England's top players will compete on Saturday as the third round of the British Championship begins at St George’s Hall in Liverpool. Nikita Vitiugov, 38, now representing England after switching federations, is the top seed, while Michael Adams, 53, the world senior champion and July’s English title winner, arrives in strong form.
The rising interest in chess, fueled by online blitz matches, the prominence of top-ranked players, and the influence of recent media attention, has led to a record turnout of over 1,600 participants in the main event and related competitions.
Vitiugov and Adams will face tough opposition over the 11-round tournament, which concludes next Sunday. Gawain Jones, 37, the defending champion, is seeded third, while Matthew Wadsworth, 25, and 16-year-old Shreyas Royal, England’s youngest grandmaster, aim to make their mark. Dan Fernandez, 27, comes fresh from a victory at the Ghent Open.
Bodhana Sivanandan, a 10-year-old from Harrow, continues to break records, recently achieving a Fide women’s grandmaster-level performance in Aix-en-Provence with 4.5/9 points.
Her result surpassed age records previously held by Judit Polgar (12 in 1988) and Hou Yifan (11 in 2005). Sivanandan faced seasoned opponents, including a grandmaster and five international masters, and her resilient play in a challenging endgame was widely praised.
With an event performance rating of 2401, she earned her first norm toward the women’s grandmaster title and advanced her Fide rating to a personal best of 2216. Earlier this year, another 10-year-old, Abdalrahman Sameh Mohamed, set a national championship record in Egypt, while Akshaya Kalaiyalahan remains the youngest British women’s champion, winning at age 11 in 2013.
Sivanandan’s rapid improvement suggests further breakthroughs are possible. However, winning the women’s title in Liverpool, which is part of the open championship, may still be a significant challenge.
The leading contenders include former world girls champion Harriet Hu, among others.
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