British Championships: round two and Torquay

A record-breaking number of over 1000 players are taking part in the 2013 British Championships, attracted by a combination of the beautiful venue and the fact that it’s the 100th in a series stretching right back to 1904. This year it is taking place in the Riviera International Centre in Torquay.

Torquay, population 65,000, is a seaside town in Devon, England, 38 miles (61 km) north-east of Plymouth. The town's economy was initially based upon fishing and agriculture, but in the early 19th century Torquay began to develop into a fashionable seaside resort, frequented by the crème de la crème of Victorian society and earned the nickname of the English Riviera. The famous writer Agatha Christie lived most of her life in Torquay. And it was while staying at the Gleneagles Hotel with the Monty Python team in 1971 that John Cleese found inspiration for the popular sitcom Fawlty Towers (1975, 1979).

A room with a view: John Cleese quotes the famous Torquay scene

There are 23 different sections at the 2013 British Championships, catering for all ages and abilities, but the main focus of interest is on the Championship itself. There are 106 players taking part, of whom 33 are titled players, including thirteen grandmasters. The Championship runs from 29th July to 10th August 2013.

Selection of games from round two

Select games from the dropdown menu above the board

Game of the Day Rd 2 GB Ch 2013

Top ranking after round three

Full results and rankings of all 106 players here

In the lead, together with four other players and a perfect 3.0/3 score: David Howell

Top seed and 2012 British Champion Gawain Jones conceded two draws and has 2.0/3

Stephen Gordon vs Dominic Mackle in round two

Photos provided by Brendan O'Gorman and Keverel Chess

To really appreciate how far the event has come in its 100 years, one needs to take the opportunity to look back at some of the milestones on the way – the great characters, the champions and their games. To do this, IM Andrew Martin is using his computer skills to pick out some key games from the past and run his expert eye over them. Similarly, Bob Jones, local chess history writer, is compiling a set of ten pages, each on a past champion and one of his/her games. These will appear, one at a time, in the daily championship bulletins.

British Champions & Their Games - No. 2

1908 - Tunbridge Wells

Henry Ernest Atkins will be remembered as having entered the British Championship eleven times, winning it nine times. He had just missed out becoming the first BCF Champion in 1904 by a whisker to Napier, but quickly made up for that by winning the following year and the six after that, adding two more titles in 1924 & ’25. He even played in 1937 at the age of 65, coming 3rd= behind Fairhurst and Sir George Thomas.

Henry Ernest Atkins (centre in black jacket) facing Mackenzie

Like Napier he opted for a respectable career rather than the precarious life of a professional chess master, but unlike Napier, Atkins played in his summer holidays and at weekends. Although his work as a teacher denied him an international stage (he was maths teacher in Leicester and from 1909 was Principal of Huddersfield College), his appearance at Hannover 1902 established his credentials by coming 3rd ahead of Mieses, Napier, Chigorin, Marshall and a host of others. On his death in 1955, he was universally considered the strongest British player of the first half of the 20th century.

Arthur John Mackenzie (1871–1949) was one of the great pioneers of organised British chess. He was a founding father of the Warwickshire C. A., the Birmingham League and the Midland Chess Union, and wrote a chess column for the Birmingham Post for 40 years.

BCM said this game "had been justly admired as an example of the gospel according to Lasker, as interpreted by Atkins". In his biography of Atkins, R. N. Coles said it was "a fine example of a close game in which the actual front is narrow, but where there are potential activities on all sides".

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.