The 2025 British Chess Championships took place August 02 – August 10 in St Georges Hall, Liverpool, England. The tournament was separated in 9 categories – Championship, Major Open, Over 65, Over 50, Under 16, Under 14, Under 12, Under 10 and Under 08. It was one of the major tournaments of The European Chess Calendar, which is part of The Chess Calendar.

Michael Adams Claims Ninth British Chess Championship Title in Thrilling Playoff

Liverpool, August 11, 2025 – Michael Adams, the 53-year-old Cornish grandmaster nicknamed “The Spider,” secured his ninth British Chess Championship title on Sunday at the 111th British Chess Championships, held in Liverpool’s iconic St George’s Hall. Adams triumphed in a dramatic three-way rapidplay tiebreaker against International Master Peter Roberson and Grandmaster Stuart Conquest, the 2008 champion, after all three tied with 7/9 in the nine-round championship.

Adams, who led throughout the tournament, took home £5,000 and the prestigious British Crown Trophy, which he first won in 1989. He now trails only Jonathan Penrose, with 10 titles between 1958 and 1969, on the all-time list of British champions.

“Another brilliant win for the Cornish sensation,” said Grandmaster Danny Gormally, the English Chess Federation’s expert commentator. “An unbelievable score!”

Women’s Championship

In the women’s event, Women’s Grandmasters (WGM) Lan Yao and Elmira Mirzoeva were crowned joint 2025 British Women’s Champions, finishing level on 6/9. Lan secured her fourth consecutive title, while Mirzoeva celebrated her first.

Playoff Drama

The championship culminated in a tense final round, with six players tied on 6/8. Roberson defeated International Master Richard Pert, while Adams clinched his spot in the playoff with a trademark grinding victory over Polish International Master Maciej Czopor. Conquest, aged 58 and nicknamed “The Fox,” secured his place by stunning England’s top-ranked player, Grandmaster Nikita Vitiugov.

The playoff format saw Roberson and Conquest face off in two 10+5 games, with Conquest emerging victorious 2-0. However, in the final playoff, Adams proved too strong, defeating Conquest to claim the 2025 title.

Notable Performances

• Bodhana Sivanandan, a 10-year-old prodigy, secured her final Women’s International Master (WIM) norm with a stunning comeback victory against Grandmaster Peter Wells. Gormally remarked, “How on earth did she win this? She must be some kind of magician!”
• Supratit Banerjee, an 11-year-old talent, earned his first International Master (IM) norm, defeating two grandmasters and finishing on 6/9. Gormally tipped him as a future British champion.
• William Claridge-Hansen also secured an IM norm.
• Shreyas Royal, England’s youngest-ever grandmaster at 16, challenged until a round-eight loss to Conquest. Despite a final-round defeat to 22-year-old International Master Jonah Willow, Royal’s performance signaled his bright future.
• Defending champion Gawain Jones scored 6.5/9 but admitted he “wasn’t quite firing” during the event.

Tournament Highlights

Over 1,000 players, including Britain’s top grandmasters and rising prodigies, competed in Liverpool across nine days of tournaments and chess events. The elite nine-round Swiss championship showcased intense competition, with six players in contention for the title in the final round.

Grandmaster Danny Gormally praised the performances of young stars, particularly Sivanandan and Banerjee, while noting Vitiugov’s potential: “I don’t think we’ve seen the best yet of Vitiugov, I’m pretty certain of that. He will win national titles, there’s no question about it.”

Looking Ahead

The 2026 British Chess Championships, including age-group events from under-8 to seniors, will be held at the University of Warwick in Coventry, as announced by the English Chess Federation. The event will mark the 112th championship in a series running almost unbroken since 1904.

About the English Chess Federation

The English Chess Federation (ECF) is the governing chess organization in England, affiliated with FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Its mission is to promote chess as a cultural and personal advancement tool while fostering excellence and expanding the game as a social and sporting activity.

Article by
Leon Watson
English Chess Federation

Michael Adams wins his ninth British Chess Championship; Yao and Mirzoeva tie for Women’s title

Michael Adams, the king of British chess, won his ninth national title on Sunday in a sensational three-way playoff finish to the 111th British Chess Championships in Liverpool.… pic.twitter.com/GyxldgwK3U

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 10, 2025

British Chess Championship final standings

1	GM	Adams, Michael	ENG	2663	7
2	GM	Conquest, Stuart C	ENG	2511	7
3	IM	Roberson, Peter T	ENG	2440	7
4	GM	Maroroa Jones, Gawain	ENG	2651	6.5
5	IM	Bazakutsa, Svyatoslav	UKR	2481	6.5
6	IM	Willow, Jonah B	ENG	2459	6.5
7	GM	Vitiugov, Nikita	ENG	2676	6
8	GM	Ghasi, Ameet K	ENG	2501	6
9	GM	Wadsworth, Matthew J	ENG	2483	6
10	GM	Gordon, Stephen J	ENG	2469	6
11	IM	Czopor, Maciej	POL	2434	6
12	IM	Mahadevan, Siva	IND	2416	6
13	IM	Pert, Richard G	ENG	2409	6
14	IM	Makkar, Rajat	FRA	2406	6
15	GM	Flear, Glenn C	ENG	2358	6
16	FM	Banerjee, Supratit	ENG	2242	6
17	GM	Fernandez, Daniel H	ENG	2500	5.5
18	GM	Royal, Shreyas	ENG	2495	5.5
19	IM	Harvey, Marcus R	ENG	2439	5.5
20	IM	Han, Yichen	NED	2430	5.5
21	IM	Kanyamarala, Tarun	IRL	2397	5.5
22	FM	Claridge-Hansen, William	ENG	2364	5.5
23	FM	Kalavannan, Koby	ENG	2323	5.5
24	WGM	Yao, Lan	ENG	2316	5.5
25	WGM	Mirzoeva, Elmira	ENG	2282	5.5
26	IM	Clarke, Brandon Gi	ENG	2491	5
27	GM	Williams, Simon K	ENG	2444	5
28	IM	Zhou, Yang-Fan	ENG	2406	5
29	FM	Waldhausen Gordon, Frederick	SCO	2393	5
30	IM	Eggleston, David J	ENG	2348	5
31	GM	Hebden, Mark L	ENG	2347	5
32	FM	Fava, Lorenzo	ITA	2318	5
33	FM	Vijayakumar, Rishi	SCO	2310	5
34	FM	Badacsonyi, Stanley	ENG	2309	5
35		Boswell, Jacob Connor	ENG	2278	5
36	FM	Pert, Max P	ENG	2263	5
37	IM	Rudd, Jack	ENG	2259	5
38	FM	Dickenson, Neil F	ENG	2247	5
39	WFM	Sivanandan, Bodhana	ENG	2216	5
40	FM	Badacsonyi, Frankie	ENG	2193	5
41		Jones, Steven A	ENG	2185	5
42		Adams, Henry	ENG	2114	5
43		Stoica, Savas Marin	ENG	2092	5
44		Liu, Jack	ENG	2071	5
45	WFM	Dicen, Elis Denele	ENG	2069	5
46	IM	Ledger, Andrew J	ENG	2323	4.5
47	GM	Davies, Nigel R	ENG	2291	4.5
48	CM	Shearsby, Jude	ENG	2270	4.5
49	FM	Richardson, John R	ENG	2246	4.5
50	CM	Khoury, Theo	ENG	2239	4.5
51	CM	Yoon, Jacob D	ENG	2203	4.5
52		Kovalskyi, Roman	UKR	2180	4.5
53		Dasgupta, Avyukt	ENG	2158	4.5
54	CM	Fellowes, Billy	ENG	2122	4.5
55		Yu, Rock	ENG	2107	4.5
56	WFM	Kueh, Audrey	ENG	2071	4.5
57	GM	Wells, Peter K	ENG	2339	4
58	IM	Hunt, Harriet V	ENG	2294	4
59	FM	Webb, Laurence E	ENG	2268	4
60	FM	Dishman, Stephen	ENG	2254	4
61	CM	Jackson, Edward	ENG	2194	4
62	CM	Murawski, Jan	ENG	2189	4
63	CM	Chopra, Manmay	IND	2188	4
64		Shafi, Declan	SCO	2183	4
65	FM	Eames, Robert S	ENG	2136	4
66		Vaidyanathan, Adithya	ENG	2115	4
67		Malinovskii, Ilia	ENG	2075	4
68		Ashworth, Michael J	ENG	2053	4
69		Patel, Zain	ENG	2048	4
70		Verbytski, Oleg	ENG	2001	4
71		Deepak Ambattu, Rithvik	SCO	1990	4
72		Price, Gwilym T	ENG	2186	3.5
73	FM	Ledger, Dave J	ENG	2161	3.5
74	IM	Bradbury, Neil H	ENG	2137	3.5
75	WFM	Weersing, Abigail R	ENG	2056	3.5
76	NM	Sedykh, Mikhail	ENG	2159	3
77	NM	Brewer, Callum D	ENG	2152	3
78		Chan, Sheng Liang Bernard	MAS	2098	3
79	WFM	Hryshchenko, Kamila	ENG	2097	3
80		Honey, Luke	ENG	2082	3
81		Pereslavtsev, Alexandr	ENG	2079	3
82		Bharat Kumar, Balahari	ENG	2052	3
83		Harborne, Matthew J	ENG	2048	3
84	WFM	Strade, Arita	GCI	1971	3
85		Korsinskij, Marek	CZE	1727	3
86	IM	Golding, Alex	ENG	2377	2.5
87	WIM	Kanyamarala, Trisha	IRL	2178	2.5
88		Crawford, Owen	ENG	2125	2.5
89		Lebedev, Lion	ENG	2048	2.5
90		Gunarathne, Senith	ENG	1918	2.5
91	WCM	Nevska, Gerda	GCI	1799	2.5
92	FM	Hobson, Kenneth	ENG	2361	2
93	CM	Stubbs, Oliver	ENG	2191	2
94		Golding, James	ENG	2176	1.5
95		Carpenter, Paul A	JCI	1922	1.5
96	WCM	Ashbrooke, Monika	JCI	1591	1.5
97	FM	Derakhshani, Borna	ENG	2348	1
98		Turner, Lewis A	ENG	1965	1
99	FM	Chopra, Tanmay	IND	2357	0.5
100		Jukes, Sam	WLS	1972	0.5