British Chess Magazine June 2025

Few were under any illusions about what Taliban rule would mean when they retook Afghanistan from the U.S. in late August 2021. But some hoped for moderation — that at least common-sense freedoms, like playing chess, might be preserved. However, like in 1996 when the took power for the first time, chess is again facing a ban in Afghanistan. The BBC was the first to break the story on 11 May, that the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have decided to “suspend chess” due to the fear the game can be a source of gambling. The decision was made in an edict from the all-powerful Amr bil Ma’ruf wa Nahi ‘an al-Munkar (the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice under the Taliban). As Atal Mashwani, a…

In conversation with BCM, Llada discusses his path into chess, the players he’s encountered, the art of photography, and his views on the game’s future. Born in 1978 in the northern Spanish village of Pravia, Llada began his career as a journalist before turning to photography – eventually serving as Chief Marketing Officer at the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Today, he is embarking on a new project with the Internet Chess Club. Llada is one of the first people I encountered in the chess world, after I began editing BCM in late 2016. BCM and our U.S. partners, the American Chess Magazine, were using his photos from chess tournaments. The first person to mention David to me was BCM Director, Stephen Lowe. “There are two types of people in the…

I commence this month with a game I won at the age of 13, having studied and been impressed by Aron Nimzowitsch’s strategic manual, My System. Of course, nowadays if you are not a Grandmaster by the age of 13, you may as well renounce any ambition of becoming a leading player, but back in the Cretaceous Period, reasonable competence by thirteen was considered quite precocious! Bhuyia vs. Raymond Keene Clapham Common CC, 1961, London 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e6 3.♘c3 ♙b4 4.e3 c5 5.♙d3 ♘c6 6.♘f3 ♙xc3+ 7.bxc3 d6 8.0–0 b6 9.e4 e5 Here I introduce the so called Hübner variation of the Nimzo-Indian, seven years before the late German Grandmaster officially invented it. 10.d5 ♘e7 11.a4?! There is one reference to a game, Kirk-Collas, Naujac sur Mer, 2012, which…

There were two nine round swiss tournaments held in Jersey in April, the Open and Holiday tournaments. The prizes in the Open attracted a good entry with the tournament being won by the highest rated player, Eduardas Rozentalis. Here we will take a look at two of the most interesting games from the tournament. Rozentalis beat his closest rival Mohr in the following game, showing fine positional play and thus won the first prize of £1500. Mohr won the second prize of £750. Eduardas Rozentalis – Georg Mohr Jersey International 2025 St Clement Bay JCI (4.1) 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.♘d2 c5 4.exd5 ♕xd5 5.♘gf3X This variation of the Tarrasch leads to a small edge for White but Black has a solid position. 5...cxd4 6.♙c4 ♕d7 A good alternative is…

England fielded very strong teams in these championships and won three titles including the 50+ Women, the event was soon after the World Senior Teams and this led to a reduction in entries. The England teams were: England 1: Michael Adams, John Emms, Glenn Flear, Nigel Davies, Stephen Dishman England 2: Gareme Buckley, Neil Dickenson, Chris Duncan, Philip Crocker, Robert Noyce England 50+ Women: Susan Lalic, Ingrid Lauterbach, Natasha Regan, Shelia Jackson, Petra Fink-Nunn England 65+: John Nunn, Tony Kosten, Jonathan Mestel, Peter Large, Chris Baker Here we’ll have a look at some of the most memorable games from the tournament We start with a smooth positional win from Michael Adams Michael Adams – Jaroslaw Rogowski TCh-EUR Senior +50 2025 Swidnica POL (5.13) 1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.♙b5 a6 4.♙a4…

The 69th Welsh Championship was held in Cardiff in April. The winner was Jose Camacho Collados, a professor at Cardiff University. The record holder for the Welsh Championship is A H Williams who won the championship eighteen times. The following game featured some sharp tactics and required accurate calculation by the winner. Camacho Collados,J – Jonathan Blackburn 69th ch-WLS 2025 Cardiff WLS (5.1) 1.♘f3 ♘f6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 ♙g7 4.♙g2 0–0 5.0–0 d6 6.♘c3 c6 White now chooses to play slowly in the centre rather than the natural 7.d4 7.d3 h6 8.b4 d5 Black counters the flank attack with a central pawn thrust which is sensible; not 8...♘e4 9.dxe4 ♙xc3 10.♙xh6 when White is much better. 9.♙b2 d4 This pawn advance is committal; the alternative was the exchange 9...dxc4 10.dxc4…