Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship 2007-2008

The Final of the 2007-2008 Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship took place at Oakham School on 16th February. 33 solvers took part, including for the first time all six titled British solvers, and two guests from overseas, Dutch GM Dolf Wissmann and ex-World Champion Piotr Murdzia, from Poland. The British title was expected to be a duel between the defending champion and current World Champion John Nunn and Jonathan Mestel, himself a former World Champion.

The event consists of six timed rounds, each involving a different type of problem, and saw a return to form for Piotr Murdzia, who had a poor 2007 by his elevated standards. Murdzia led throughout, and won the event by a big margin. Nunn had a disastrous second round, dropping 6 of the 10 points on the mates in 3, which left him in 7th place overall, 6 points behind Mestel. A determined fightback fell just short, and Mestel took the title by a ½ point, the fifteenth time he has won the British title. Wissmann pulled ahead of Nunn in the last round to tie with Mestel on points, though with a slower time.

The top scores:

1. GM Piotr Murdzia 59/65

2. GM Jonathan Mestel 51½

3. GM Dolf Wissmann 51½

4. GM John Nunn 51

5. FM Michael McDowell 45½

6. IM Colin McNab 45½

7. GM Graham Lee 38½

8. IM David Friedgood 31½

The full table can be found at

http://www.bstephen.me.uk/the_final_-_results0708.html

A tough set of problems had been selected, necessary to separate such a strong field. The Reilly two-mover has a generous key that abandons the rook and allows a check. The Sabinin was the easier of the two studies for solving, but claimed notable victims in Mestel, Wissmann and Lee, all of whom dropped 3½ of the 5 points by failing to find the suicidal looking 3.Kb3. The 5-mover by Vetter, where the black queen is decoyed in front of the bishop, proved straightforward for most of the leading solvers, but was enjoyed for its artistry.

The problems and solutions can be found at

http://www.bstephen.me.uk/the_final_-_problems0708.html

Brian Stephenson