Friday 27 July to Sunday 5 August 2018
previewed by Lumpy Kustud
At last! The British Championships come to Yorkshire – to Hull City Hall – and local players can take part without having to step off the sacred soil of God’s Own County.
What? ‘Above our level’ did I hear? Rhubarb, of the best Yorkshire variety.
Of course there are the sections for the Cream of Chess (including the odd clot, but we won’t mention names) attracting a whole load of Grand Masters, and niche sections for 8, 9 and 10-year-olds (yes, really).
But there are also the Weekender ‘Yates’ (Fri-Sun) for the U120s (ECF grade, not age though sometimes you might wonder) and the Weekday (Mon-Fri) with separate tournaments for the U120s and the U100s. Yes, even with a grade of, say, 90 you have a sporting a chance of coming away with silverware without being arrested for it.
For ordinary mortals it’s like an ordinary congress but bigger and plushier and more inclusive than most and a wider range of tournaments to choose from. Plus opportunity to watch an array of Grand Masters in action.
As an added attraction there is a programme of social events – some chess-related, some not – mostly free, some at reduced cost, some with free beer. For example there is a a chess problem-solving cake competition (a chess problem on an iced cake) – the winner gets the cake. There’s a more serious chess problem contest (8 problems to be solved in 2 hours) with £50 prizes in the different sections. There’s a chess night at a local casino, a general knowledge quiz night, outdoor chess with human pieces, a free showing of the film ‘Pawn Sacrifice’ (Fischer-Spassky) and an organised pub crawl with free buffet (but you pay for the drinks).
Attractions for Junior players include a free pizza-making and eating event at an Italian restaurant with free ice-cream and cordial thrown in. Not literally of course …….. though on second thoughts would anyone be surprised?
More info and online enrolment are on the BCC website: https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk