CHESS
Title prospects
Raymond Keene
AFTER MANY years in the doldrums the British Championship has resurfaced as a valid test of home players' strength. In for- mer times, during the 1960s for example, the British Championship regularly attract- ed the country's best players, but as satis- faction with the Swiss system dwindled and sponsors became scarcer the more recent championships have been notably lacking in Britain's best players.
The Swiss system, which has been the norm for the championship for many decades, conveniently enables a large num- ber of players to contest a brief number of rounds and still produce a winner. Amongst elite players, though, it is not par- ticularly popular, since each contender meets a slightly different field. Neverthe- less, purist objections can be overcome when the prize fund is sufficiently large, and last year and this Smith and William- son, a legal firm, have provided an excel- lent purse with a £10,000 first prize. It is expected that most of the UK's best play- ers, including the defending co-champions Matthew Sadler and Michael Adams, as well as the former world title challenger Nigel Short, will be doing battle.
The British Championship will take place at Torquay from Monday 27 July to Friday 7 August. The venue is the Riviera Centre, and each day there will be lectures on different themes such as combinations, avoidance of blunders and endgame tricks by experts Gary Kenworthy and Bogdan Lalic.
This week's game shows one of the favourites in action. Michael Adams scored an overwhelming match victory against Jonathan Rowson, and is clearly in fine form. Interestingly, he won every game with Black, conceding two draws with the white pieces. Rowson–Adams: London Match (Game 3) 1998; Ruy Lopez.
1 e5 2 N13 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Bc5 Having won the first two games Adams chose a double-edged defence. Black invites White to expand in the centre and hit Black's bishop by means of d4 in due course, but Black tends to get plenty of tactical counterplay. To do well against this system, White often has to take dou- ble-edged and self-confident decisions, and Adams correctly judged that Rowson was not in the appropriate mood. 6 c3 b5 7 Bb3 d6 8 a4 Bg4 9 h3 Bh5 10 d3 Rb8 11 Nbd2 0-0 12 Rel b4 Typical of this line. Black virtually welcomes weaknesses in his queenside pawn structure, but plays, meanwhile, to maximise his piece activity. 13 Bc4 Na5 A fascinating pawn sacrifice. At first sight it is not clear how Black plans to obtain compensation, but Adams has seen very deeply into the position. 14 Bxa6 c6 (Diagram) Black's
a hcde f g h Position after 14 . . . c6 which has strayed to the edge in the interests of plan is to cut off the retreat of White's bishop, winning a pawn. A further threat is ... Qb6 fork-
ing a6 and f2. Now White probably needs to take his life in his hands and enter unclear compkel tions after 15 g4 bxc3 16 bxc3 Qb6 17 d4 exd4186 cxd4 Bxd4 19 Nxd4 Qxd4 20 Ra3. 15 d4 bxc3 dxc5 cxd2 17 Bxd2 Nb3 18 Ra3 Nxc5 19 11u" Rxb2 Surprisingly, it is Black who has emerge, a pawn ahead from the complications. White should now try 20 Bc3 Rb8 21 Bc2 Bg6 22 Ne12' As played he overlooks further tactics. 20 Qe14 Qb8 21 Bc2 Nfxe4 (Diagram) If now 22 Bxe4 Nxe4 23 Rxe4 Rbl winning. 22 Rxe4 Bg6 23 NxeS The best chance, for if 23 Rc4 Bxc2 2! Rxc2 Rbl. 23 ...Bxe4 24 Bxe4 dxe5 25 (2%,. Rxd2 26 a5 Qd6 27 Rc3 Qxc5 28 Rxc5 Rc8 RxeS Kf8 30 Kfl Rat 31 Rh5 h6 32 Rc5 Re8 f3 Rd8 34 Kg1 Rc8 35 h4 Although the resultant endgame is a technical loss, White should stili have tried 35 Rxe6. 35 ...Ke7 36 h5 Kd6 Blacxk'S c-pawn is now safe and White can resign. 371 f6 38 Bd3 c5 White resigns.
Final Crosstable 1 2 3 4 Adams 1 1 1 1/2 Rowson 0 0 0 1/2 A full account, with detailed notes by Michael Adams, of the Adams–Rol/6°0 match appears in the June issue of tile, British Chess Magazine. For back issues and subscriptions ring 0171 603 2877.
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