1998 85th Smith & Williamson British Chess Championship, Torquay, 27 July - 7 August • 1997« »1999

1998 British Chess Championship		Fed	Elo	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	Nigel D Short (won play-off)	ENG	2670g	♦ 1/35	◊ 1/28	♦ 1/20	◊ 1/6	♦ ½/2	◊ ½/19	♦ ½/7	◊ 1/9	♦ 1/4	◊ 1/16	♦ 0/3	8½
2	Matthew D Sadler	ENG	2660g	◊ 1/44	♦ 1/15	◊ 1/16	♦ 1/19	◊ ½/1	♦ ½/4	◊ 1/3	♦ 1/21	◊ ½/7	♦ 0/9	◊ 1/6	8½
3	Anthony J Miles	ENG	2590g	♦ 1/27	◊ 1/11	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/28	◊ 1/25	♦ 0/2	◊ 1/20	♦ ½/6	◊ 1/4	◊ 1/1	8
4	Jonathan S Speelman	ENG	2600g	♦ ½/31	◊ 1/22	♦ 1/25	◊ 1/10	♦ ½/7	◊ ½/2	♦ 1/8	◊ 1/19	◊ 0/1	♦ 0/3	◊ 1/9	7½
5	Chris G Ward	ENG	2505g	♦ ½/22	◊ ½/29	♦ 1/27	◊ ½/11	♦ 1/39	◊ ½/28	♦ 1/10	◊ 0/7	♦ ½/8	◊ 1/18	♦ 1/16	7½
6	Peter K Wells	ENG	2515g	◊ 1/38	♦ 1/14	◊ 1/12	♦ 0/1	◊ 0/8	♦ 1/30	◊ 1/15	♦ ½/16	◊ ½/3	♦ 1/7	♦ 0/2	7
7	Krishnan Sasikiran	IND	2470f	♦ 1/23	◊ 1/32	♦ ½/9	◊ 1/39	◊ ½/4	♦ ½/8	◊ ½/1	♦ 1/5	♦ ½/2	◊ 0/6	♦ ½/11	7
8	Daniel Gormally	ENG	2400m	♦ 1/57	◊ ½/43	◊ 1/21	♦ ½/3	♦ 1/6	◊ ½/7	◊ 0/4	♦ 1/17	◊ ½/5	♦ ½/12	◊ ½/13	7
9	Mark Hebden	ENG	2590g	◊ ½/37	♦ 1/66	◊ ½/7	♦ 1/24	◊ ½/16	♦ ½/13	◊ 1/12	♦ 0/1	◊ 1/21	◊ 1/2	♦ 0/4	7
10	Andrew Ledger	ENG	2450m	◊ 1/36	♦ 1/40	◊ ½/3	♦ 0/4	◊ ½/30	♦ 1/26	◊ 0/5	♦ ½/33	◊ 1/17	♦ 1/24	◊ ½/12	7
11	Miroslav Houska	ENG	2375	◊ 1/62	♦ 0/3	◊ 1/36	♦ ½/5	◊ ½/31	♦ 0/40	◊ 1/27	♦ 1/34	◊ ½/13	♦ 1/19	◊ ½/7	7
12	Andrew D Martin	ENG	2445m	♦ 1/41	◊ 1/56	♦ 0/6	◊ 0/18	♦ 1/22	◊ 1/43	♦ 0/9	◊ 1/31	♦ 1/20	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/10	7
13	Aaron Summerscale	ENG	2455g	◊ 1/52	♦ 0/26	◊ 1/40	♦ ½/30	◊ 1/17	◊ ½/9	♦ 0/19	◊ 1/32	♦ ½/11	◊ 1/28	♦ ½/8	7
14	Nicholas Pert	ENG	2390f	♦ 1/48	◊ 0/6	♦ ½/23	◊ 1/29	♦ ½/20	♦ ½/31	◊ 0/17	◊ 1/47	♦ ½/28	♦ 1/39	◊ 1/21	7
15	Gary W Lane	ENG	2405m	♦ 1/68	◊ 0/2	♦ ½/29	◊ ½/23	♦ 1/41	◊ 1/18	♦ 0/6	◊ ½/43	♦ ½/22	◊ 1/32	♦ 1/20	7
16	Praveen Thipsay	IND	2450g	♦ 1/45	◊ 1/54	♦ 0/2	◊ 1/41	♦ ½/9	◊ ½/20	♦ 1/25	◊ ½/6	♦ 1/19	♦ 0/1	◊ 0/5	6½
17	Simon K Williams	ENG	2335f	♦ 1/61	◊ 0/20	♦ ½/56	◊ 1/45	♦ 0/13	◊ 1/29	♦ 1/14	◊ 0/8	♦ 0/10	◊ 1/42	♦ 1/28	6½
18	Simon Knott	ENG	2340f	◊ ½/49	♦ ½/55	◊ 1/47	♦ 1/12	◊ 0/19	♦ 0/15	◊ 1/41	♦ ½/24	◊ 1/40	♦ 0/5	◊ 1/39	6½
19	Jonathan Rowson	SCO	2495m	◊ 1/46	♦ 1/33	◊ 1/26	◊ 0/2	♦ 1/18	♦ ½/1	◊ 1/13	♦ 0/4	◊ 0/16	◊ 0/11	♦ ½/23	6
20	Keith C Arkell	ENG	2475g	◊ 1/51	♦ 1/17	◊ 0/1	♦ 1/32	◊ ½/14	♦ ½/16	◊ 1/40	♦ 0/3	◊ 0/12	♦ 1/30	◊ 0/15	6
21	Stuart Conquest	ENG	2490g	♦ ½/29	◊ 1/31	♦ 0/8	◊ ½/22	♦ 1/51	◊ 1/32	♦ 1/28	◊ 0/2	♦ 0/9	◊ 1/25	♦ 0/14	6
22	Richard G Pert	ENG	2240	◊ ½/5	♦ 0/4	◊ 1/59	♦ ½/21	◊ 0/12	♦ 1/50	◊ ½/30	♦ 1/52	◊ ½/15	♦ ½/34	◊ ½/24	6
23	Robert Eames	ENG	2232	◊ 0/7	♦ 1/58	◊ ½/14	♦ ½/15	◊ ½/24	♦ ½/39	◊ ½/26	♦ ½/30	◊ ½/34	♦ 1/33	◊ ½/19	6
24	Richard A Bates	ENG	2395m	◊ ½/50	♦ ½/49	◊ 1/42	◊ 0/9	♦ ½/23	♦ ½/34	◊ 1/39	◊ ½/18	♦ 1/43	◊ 0/10	♦ ½/22	6
25	Brian Kelly	IRL	2405f	◊ ½/66	♦ 1/50	◊ 0/4	♦ 1/46	◊ 1/34	♦ 0/3	◊ 0/16	♦ 1/49	◊ 1/33	♦ 0/21	◊ ½/26	6
26	Thomas Hinks-Edwards	ENG	2315	♦ 1/53	◊ 1/13	♦ 0/19	◊ 0/28	♦ 1/60	◊ 0/10	♦ ½/23	◊ ½/29	♦ ½/42	◊ 1/48	♦ ½/25	6
27	David Tebb	ENG	2250	◊ 0/3	♦ 1/62	◊ 0/5	♦ ½/47	◊ 1/55	♦ ½/42	♦ 0/11	◊ ½/48	♦ 1/60	◊ ½/35	♦ 1/44	6
28	Jonathan P Levitt	ENG	2430g	◊ 1/65	♦ 0/1	◊ 1/44	♦ 1/26	◊ ½/3	♦ ½/5	◊ 0/21	♦ 1/40	◊ ½/14	♦ 0/13	◊ 0/17	5½
29	David M Moskovic	ENG	2235	◊ ½/21	♦ ½/5	◊ ½/15	♦ 0/14	◊ 1/56	♦ 0/17	◊ 1/61	♦ ½/26	◊ 0/30	♦ 1/49	◊ ½/34	5½
30	Susan Lalic	ENG	2350wg	♦ ½/60	◊ ½/47	♦ 1/48	◊ ½/13	♦ ½/10	◊ 0/6	♦ ½/22	◊ ½/23	♦ 1/29	◊ 0/20	♦ ½/31	5½
31	Adam Hunt	ENG	2265	◊ ½/4	♦ 0/21	◊ 1/66	♦ 1/56	♦ ½/11	◊ ½/14	◊ ½/33	♦ 0/12	♦ ½/51	◊ ½/43	◊ ½/30	5½
32	Gavin Wall	ENG	2355	◊ 1/58	♦ 0/7	◊ 1/55	◊ 0/20	♦ 1/63	♦ 0/21	◊ 1/52	♦ 0/13	◊ 1/36	♦ 0/15	◊ ½/37	5½
33	Michael J Basman	ENG	2360m	♦ 1/63	◊ 0/19	♦ 0/41	◊ ½/42	♦ 1/53	◊ 1/35	♦ ½/31	◊ ½/10	♦ 0/25	◊ 0/23	♦ 1/48	5½
34	Andrew Dyce	WLS	2295	◊ 0/56	♦ 1/65	◊ ½/52	♦ 1/49	♦ 0/25	◊ ½/24	♦ 1/60	◊ 0/11	♦ ½/23	◊ ½/22	♦ ½/29	5½
35	Andrew P Smith	IRL	2290f	◊ 0/1	♦ 0/42	◊ 1/62	♦ ½/55	◊ 1/58	♦ 0/33	◊ 0/49	♦ 1/61	◊ 1/46	♦ ½/27	◊ ½/36	5½
36	F Norman Stephenson	ENG	2215	♦ 0/10	◊ 1/64	♦ 0/11	◊ ½/50	♦ ½/47	◊ 0/60	♦ 1/63	◊ 1/45	♦ 0/32	◊ 1/51	♦ ½/35	5½
37	Oliver Jackson	ENG	2255	♦ ½/9	◊ 0/41	♦ ½/60	◊ 0/63	♦ 1/48	◊ ½/47	♦ ½/51	◊ 0/42	♦ 1/57	◊ 1/53	♦ ½/32	5½
38	David Coleman	ENG	2245	♦ 0/6	◊ 0/48	♦ 0/64	◊ ½/62	♦ ½/59	◊ 1/66	♦ 1/57	◊ 0/53	♦ ½/47	◊ 1/60	♦ 1/50	5½
39	Graeme Buckley	ENG	2295m	♦ ½/47	◊ 1/60	♦ 1/54	♦ 0/7	◊ 0/5	◊ ½/23	♦ 0/24	◊ 1/41	♦ 1/53	◊ 0/14	♦ 0/18	5
40	Charles Kennaugh	ENG	2290f	♦ 1/64	◊ 0/10	♦ 0/13	◊ 1/48	♦ 1/45	◊ 1/11	♦ 0/20	◊ 0/28	♦ 0/18	◊ ½/50	♦ ½/42	5
41	Marcus E Osborne	ENG	2205	◊ 0/12	♦ 1/37	◊ 1/33	♦ 0/16	◊ 0/15	◊ 1/54	♦ 0/18	♦ 0/39	◊ 0/44	♦ 1/61	◊ 1/56	5
42	Jovanka Houska	ENG	2190		◊ 1/35	♦ 0/24	♦ ½/33	◊ 1/46	◊ ½/27	♦ 0/43	♦ 1/37	◊ ½/26	♦ 0/17	◊ ½/40	5/10
43	James E Cobb	WLS	2305	◊ ½/55	♦ ½/8	◊ ½/49	♦ ½/51	◊ 1/52	♦ 0/12	◊ 1/42	♦ ½/15	◊ 0/24	♦ ½/31		5/10
44	Andrew P Lewis	ENG	2275f	♦ 0/2	◊ 1/57	♦ 0/28	◊ 0/60	♦ 0/50	◊ 1/59	♦ 0/48	◊ 1/56	♦ 1/41	◊ 1/47	◊ 0/27	5
45	David Ledger	ENG	2220f	◊ 0/16	♦ ½/59	◊ 1/50	♦ 0/17	◊ 0/40	♦ 0/61	◊ 1/62	♦ 0/36	◊ 1/58	♦ 1/55	◊ ½/46	5
46	Nathan Alfred	ENG	2235	♦ 0/19	◊ ½/63	♦ 1/61	◊ 0/25	♦ 0/42	◊ ½/53	♦ 1/56	◊ ½/60	♦ 0/35	◊ 1/54	♦ ½/45	5
47	Melanie Buckley	ENG	2005	◊ ½/39	♦ ½/30	♦ 0/18	◊ ½/27	◊ ½/36	♦ ½/37	◊ 1/58	♦ 0/14	◊ ½/38	♦ 0/44	◊ ½/51	4½
48	Andrew G Cooper	HKG	2145	◊ 0/14	♦ 1/38	◊ 0/30	♦ 0/40	◊ 0/37	♦ 1/62	◊ 1/44	♦ ½/27	◊ 1/55	♦ 0/26	◊ 0/33	4½
49	Simon Buckley	ENG	2120	♦ ½/18	◊ ½/24	♦ ½/43	◊ 0/34	♦ ½/54	◊ ½/51	♦ 1/35	◊ 0/25	♦ ½/50	◊ 0/29	♦ ½/53	4½
50	Sheila Jackson	ENG	2165wm	♦ ½/24	◊ 0/25	♦ 0/45	♦ ½/36	◊ 1/44	◊ 0/22	♦ ½/64	♦ 1/58	◊ ½/49	♦ ½/40	◊ 0/38	4½
51	Francis Rayner	WLS	2235	♦ 0/20	◊ ½/61	♦ 1/53	◊ ½/43	◊ 0/21	♦ ½/49	◊ ½/37	♦ ½/55	◊ ½/31	♦ 0/36	♦ ½/47	4½
52	Adrian Jackson	ENG	2225	♦ 0/13	◊ ½/53	♦ ½/34	◊ 1/64	♦ 0/43	◊ 1/63	♦ 0/32	◊ 0/22	♦ 0/54	◊ ½/59	♦ 1/60	4½
53	James McDonnell	IRL	2020	◊ 0/26	♦ ½/52	◊ 0/51	♦ 1/66	◊ 0/33	♦ ½/46	◊ 1/65	♦ 1/38	◊ 0/39	♦ 0/37	◊ ½/49	4½
54	Chris Beaumont	ENG	2330	◊ 1/59	♦ 0/16	◊ 0/39	♦ ½/58	◊ ½/49	♦ 0/41	◊ 0/55	♦ ½/65	◊ 1/52	♦ 0/46	♦ 1/57	4½
55	Craig Hanley	ENG	2010	♦ ½/43	◊ ½/18	♦ 0/32	◊ ½/35	♦ 0/27	◊ ½/57	♦ 1/54	◊ ½/51	♦ 0/48	◊ 0/45	♦ ½/59	4
56	Michael Holmes	IRL	(1999)	♦ 1/34	♦ 0/12	◊ ½/17	◊ 0/31	♦ 0/29	♦ ½/65	◊ 0/46	♦ 0/44	◊ 1/62	◊ 1/63	♦ 0/41	4
57	David Gunter	ENG	2175	◊ 0/8	♦ 0/44	◊ 0/58	♦ 1/59	◊ ½/61	♦ ½/55	◊ 0/38	♦ 1/66	◊ 0/37	♦ 1/65	◊ 0/54	4
58	Heather Richards	ENG	2130	♦ 0/32	◊ 0/23	♦ 1/57	◊ ½/54	♦ 0/35	◊ 1/64	♦ 0/47	◊ 0/50	♦ 0/45	◊ ½/66	♦ 1/63	4
59	Edmund C Player	ENG	2110	♦ 0/54	◊ ½/45	♦ 0/22	◊ 0/57	◊ ½/38	♦ 0/44	♦ 1/66	◊ ½/64	◊ ½/65	♦ ½/52	◊ ½/55	4
60	Clive Wismayer	ENG	2125	◊ ½/30	♦ 0/39	◊ ½/37	♦ 1/44	◊ 0/26	♦ 1/36	◊ 0/34	♦ ½/46	◊ 0/27	♦ 0/38	◊ 0/52	3½
61	Cathy Forbes	ENG	2110wm	◊ 0/17	♦ ½/51	◊ 0/46	♦ ½/65	♦ ½/57	◊ 1/45	♦ 0/29	◊ 0/35	♦ ½/64	◊ 0/41	◊ ½/62	3½
62	Aiden Leech	ENG	2145	♦ 0/11	◊ 0/27	♦ 0/35	♦ ½/38	◊ ½/66	◊ 0/48	♦ 0/45	◊ 1/63	♦ 0/56	◊ 1/64	♦ ½/61	3½
63	Jonathan Mutton	ENG	2135	◊ 0/33	♦ ½/46	◊ ½/65	♦ 1/37	◊ 0/32	♦ 0/52	◊ 0/36	♦ 0/62	◊ 1/66	♦ 0/56	◊ 0/58	3
64	Thomas Rendle	ENG	1848	◊ 0/40	♦ 0/36	◊ 1/38	♦ 0/52	◊ ½/65	♦ 0/58	◊ ½/50	♦ ½/59	◊ ½/61	♦ 0/62	♦ 0/66	3
65	Chris Morrison	SCO	2200	♦ 0/28	◊ 0/34	♦ ½/63	◊ ½/61	♦ ½/64	◊ ½/56	♦ 0/53	◊ ½/54	♦ ½/59	◊ 0/57	♦ 0/67	3
66	R Alan Barton	ENG	2180	♦ ½/25	◊ 0/9	♦ 0/31	◊ 0/53	♦ ½/62	♦ 0/38	◊ 0/59	◊ 0/57	♦ 0/63	♦ ½/58	◊ 1/64	2½
67	Carey Wilman	SCO	2060											◊ 1/65	1/1
68	Philip Potopaev	ENG	2060	◊ 0/15											0/1

1998 British Chess Championship Play-Off, Torquay, Saturday 8 August 1998

Rapidplay - 30m + 30s/move

1998 British Chess Championship	Fed	Elo	1	2	Total
Nigel Short	ENG	2670g	½	1	1½
Matthew Sadler	ENG	2660g	½	0	½

1998 British Ladies' Champion: Susan Lalic
1998 British Under 21 Champions: Miroslav Houska, Nicholas Pert, Krishnan Sasikiran
Alexander Best Games Prize: Chris Ward for his game vs David Tebb
British Championship Rating Prizes: Richard Pert 6/11; Melanie Buckley 4½/11
GM norm achieved: Krishnan Sasikiran
IM norm achieved: Miroslav Houska
WIM norm achieved: Jovanka Houska

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1998 BCF MAJOR OPEN

Rank	1998 Major Open	Total
1-2	Robert McFarland (194; W7 D3 L1), Martin Simons (197; W6 D5 L0)	8½/11
3-4	Matthew Anderton (198; W7 D2 L2), John Sugden (198; W5 D6 L0)	8
5-13	David Buckley, Dilip Das, Andrew Greet, Andrew J Hammond, John Naylor, Robert Noyce, Philip Potopaev, David Spence, Desmond Tan	7½
14-17	Bret C Addison, Daniel Bisby, Rohan Churm, Robert Willmoth	7
18-35	Richard Almond, Chris Beckett, Matthew Broomfield, Ian Debbage, Tim Dickinson, David Garner, Ian Henderson, David Hodge, Chris Howell, Chris Jones, Richard Jones, Ian Kelly, Nicholas S Lee, Shanker Menon, Stewart Reuben, Oliver Rosten, Nicholas Rutter, David Wise	6½
36-45	Johnathan R Bourne, Leigh Debbage, Thomas Dougherty, Andrew M Dunn, Berthold Lausen, Stephen C Ledger, Gavin R Lock, Roger D W Marsh, Tim Spanton, Jay Stockham	6
46-66	Mark S Allison, Philip Almond, C Paul Botham, D Ian Calvert, James Coleman, Neil Crickmore, P Davies, Michael F G Duggan, David Flower, Robin Haldane, Peter C R Lane, Arthur Pinkerton, Philip R Pugh, John Richards, Arpi Shah, Binoy Shah, Marc A Shaw, Tomas Thrower, Alec Toll, I Ward, Mark A Whitehead	5½
67-83	Iva Anguelov, Paul Aston, John Bass, Terry J Bean, Matthew D F Cave, John A Feavyour, John S Garnett, Gawain C B Jones, Ninad R Konakanchi, D Lewis, J Simmons, Jesper Sisask, M Taylor, R Thomas, Neville H Twitchell, L Walker, Mel J Young	5
84-93	Leslie J Crane, Angus French, Tim Hebbes, Rosalind Kieran, Matthew C King, Timothy Lunn, Peter S Morton, David Parr, Sophie Tidman, Syringa Turvey	4½
94-105	Ruth Bates, Lucy Broomfield, Marcus A Coupe, Andrew Foulds, Mark Hubbuck, S Jones, M Morrison, K Nicholas, Claire Thrower, Liam Varnam, Jack Waller, Richard J Watts	4
106-109	Dinesh Agarwal, Stephen J E Casement, James Foster, Alexander M Stille	3½
110	Joanna Hart	3
111-112	J Brooke, Daniel C Gibbs	2
113-115	Richard D Carpenter, Tosin Otulana, Anila Shah	1
116	M Connolly	0/1

Highest placed U18: Boys - Andrew Greet, David Buckley, Desmond Tan - 7½; Girls - Iva Anguelov - 5 pts

1998 BRITISH U-18 CHAMPIONSHIP (Contested with the Major Open)

Boys: Andrew Greet, David Buckley and Desmond Tan Girls: Iva Anguelov

1998 BRITISH U-16 CHAMPIONSHIP (21 competitors, 7 Round Swiss)

1 David Edwards 5½/7; 2-3 Andrew Bigg, Jay Stockham 5; 4-6 Adam O'Reilly, James Parkin, Michael White - 4½

Girls Champion: Ivana Houska 3/7

1998 BRITISH U-15 CHAMPIONSHIP (Played as part of the U-16 Championship)

Boys Champion: David Edwards Girls Champion: Ivana Houska

1998 BRITISH U-14 CHAMPIONSHIP (34 competitors, 7 Round Swiss)

1 Lorin D'Costa 6/7; 2 Murugan Thiruchelvam 5½; 3-5 James Murphy, Philip Peck, David Shaw 5

Girls Champion: Marieanne Howard 3½/7

1998 BRITISH U-13 CHAMPIONSHIP (45 competitors, 7 Round Swiss)

1 Lorin D'Costa 6½/7; 2 Kumardip Chakaborty 6

Girls Champion: Lydia Goodwin 4/7

1998 BRITISH U-12 CHAMPIONSHIP (50 competitors, 7 Round Swiss)

1-3 Chetan Deva, Thomas Nixon, Lawrence Trent 5½/7

Girls Champions: Alexandra Wilson, Baisakhi Das 4/7

1998 BRITISH U-11 CHAMPIONSHIP (41 competitors, 7 Round Swiss)

1 Chetan Deva 6/7; 2-3 David Howell, Patrick Reid 5½

Girls Champion: Sabrina Chevannes 5

1998 BRITISH U-10 CHAMPIONSHIP (50 competitors, 7 Round Swiss)

1 Lee Gold 6½/7; 2-4 Mark Goodwin, Colin Hall, Stewart Trent 5½

Girls Champion: Claire Morris 4

1998 BRITISH U-9 CHAMPIONSHIP (63 competitors, 7 Round Swiss)

1-3 Samuel Buckley, Matthew Elstrop, Thomas Sharp 6/7

Girls Champions: Poppy Aarons, Yasmin Ball, Colleen Halpin 4

1998 BRITISH U-8 CHAMPIONSHIP (43 competitors, 7 Round Swiss)

1 David Howell 5½/7; 2-5 Daniel Hall, James Hanley, Peter Poobalasingham 5

Girls Champion: Poppy Aarons 4½

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1998 BRITISH SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP (formerly Veterans)

1 Michael P Cook (189) 5½/7; 2 D George Ellison (183) 5; 3-5 James R Boyce (171), Kenneth W Lloyd (193), Roelof Westra (186) 4½; 6-8 Lim Kok-Ann, James S McRae, Malcolm Peart 4; 9-13 Donald Baldwin, Stanley E Cranmer, Hugh S Flockhart, James R Nicholson, J Yates 3½; 14-18 K A Brown, David A S Buckland, H James Draisey, John Poole, David A Tidmarsh 3; 19 Frank A Boagey 1½.

U-150 CHAMPIONSHIP (5 Round Swiss)

1 Stanley E Cranmer (144) 4½/5; 2-5 Andrew J Bigg (150), M Brazier (144), R J Ditchburn (150), D McGowan (103) 4; 6-7 O Cooley, P McIntosh 3½; 8-13 R Allen, B Boomsma, R Dean, J Harbour, R Mooring, L Roche 3; 14-24 D Flynn, Douglas Forbes, I V Houska, W Ingham, Victoria Kowalkowski, E Lutton, James Nicolson, Dinah Norman, J Poole, P Ribbands, S A Williams 2½; 25-31 D Cannan, P Carpenter, M England, T McMahon, W Moffatt, B Sandercock, P Walker 2; 32-34 P Bloom, D Jarvis, A Sage 1½; 35-38 L Donington, A Grice, S Watson 1.

U-125 CHAMPIONSHIP (5 Round Swiss)

1 D Flynn 5/5 ; 2 G Lakeland 4½; 3-6 N Lister, P Manton, L P Roche, G C Rosser 4; 7-13 Lara Barnes, H Berlin, S J Cooke, W J Ellworthy, Douglas Forbes, R D White, T E J Wilde 3½; 14-23 A Collins, P E Higgins, R Hulley, P H Jackson, D W Lewis, C J D Newman, K O Nicholas, J Parker, C J A Rawlinson, Ellen Walker 3; 24-34 R R Brown, D Everitt, R Gosden, M J Gunn, T Jepson, S Moxley, P E Richards, A J Sage, R Thompson, N A Ward, S L Watson 2½; 35-43 R C Andriessen, Lana Boztas, M Callis, V Ghasi, N Mahoney, C Morrison, B K Nicholas, R N Smith, R Vallance 2; 44-48 G Garnett, W McLaughlin, A Trent, A R Willis, J Wynne 1½; 49-54 E Buck, R A Clark, A Cox, Marjorie Ellison, D Morrison, A D Wright 1; 55 William E Upton ½; 56 M J Adams 0.

U-100 CHAMPIONSHIP (5 Round Swiss)

1 J Clarke 4½/5; 2-4 Lana Boztas, L Cornhill, M Richards 4; 5-10 E Buck, M Cuggy, N A Hayward, M Plant, P R Plant, D Stone 3½; 11-14 J Al Malah, M R Garrod, B Nicholas, O Wilson 3; 15-22 Y Ehtesham-Haghighi, T Jepson, S Mooring, C Mycroft, R Mycroft, D Rennie, G Rowan, J H Whitfield 2½; 23-28 Harriet E Bates, P Carrick, I Mason, W McLaughlin, D Turtle, L Winston 2; 29-32 Karen Davies, S Howard, A Swersky, R Vallance 1½; 33-34 A Cox, R Smith 1; 35 F Sealey ½; 36 N Pryor 0.

ALL-PLAY-ALL (9 competitors, 11 Rounds)

1 Jeremy Fraser-Mitchell 9/11; 2 Steve Connor 7

WEEK 1 - HARRY BAINES TOURNAMENT (16 competitors, 9 Rounds)

1 James Mansson 8/9; 2 Robin Harskin 7

WEEK 2 HARRY BAINES TOURNAMENT (17 competitors, 9 Rounds)

1st W E C Hughes 9/9; 2 M Rich 6½

5 DAY WEEK 1 TOURNAMENT (26 competitors, 5 Round Swiss)

1-4 John Dodgson, Michael S Kobylka, S Law, Victor B Rumsey 4/5

5 DAY WEEK 2 TOURNAMENT (32 competitors, 5 Round Swiss)

1 David J James 4½/5; 2-3 D Hill, Clive L Waters 4

WEEKEND OPEN

(22 competitors, 6 Round Swiss)

1-2 J Nick Hawkins, D L Roberts 4½/6

WEEKEND U-140

(17 competitors, 6 Round Swiss)

1-2 W Bennet, S Pride 5/6

WEEKEND U-110

(25 competitors, 6 Round Swiss)

1 J B Farrell 5/6; 2 S L Watson 4½

RAPIDPLAY 26 JULY

(56 competitors, 6 Round Swiss)

1 Gavin Wall 5½/6; 2-4 Tim Dickinson, Andrew Greet, Gary Kenworthy, Aaron Summerscale 5

RAPIDPLAY 2 AUGUST (38 competitors, 6 Round Swiss)

1 Bogdan Lalic 5½/6; 2 Tim Dickinson 5

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THE SMITH & WILLIAMSON 85th BRITISH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Torquay 27 July - 7 August 1999 Report by Neil Graham, Director for Congress Chess (1999 BCF Yearbook, p25)

After 18 years under the stewardship of Stewart Reuben, the British championships started with me as the new Congress Director. 1 am sure that everyone will join me in thanking Stewart for his service in building up the Championships to the successful event it has now become. I have been one of the organising team for many years but nothing had prepared me for the sheer organisational nightmare of running this huge event, the flagship of the Federation's year. So glossing over all the problems leading up to the Championships which would take a few A4 sheets themselves, a swift move to arriving on Saturday 25 July. By Sunday evening everything was set up, the simul with Irish IM elect, Brian Kelly, had taken place and Gavin Wall had won the Rapidplay and we were ready to go.

The continued sponsorship of Smith and Williamson ensured an excellent entry once again in the Championship. Although Michael Adams was not playing, the appearance of Nigel Short after an eleven year absence whetted everyone's appetite and resulted in one of the best tournaments for years with a head-to-head with current champion Matthew Sadler in prospect. After winning their first four games the two gladiators met at the board in Round Five and attracted a huge audience of spectators. Any thoughts of a quick draw vanished as a 71 move marathon was played - the assembly applauding the players as a draw was finally agreed in the last seconds of the seven hour session. The ‘Any Questions' evening scheduled for Friday - normally a popular attraction - was deserted with everyone watching the game in the main hall.

Other players threatened to join Sadler and Short in the lead but by the penultimate round they were still ahead of the field. However, Matthew lost disastrously to Mark Hebden leaving Nigel a point clear. Scores out of 10 were Short 8½, Sadler 7½, Hebden, Miles, Speelman and Wells 7. The final round pairings were Sadler-Wells and Miles-Short. Peter Wells succumbed in time pressure leaving Short needing only a draw to win. However, Tony Miles had a slight advantage which he skilfully nursed into an endgame win. So the final scores were Short and Sadler 8½; Miles 8; Speelman and Ward 7½ - a play-off for the second successive year! Last year's indecisive Championship attracted some criticism. However, a clarification of the rules meant that both players returned on the Saturday knowing that they would have to play to a finish. The limit of 30 moves plus 30 seconds a move gave the two participants time for two proper games rather than ‘penalty shootout' chess and again we saw two closely contested battles. As in Round Five the crowd who had remained witnessed two rook & pawn endings with a draw in the first game followed by a 75 move victory in the decider. An excellent climax to a well-contested event.

Other highlights of the Championships were too numerous to mention, so I will confine myself to a few. Susan Lalic won the Women's Championship for the fifth time. She was pressed by Jovanka Houska who scored a Women's IM norm. Jovanka's brother Miroslav achieved an IM norm. As well as the brother-sister combination two of the young Buckley family, Melanie and Simon also qualified and played in the Championship; the first time I can remember two brothers and sisters competing in the event. Krishnan Sasikiran, who finished with 7/11, was joint Under 21 Champion with Miroslav Houska and Nick Pert, and achieved a GM norm.

On now to the other events. Entries in general held up, although the continued migration of Under 16s to the Major Open was not stemmed by the increase in prize money in the junior sections. The all-play-alls are clearly in their death throes due to the increased popularity of the graded Championships - the Under 150 an innovation this year. The weekenders were disappointing; all the progress made in increased entries in the last couple of years was lost.

Bob Jones, General Secretary of the WECU, was in charge of publicity this year and had some notable successes particularly with West Country television and local newspapers. Nevertheless the impression that chess is somehow alien to news coverage was re-inforced by the attitude of certain organisations - here in Torquay it was the BBC who could find no time to cover the Championships over the two weeks. Coverage in the national media, particularly the Daily Telegraph and Teletext was superb. Denis Walker was in charge of the web pages and had so many ‘hits' that the lines could not cope by the time that the final rounds were reached. Games were keyed in as moves were played but to actually reach the technological level that the event demands is still too expensive for the limited budget the Federation has. Presentation this year also extended to a banner, which had to be replaced because the keyword ‘CHESS' had been omitted and an official photographer, a role excellently performed by Paul Aston. Bogdan Lalic provided the commentary and gave an authoritative and deep insight into the games; still finding time to win the middle Sunday Rapidplay.

A local committee which arranged everything from the cricket match (won by the Congress team against Torquay III) to the evening events, provided help at every level. This co-operation between the Federation and local organisers is of paramount importance to the success of the Championships and I would like to extend my thanks to all the Devon team. On the subject of success at this point I ought to gloss over the fact that the quiz team John Robinson and I participate in again won Richard Furness's Sunday quiz - this year assisted by Bob Jones and Rosie Vasey. I ought to but I won't.

The Championships cannot function without the dedicated band of organisers who act as arbiters, office staff, publicists and so on. On behalf of the Federation I would like to thank David Welch, Richard Furness, John Robinson, Neville Belinfante, Roger Edwards, Alex McFarlane, John Turnock, Peter Purland, Ian Cowen, Tony Corfe, Alec Webster, John Henderson, Bob Jones, Denis Walker, Victor Cross, Mike O'Hara and David Carpenter who were the mainstays of the organisation team. One name is missing from the list, that of George Smith, who announced that he was retiring as Congress Secretary after 10 years service. The Federation would like to place on record its thanks to George for his service in this post. Normally we would wish a happy retirement from administrative duties, however, George is remaining as International Grader so he will still maintain his links to the Congress through this post.

Finally I would like to thank all the competitors – without them there would be no event – and I look forward to welcoming friends old and new to Scarborough in 1999.

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File updated

Date	Notes
1998	First uploaded to BritBase in 1998 as a zipped file.
18 August 2008	Further amendments.
19 August 2021	Now with a complete crosstable for the Championship, which obviates the need to include stubs in the download file and games viewer. So the number of games in the download has now been whittled down to 287, plus the two games from the play-off. If anyone still wants the 76 stubs, they can be found at this link.