The British Championships, which concluded in Hull earlier this month, saw a notable achievement for 15-year-old Shreyas Royal, whose stellar performance was his third and final qualifying result to earn him the grandmaster title. He becomes the youngest British player to reach that milestone, beating David Howell’s record which had held since 2007 (and before that, my own!).
Royal’s win against Howell was one of the best games of the event, although the Alexander Best Game Prize (named for C.H.O’D. Alexander, the Bletchley Park codebreaker and Spectator chess columnist) was awarded to Howell, for the precision in his endgame against Ameet Ghasi.
Below, Royal made the courageous decision to jettison his knight and fight for the initiative, avoiding the obvious but passive 23…Nf5-e7.
David Howell-Shreyas Royal
British Championships, Hull 2024
(see left diagram)
23… fxe5!? 24 gxf5 e4 25 Ne1 25 Ne5 Qg5+ sheds the e3-pawn, and perhaps d4 too. Routing the knight to g2 has a more secure appearance. Qh4 26 Ne2 Qxh3 27 Qd2 Bc7 28 fxg6 Re6 29 Nf4 Bxf4 30 Rxf4 Rxg6+ 31 Ng2 Rh6 32 Raf1 Missing an ingenious defensive idea: 32 Kf2 g5 33 Rg1! Qh2+ 33 Kf2 Rg6 34 Rg1 Rf8 34…Rg3! introducing ideas of g7-g5 and Rg3-f3+ would give Black a decisive attack. 35 Rxf8+ Kxf8 36 Qb4+ Kg8 37 Kf1 Rf6+ 38 Nf4 Qh3+ 39 Ke2 39 Rg2! clings on, e.g. 39…Qxe3 40 Rxg7+ Kxg7 41 Qe7+ Rf7 42 Qg5+ with a draw by perpetual check. Qf3+ 40 Kd2 Rxf4 41 exf4 Qf2+ 42 Kc3 Qxg1 43 Qxb7 Qc1+ 44 Kb3 Qc4+ 45 Ka3 Qxd4 46 Qxc6 Kf7 Once the checks expire, the extra pawn easily decides the game. 47 Qd7+ Kf6 48 Qd8+ Kf5 49 Qg5+ Ke6 50 Qg4+ Kd6 51 Qg6+ Kc5 52 Qe8 Qb4+ 53 Ka2 Kc4 54 Qc6+ Kd4 55 Qd7 Qc4+ 56 b3 Qc2+ 57 Ka3 Qc5+ 58 Ka2 Kd3 59 Qxg7 e3 60 Qg1 Kd2 61 Qg5 e2 62 f5+ Qe3 63 Qg2 Kc1 64 f6 Qd2+ 65 Ka3 Qb2+ White resigns
Royal’s only loss came against Matthew Wadsworth, whose result in Hull (including an impressive win against me) also earned him a grandmaster ‘norm’; Wadsworth will need one more such result to earn the title.
Matthew Wadsworth-Shreyas Royal
British Championships, Hull 2024
(see right diagram)
35 Rbc1! 35 Rbd1 Rf7 is less clear. a4 36 Rd7 a3 37 Rcc7 Rf7 A creative defence, avoiding 37…a2 38 Rxg7+ Kh8 39 Rxh7+ Kg8 40 Rcg7 mate. 38 Rc8+ Rf8 39 Rcc7 Rf7 40 Rxf7 a2 41 Rxg7+ Kf8 42 Rcf7+ Ke8 43 Rxh7! Wadsworth correctly judges that the hoovering rooks will beat the promoted queen. a1=Q+ 44 Kg2 Qa2 45 Rc7 Qd5+ 46 f3 Qa2+ 47 Kh3 Qe6+ 48 Kh4 Kd8 49 Rc8+! Black resigns in view of 49…Rxc8 50 Rh8+
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