returning year after year for all the
tournaments that make up this fantastic
event.”
More than 800 players will be competing for
various other titles. Never mind X-boxes and Playstations, there’s a rising tide of
young, clever, chess boys and girls who’ll
be fighting over the chessboard for the
honour of becoming champion for their age
groups.
The increasing popularity of chess among the
young is uncovering some emerging talents.
One of these is 7 year-old Zheming Zhang who
warmed-up last week by beating a field of
adults in Middlesbrough. Zheming has to
stretch to reach the other side of the
board but he’s favourite to take the Under
8 title, and he’s also attempting to take on
the Under 9 and Under 10's too.
The public are welcome to come and watch.
Games are in progress from 9.30am for
morning events with the Championship itself
starting daily at 2.15pm (round 1 is on
Monday 26th July).
Each
afternoon throughout the Championships
International Master Andrew Martin will
provide a commentary on the games of the
Grandmasters and other leading players.
He’ll explain the reasoning behind the moves
and be offering prizes in “predict the next
move” competitions.
University accommodation
still available
There is still
accommodation left at the University if you
are still looking for somewhere to stay.
Bookings are being taken for the weekend
events too. Visit
www.kent.ac.uk/holidays/accommodation/index.html
and select 'Bed & Breakfast' and then 'Book
now'. Enter the promotion code CHESS.
Late Entries
There is still time to
enter
one of the many sections at the
British Championships. However if
you think your entry
would arrive after Monday
19th July, please send it to:
The Congress Administrator,
British Chess Championships,
Sports Complex, University of
Kent,
Canterbury, CT2 7NL
Joint Quiz Winners
Update:John Foley
(left) from
Kingston Chess
Club
London and Allan Pleasants from Wessex have
jointly won this year's quiz with an
excellent score of 14/15. Congratulations to
them and thank you to everyone who took part.
Click to see all 15 answers.
One of the hardest
questions (8) was about Jacques Mieses (1865
- 1954), a German-born Jewish player
and writer who became the first British
Grandmaster in 1950.
The University of Kent has
just been voted best
University Accommodation for groups 2010 at
the annual celebration of the very best
suppliers to the group travel industry.
With
conference facilities, a wide range of
accommodation, a choice of restaurants and bars,
banqueting for up to 1000 and extensive leisure
options, the University offers a very cost
effective place to stay during your chess
holiday.
Information about the University's
reception and housekeeping services,
check-in details, local facilities
in Canterbury, computer access and
much more is contained in their
latest visitor guide.
The family of the late John
Littlewood have kindly decided to give an annual
prize of £100 to the most brilliant game played
by an U18 Junior in the British Championship.
This is in memory of husband and father, John
Littlewood, who was one of the leading British
players of his generation.
[Read
more]
Internet access during the Championships
The University of Kent will
have internet services available during the
Championships. For £10 per month (or part
thereof), visitors who are staying on campus can
hire an account from IT Reception. This will provide
wireless access and hard-wired internet
from bedrooms.
Click for further details.
Grandmaster
Mickey Adams to play in this year's British
Championships
Former world number 4 Mickey Adams will be
playing in this year's British Championships in
Canterbury. On the July 2009 FIDE rating list he
was the number one British player and has a
current FIDE rating of 2706 [FIDE
profile].
His current
live
rating is 2706.1 (1st July).
Mickey has performed
strongly in a number of World Chess Championship
tournaments coming close to winning the 2004
FIDE Championship, when he reached the final
losing closely (4½-3½) after a rapid play-off to Kasimdzhanov.
In
September 2007, he took part in the China-UK
Summit Match, held in Liverpool and playing
alongside Mickey was former World Championship
challenger Nigel Short. That event was the
first time in almost 15 years that the two GMs
had played chess together on British soil.
There was a second successive victory in
the Staunton Memorial in August 2008 when Mickey finished on 8/11,
ahead of Loek Van Wely (7½/11) and Jan Smeets
(7/11). He followed this with a share of second
place at the 4th EU Individual Open
Championship in Liverpool.
Last
December at the London Classic Mickey went
through the event unbeaten drawing six games,
four of them against World number one Magnus
Carlsen, former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik,
USA Champion 2009 Hikaru Nakamura and
former World Championship contender, Nigel Short
MBE.
The 2010 entry form is
here. Also see the
conditions of entry which you should read as there are some
changes since last year. Click to
download the
full document which includes the entry form and details of fees
for each event.
Bus Travel around
Canterbury
A day ticket, valid for
unlimited travel between the City and the
University, is available for £2.50 and a weekly
ticket for £7. Both can be bought from bus
drivers at the start of your first journey.
There are also additional tickets for those that
need to travel further within Canterbury or into
Kent. All details, including route maps, can be
found on the
Stagecoach website
or by emailing
Bus tickets for £2.50 and weekly ones for £7 are
available for unlimited travel between Canterbury and the
University.
On-line
accommodation available until 21 July.
The
University’s accommodation is still available for booking
online.
Click for further information and for
booking details. You are advised to book early as demand for
places will he high and the historic City of Canterbury is an
extremely popular destination during the summer months.
Click to download the list
of 2010 qualifiers and a list showing
how they qualified in alphabetical order.
Queries should be emailed to
Click to download the
2010 Qualification rules and regulations -
'How to Qualify'. If any player believes they have
qualified by rule 12, please email the details to Neville
Belinfante as soon as possible.
The date of birth for British Junior Championship will
relate to 1 January 2010. Eligibility criteria for the
British Senior Championship will also relate to age on 1
January 2010.
The British Graded Championships which are 5 day
tournaments will have the following grading limits:
Under 180/FIDE 2000
Under 160/FIDE1800
Under 140/FIDE1600
Under 120/FIDE1400
The Weekender Tournaments will have the following
grading limits:
Atkins open to all
Soanes open to player under 150/FIDE 1700
Yates open to players under 125/FIDE 1450
The University of Kent, the
UK’s European University has 17,000 students from over 140 countries
worldwide and more than 2,000 members of staff. Established in
Canterbury in 1965, it has grown significantly whilst retaining the
supportive academic and social structure that makes it a great place
to work and study. Kent has campuses at
Canterbury,
Medway,
and
Brussels.
The University’s accommodation has just been awarded a 3
star campus rating, with Purchas Court in Park Wood
achieving a 4 star rating from
VisitBritain.
Click to see Kent
Attractions website - With over 80 member attractions, the Association of
Tourist Attractions In Kent (ATAK) represents the best places to visit
in the Garden of England.
The charm of the
narrow Canterbury streets and period architecture, the pedestrian high
street with shops of every description, make the City a charming place.
There are large
formal and informal gardens in which to escape the bustle of the high
street. With all these features, Canterbury welcomes almost 3 million
visitors each year and there's always something to see and do
... more
The Queen presented the
University of Kent with the prestigious Queen's
Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education
at Buckingham Palace on Thursday 14 February 2008.
The award was given for the work of the Kent Law
Clinic, honoured for 'enriching the academic study
of law through a casework service to the community'.
Full news article
