Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2025 i British Chess Magazine

Last December, on a train back to London from a meeting in Leicester, I was trying to follow the finals of the 2024 World Championship Match between Gukesh and Ding in Singapore. The train Wi-Fi was patchy, the English countryside wasn’t offering a great network connection, and I kept refreshing the page in vain. A few rows away, a 20-something with a Brian May hairstyle leaned in and said “Gukesh won”, and showed me the final position on his phone. We got talking. He was a student at a London university and had picked up chess from his peers. He played online, with a rating in the 1500s. “A lot of my mates play,” he told me. “It’s mostly men - we play online and train with engines.” Since that…

Bodhana Sivanandan, a 10-year-old from Harrow, has once again etched her name into British and world chess history, achieving a landmark result at the Dole Trophy in Aix-en-Provence, France, and surpassing the success of the strongest woman chess player ever Judit Polgar, and former women’s World Champion, Hou Yifan. Playing in a very strong field, Bodhana’s excellent performance at the tournament, which concluded on 27 July, earnt her the first Woman Grandmaster (WGM) norm and her second Woman International Master (WIM) norm. In doing so, Sivanandan became the youngest person ever to achieve a WGM norm, breaking a record previously held by Judit Polgár and Hou Yifan. The young player, who holds the title of Woman FIDE Master, scored 4.5/9 against a formidable field that included one Grandmaster and five…

The Scottish Championship International Open chess tournament took place at the Carnegie Conference Centre in Dunfermline, Scotland, from July 7th to 13th, 2025. It was a 9-round Swiss system tournament with a time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move. The tournament was open to both Chess Scotland members and non-members, with players of all nationalities welcome to participate. This event was won by Norwegian Grandmaster Christiansen with 9/9, Andrew Greet was the top Scottish player on 7.5/9. We look at two of the winner’s games, starting with an English Opening: Jonathan Grant – Johan-Sebastian Christiansen Scottish Int Open 2025 Dunfermline SCO (3.1) 1.c4 e5 2.♘c3 ♘c6 3.g3 ♙c5 4.♙g2 d6 5.e3 a6 6.♘ge2 ♙a7 An unusual treatment by Black, the kingbishop is tucked away on a7 and…

This Open was won jointly by Maciej Czopor and Mark Hebden with 4/5. We look at one of the games by Mark Hebden featuring a Queen’s Gambit Slav. Mark Hebden - Sean Gordon Milton Keynes Open 2025 Milton Keynes ENG (2.3) 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.♘f3 ♘f6 4.e3 ♙g4 A solid continuation developing the bishop outside the pawn chain; the downside is that often Black has to exchange this bishop 5.h3 ♙xf3 The alternative was the retreat 5...♙h5 when White can attack the bishop 6.g4 ♙g6 7.♘e5 e6 And if White continues aggressively with 8.h4 (or 8.♘c3 ♘bd7 9.h4 dxc4 10.h5 ♘xe5 11.dxe5 ♛xd1+ 12.♘xd1 ♙e4 13.♖g1 ♘d7 14.♘c3 ♘xe5 15.♘xe4 ♘f3+ 16.♔d1 ♘xg1 17.♙g2 f5 18.gxf5 exf5 19.♘g3 0–0–0+ 20.♔c2 ♙b4 21.a3 ♙e1 22.e4 ♙xf2 23.♘xf5, and Black is…

The 20 th South Wales International Chess Tournament is prominent in the chess calendar, bringing together a diverse field of players from across the globe. The event took place from 4th to 9 th July at the Best Western Heronston Hotel and Spa in Bridgend. The FIDE-rated open tournament consisted of nine rounds, providing both established grandmasters and rising talents the opportunity to compete for prizes. The rate of play was 40 moves in 90 minutes, followed by 30 minutes to finish the games. There was a 30 second increment from move one. This regular tournament is always strong and it was a great success for Aaravamudhan Balaji who won with 8/9, a point ahead of Koby Kalavannan…

The 2025 English Open Chess Championship, held in Kenilworth from 18 to 21 July, delivered a thrilling showcase of both experience and emerging talent. Veteran Grandmaster Michael Adams claimed the title after edging out Nikita Vitiugov in a blitz playoff, following a tense tie on 6/7 points. Rising stars like Shreyas Royal and Matthew Wadsworth impressed with strong performances, finishing just half a point behind the leaders. There was also a tie in the Women’s championship, with Elmira Mirzoeva winning the tie break. The event featured a 7-round Swiss format, concluding with rapid and blitz tie-breaks to decide the winner. With high-level play, dramatic finishes, and strong youth representation, this year’s championship was one of the most exciting in recent memory. Here we will look at some of the games…

If you're looking to improve your play, the recently published book Reveal Your Chess Style should definitely be on your reading list. Not only will it provide insight into your chess and approach, but it will also reveal a lot about your character. In an unassuming, engaging and thought-provoking way, GM Andrew Soltis takes the reader on a journey which goes in two directions: internally, discovering their psychological traits and leanings and externally, through the positions and games, across the history of chess. Andrew Soltis, a Grandmaster, chess correspondent for the New York Post for over 50 years, and a prolific chess writer, presents a compelling argument in his new book: every chess player possesses a style of play unique to them, intrinsically linked to their personality and approach to…

In Promise, Alexis Levitin weaves a poignant tale where the quiet intensity of chess becomes a window into childhood, family, and change. Through Cassie’s journey – from her first encounter with a handcrafted Brazilian chess set gifted by her uncle, to her deep immersion in the game’s rich strategies – the story captures how chess nurtures discipline, curiosity, and identity. As life’s unpredictable currents steer her toward new passions, Promise reminds us that while chess sharpens the mind, it also reflects the broader game of growing up and embracing transformation. BCM Joseph was hunched over as usual on the round piano stool, breathing life into the yellowing keys, as his small fingers grazed their surface. It was the Goldberg Variations, always the Goldberg Variations. Joseph was nine and that was…

This articles is inspired by a quote by Bent Larsen from the book “How To Open A Chess Game.” I don’t have the book, nor have I read it, so the information I give here was sent to me by a reader of my Substrack newsletter, FM Richard Meulders, to whom I am very grateful. The quote is the following: ’’... if Black doesn’t want to have to defend carefully during the first part of the game, he must give White something: more space, healthier pawn structure, the bishop pair - or simply a pawn!" As often with such insightful quotes, they are usually eye-opening because they manage to define what a person has felt on some level but never managed to clearly verbalise. This is what the above quote did…

Vlastimil Hort was one of the finest players never to challenge for the world title — brilliant, charismatic, and, at times, his own worst enemy. It is little known that I can also play bridge, though not to the same level as chess. In fact, my consistent success at cards during the 1978 world championship between Korchnoi and Karpov at Baguio City, against Challenger Viktor Korchnoi and our team of seconds, namely Yasha Murei and Michael Stean, led to Korchnoi’s confidante, Petra Leeuwerik, banning any further bridge sessions! In an earlier bridge session (International Tournament Reykjavik, 1972) playing with Les Blackstock against Leonid Stein and Vlastimil Hort, the latter, well fuelled by Vodka, announced in his typical Czech sing-song accent: “You know, gentlemen, you are in for a rough crossing!”…

1 M. Minski Die Schwalbe 2025 WIN 2 P. Arestov Fritz MT 2012 DRAW 3 Example position 2025 HELP-WIN IN 1 (see text) 4 S. Harnagea WCCC Help-study Ty 2025 HELP-WIN IN 0.5 MOVES (see text) In July, chess composition was focused on Romania. It was in Alba Iulia (that’s in Transylvania, but I promise there are, almost, no vampire references in this column). The annual World Congress of Chess Composition was held there. It includes many events -notably the World Chess Solving Championship, plus, this year, a novel type of endgame study composing competition. The WCSC was won by Poland, regaining the title that Great Britain had taken from them last year. The first two studies this month are from the study-solving round of the WCSC. When I played…