Nigel Short signs an autograph for a fan

Nigel Short is British Champion

This year's Smith & Williamson British Championship culminated in "the toughest chess for almost a decade," in the words of Jonathan Speelman. He gave a speech at the prize-giving ceremony instead of the British Champion - because the holder of the title was still to be decided. "It's been an absolute zoo this week ... without the sponsors Smith & Williamson there wouldn't have been this bloodbath," Speelman said. The first prize of £10,000 and several other generous prizes provided the incentive for players to go for the kill.

With Michael Adams absent, appearing as a guest of honour in the US Open, Nigel Short and Matthew Sadler were the favourites. The prize money enticed Short over from Greece, where he has been living since his World Championship match with Garry Kasparov in 1993. In round 10 it looked as if he would scoop the lot when Sadler, leading the tournament with Short on 7½/9, dramatically lost to Mark Hebden. Playing with the white pieces, Hebden sacrificed his bishop on h7 which brought Sadler's king out into the open and led to a dangerous attack. It wasn't necessarily sound, but it was exciting. "I did it because I had the demo board!" Hebden said afterwards.

Sadler played correctly and fought off Hebden's attack, but at a cost. He had only 24 seconds left on his clock when he blundered and fell into a trap which led to mate in three, so Sadler resigned. At that point, with Short winning his game, he must have thought his chances of winning the tournament had completely disappeared. However, the following day Short found himself paired against Tony Miles, one of his least favourite people. The two England team-mates are not on speaking terms and Miles was determined to win the game, never having beaten Short before in long-play chess.

Sadler's game against Peter Wells in the final round looked to be heading towards a draw, which would have made Short champion, but Sadler abruptly turned it into a win. At the same time, Short was battling through a losing endgame, watching his moment of glory recede into the future. Sadler stood on the sidelines, willing Miles to make the correct moves. In fact Sadler's telepathic help was not needed, as Miles played superbly and Short had to resign, which meant he finished the tournament on the same score as Sadler, 8½/11. Both were presented with the magnificent trophy at the prize-giving ceremony, but immediately afterwards they returned to the board for the play-off games.

The time control for the play-off was 30 minutes each plus 30 seconds per move, which was thought by many spectators and commentators to be too long. It meant that both the games lasted for around two hours, and there was no real possibility of a time scramble. The Torquay Riviera Centre's spacious hall was full at the start of the first game, but only about half the people stayed until the end of the second game. Throughout the contest, Sadler was under tremendous pressure. He had already been in trouble in his tournament game against Short, when he eked out a draw in a rook and pawn ending where he was a pawn down. Sadler had to repeat the same task in game 1 of the play-off, as White. Then as Black he went two pawns down, which Short eventually converted into connected passed pawns. Sadler found some last-ditch tactics, but they weren't enough to save him.

The play-off could also have been improved if the trophy had been presented to Short when he won. Instead, he was simply handed an envelope with a cheque in it, and no words of congratulation were said that were loud enough for the audience to hear. Apart from that, this year's event cannot be faulted. The Riviera Centre is almost certainly England's best chess venue, so it will be ideal for next year's European Team Championships. Air conditioned with a bar and swimming pool, and two minutes' walk from the seafront, it's easy to relax between rounds. The analysis room was large and Bogdan Lalic's running commentary on the games was very well attended, with moves on the top boards being transmitted to him by computer and reproduced on demonstration boards.

Return to the ChessMoves Index
Return to the BCF Homepage