Fighting Spirit

[Major Open Update:

S&BCC's own Angus French is still top of the Major Open and he's already played a couple of his closest challengers.

Go Angus!!]

Things are heating up down in Canterbury. Yesterday's top four boards gave us three decisive games and the only draw, Williams-Pert (Nick), lasted 48 moves. Obviously there were a lot of chessers up for a scrap yesterday. Not literally, mind. I mean, you'd never get actual fisticuffs at the British Championships would you?

For my money Adams - Conquest was Round 8's Game of the Day. It was one of those 'all-these-moves-look-like-anybody-could-play-them' jobs and perhaps akin to Keith Arkell's crushes of David Eggleston from Torquay and Liverpool which we featured on these pages last year.

I imagine Conquest felt throughly duffed up after running into Mickey. That's metaphorically speaking of course; as we know, there's never any real argy-bargy at the British. Well not often anyway.

The Times
7th August 1990
Author: Michael Horsnell

CHESS PLAYER ACCUSED OF WOUNDING

A CHESS player was remanded on bail yesterday after allegedly wounding another competitor in the neck with a broken table lamp in a restaurant at Eastbourne, East Sussex, where the British chess championships are taking place.

Conor Bracken, aged 22, of Reading, Berkshire, was charged with maliciously wounding Philip Hughes, aged 21, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Mr Bracken has been barred from the open championship, which is running parallel with the British championships at the town's Winter Gardens. Mr Hughes, who had not played Mr Bracken, is recovering from the attack in hospital and is said to be comfortable.

George Smith, secretary of the chess congress, said: "This incident is to the detriment of the chess congress. We have never had anything like this before."

In the seventh round of the British championship, grandmaster Jonathan Mestel, a former British champion, beat grandmaster David Norwood in 22 moves. Mestel now leads the championship with six points from seven games. Jon Speelman, Michael Adams and Daniel King all beat their opponents to achieve 5 1/2 points each.

Rest assured that if we ever find out that DCI Mondo was assisting the police on this one you'll be the first to know. In the meantime, enjoy this afternoon's 9th round and let's keep the fighting confined to the chessboard if at all possible.