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Defending champion Jonathan Rowson, seated, with the Mayor and Lady Mayor,
Mrs. & Mrs. Paul Garod, flanking ECF President Gerry Walsh at the opening
ceremony of the 2007 British Championships.
The playing hall
After ten grueling rounds of the 2007 British Championship, held from July 30 to August 10 in Southtown, Great Yarmouth, there were two ladies and two men in the lead and in contention for the titles. Both Georgian-born Ketevan Arakhama-Grant and Lithuanian-born Dagne Ciuksyte had 6.0/10 points and went into the final round playing on adjacent boards, both with black. Ciuksyte was forced into a draw by Andrew Lewis, while "Keti" nicely outplayed Simon Fowler in a 27-move miniature. That meant that she had the title – for the 4th consecutive time.
British Ladies Champion 2007: Ketevan Arakhama-Grant
Actually there was no separate sections for the genders – everyone played in the same tournament, with the highest-placed female player taking the Ladies title. This has become the norm in countries where there are strong female players. One day, one assumes, Keti or someone like her will take both titles in a single tournament. That is the day you will hear us cheering until our lungs collapse.
Winning the championship for the fourth successive time: Keti Arakhama
In the general section Jacob Aagaard and Stephen Gordon were in the joint lead, with 7.5/10 points each. The Dane, who's name already insures that he will top any alphabetical list, had been leading most of the tournament. At the first time control, at 6:15 p.m., Jonathan Rowson beat Nick Pert (both had entered the final round with 7.5/10) to go into the lead at 8.0/11. The other theoretical contenders, Hebden and Haslinger, drew their game, leaving them at 7.5 points each. That left the spectators glued to the transmission of the two remaining games.
The 2007 British Champion Jacob Aagaard
Aagaard, who had been the exchange down at one point in his black game against Glenn Flear, fought back bravely and executed a combination that won him the full point. Shortly thereafter Stephen Gordon had to concede a draw in his white game against Tony Kosten, leaving Jacob Aagaard with a clear victory and the British Championship title without any playoffs.
Overtaken in the final round: Stephen Gordon
14-year-old Sheila Dines in action in the under 14 event
Sheila in one of Britains bright young talents
New British Girls' Under 16 Champion, Lateefah Messam-Sparks of Nottingham,
at her 15th birthday party outside the playing hall.
Photos by Bob Jones, British Championship Press Officer
| 1 | Aagaard, Jacob | SCO | 2467 | 8.5 |
| 2 | Gordon, Stephen | ENG | 2487 | 8.0 |
| 3 | Rowson, Jonathan W | SCO | 2599 | 8.0 |
| 4 | Haslinger, Steward G | ENG | 2468 | 7.5 |
| 5 | Hebden, Mark | ENG | 2540 | 7.5 |
| 6 |
Howell, David W L |
ENG | 2519 | 7.5 |
| 7 | Kosten, Anthony | FRA | 2508 | 7.5 |
| 8 | Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan | GEO | 2418 | 7.0 |
| 9 | Bellin, Robert | ENG | 2403 | 7.0 |
| 10 | Conquest, Stuart | ENG | 2546 | 7.0 |
| 11 | Flear, Glenn C | ENG | 2479 | 7.0 |
| 12 | Pert, Nicholas | ENG | 2536 | 7.0 |
| 13 | Rudd, Jack | ENG | 2370 | 7.0 |
| 14 | Chapman, Terence | ENG | 2200 | 6.5 |
| 15 | Ciuksyte, Dagne | ENG | 2426 | 6.5 |
| 16 | Lewis, Andrew P | ENG | 2284 | 6.5 |
| 17 | Sowray, Peter J | ENG | 2352 | 6.5 |
| 18 | Ward, Chris G | ENG | 2439 | 6.5 |
| 19 | Williams, Simon K | ENG | 2480 | 6.5 |
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Nick Pert vs Jacob Aagaard in round five (Aagaard won)
A key encounter in round 6: Jacob Aagaard vs. Jonathan Rowson (draw)
Round 9: David Howell vs. Jacob Aagaard (0-1)
Thomas Rendle vs. defending British Ladies Champion Keti Arakhamia-Grant (draw)
Former British Ladies Champion Susan Lalic
Caister Castle, a 15th-century moated castle some 5 km north of Great Yarmouth
Caister Castle Car Collection – no photography is allowed indoors
Moonset over Caister-on-sea
Sunrise at 5:52 a.m.
At 6:52 a.m., with the wind farm coming into view
View from my window: Caister-on-sea – a quickie watercolour by me
Meri Grigoryan, former ladies champion of Armenia, playing at the British
Championships. Her hobbies include languages (she speaks six), playing the guitar,
painting, opera – and chess.
