Chess: Adams wins in London at 52 while Royal, 14, aims for GM in Hastings

Michael Adams, at 52 the oldest competitor, won the 13th London Classic and its £15,000 first prize on Sunday. The youngest player, 14-year-old Shreyas Royal, scored his second grandmaster result and will aim immediately for his third and final norm at the traditional Caplin Hastings New Year congress which starts on 28 December.

Adams became the first English winner of the Classic, which during its years at Kensington Olympia saw victories for the world champions Magnus Carlsen, Vlad Kramnik and Vishy Anand.

The Cornishman scored an unbeaten 6/9, with three wins and six draws. In the very first round, the eight-time British champion defeated Amin Tabatabaei, the Iranian who eventually finished second.

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Final leading scores were Adams 6/9, Tabatabaei 5.5, Dommaraju Gukesh (India) and Andrey Volokitin (Ukraine) 5, Mateusz Bartel (Poland) and Hans Niemann (US) 4.5, Royal and Jules Moussard (France) 4, Nikita Vitiugov (England) 3.5, Luke McShane (England) 3.

Adams’s performance crowned a vintage year during which the former world No 4 won the British and English titles plus the world over‑50 senior championship. He said: “It’s probably my best ever result. Other major tournaments that I won were when I was in my prime, and it’s a completely different challenge when you’re playing people much younger than yourself.”

Best result, though, is arguable. Dos Hermanos 1999, which Adams won ahead of three world champions, and Dortmund 2013, where his 7/9 total was a 2925 performance against a 2700+ field led by Fabiano Caruana and Kramnik, are other contenders.

Last week could have ended very differently for Adams had not Jules Moussard blundered from a win to a loss with a single move, an aberration which sparked a debate on a chess website.

Overall, in a tournament where only three points separated first from last, unforced errors played a significant role. Nikita Vitiugov, the new England No 1 and second seed, did not win a game after spoiling two decisive advantages, while Moussard and Niemann failed to spot simple tactical opportunities.

The controversial American 20-year-old, made famous by his dispute with the world No 1, Carlsen, which ended with a $100mn lawsuit and an out of court settlement, arrived in London straight from his stunning success in Zagreb.

Niemann began cautiously, slumped in the middle rounds when unwell, then defeated the top seed in the final round. At move 20 Gukesh could have castled long with advantage, but instead castled short allowing the immediately decisive 21 Ra4! when the g4 pawn fell and Black’s defences collapsed.

Royal, who scored his second grandmaster norm (of three needed for the title) began his international career at seven. He made an impressive career surge, despite being the lowest rated by around 200 points in the 10-player field.

Age 14-15 has often been a breakthrough year for top players, including the former world champions Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. Royal has made his own leap forward in the past few months, and will now attempt his third and final GM norm at Hastings.

The late Tony Miles was 20 when he became Britain’s first grandmaster in 1976. Nigel Short became a GM at 19 in 1984, followed by Adams at 17 in 1989, McShane at 16 years and seven months in 2000, and David Howell at 16 years and one month in 2007. Royal, whose first GM norm was achieved at a record 13 years and nine months, is thus well placed to set a new landmark at Hastings or later. Fide title regulations also require a 2500 rating, and he is expected to be around 2459 on the January Fide list.

Hastings, under its new director, GM Stuart Conquest, is now in its 97th year, the longest running tournament in world chess. This year’s entry is led by 12 GMs, plus 10 IMs including Royal and several other English candidates for the higher title.

Meanwhile, the race continues for the final two places in the April 2024 eight-player Candidates, whose winner will challenge for Ding Liren’s world crown. Wesley So, the world No 6, leads Leinier Domínguez, the No 7, by a narrow margin for the rating spot.

Domínguez is top seeded at the Sunway Sitges Open in Spain, where his hopes of overhauling So were badly dented when he drew in round two against an opponent rated more than 400 points below him.

So reached the semi-finals of the $500,000 Champions Tour at Toronto, where Carlsen won an elegant miniature. Friday’s final, with $200,000 for the winner and $100,000 for the loser, will be So v Carlsen after the Norwegian knocked out Caruana in straight sets while So defeated 19-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov in a decisive Armageddon. So is unlikely to play any further Fide-rated events this month, even if Domínguez edges in front of him.

The race for the Fide Candidates place via the Fide Circuit of top tournaments is also still undecided. Anish Giri leads, and the Dutchman’s position has become stronger following Gukesh’s failure to win first prize in London.

A new event, the Chennai Masters, starting on Friday, is designed to give both Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi a chance to qualify before the end of December deadline. Either can do so by winning, and Gukesh may do so if tied second, but it is a tough ask in such a strong field where the top seed, Iran’s world No 12, Parham Maghsoodloo, still has a slim chance to qualify by rating.

3898: 1 Bxe6! (1 Bf5! also wins) fxe6 (other moves also lose quickly) 2 Rh8+! Kxh8 3 Rh1+ Kg8 4 Rh8+! Kxh8 5 Qh1+ Kg8 6 Qh7 mate. A classic and well-known theme.