Michael Adams
Encyclopedia
Michael Adams is a British Grandmaster (1989) of chess. His highest ranking is world number 4, achieved several times from October 2000 to October 2002 and he has achieved a peak Elo rating of 2755.
He has achieved good results in World Chess Championship
tournaments. Several times a Candidate
, he reached the semi-finals in 1997, 1999 and 2000. At the 2004 FIDE Championship
, he reached the final, narrowly losing out to Rustam Kasimdzhanov
in the tie-break games.
, Shaun Taulbut. In 1981, aged nine, he entered the Cornwall (County) Under-9 Championship and won it. At the same event, he won the Under-13, Under-15 and Under-18 Championships. For one day, the latter two contests clashed and he had to play them simultaneously, commuting cautiously between different rooms, some thirty metres apart.
In 1987, he took the silver medal at the World Under-16 Championship
, held in Innsbruck
, behind the Icelandic player Hannes Stefansson
. Later that year, at the age of fifteen, he became the youngest International Master (IM) in the world.
Two books co-written with his father, Bill Adams, Development of a Grandmaster (1991) and Chess in the Fast Lane (1996), discuss his early chess career.
of 1987, where he gained his final IM norm and took the best junior prize. He proceeded to win the full Championship title in 1989, at just seventeen years of age. Making only rare appearances, he won again in 1997, jointly with Matthew Sadler
. After a lengthy break, he claimed further titles in 2010, at Canterbury and in 2011 at Sheffield.
Adams also won the British Rapidplay Championship
in 1995, 1996 and 1999.
tournaments.
In 1993 he finished equal first (with Viswanathan Anand
) in the Groningen Interzonal
tournament to determine challengers for the PCA World Chess Championship 1995. This took him to the Candidates Tournament
matches, where he beat Sergei Tiviakov
in the quarter finals, but lost to Anand in the semi-finals.
He also qualified for the Candidates Tournament for the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996
, losing to Boris Gelfand
in the first round of matches.
In 1997, he took part in the 1997-1998 FIDE World Championship
, which, for the first time, was a large knock-out event, the winner of which would play a match against reigning champion, Anatoly Karpov
. This tournament included most of the world's top players (Garry Kasparov
, Vladimir Kramnik
and Gata Kamsky
were the only notable absentees), and Adams won short matches against Tamaz Giorgadze, Sergei Tiviakov
, Peter Svidler
, Loek van Wely
, and Nigel Short
, before coming up against Anand in the final round. Their four games at normal time controls were all drawn
, as were four rapidplay games at quicker time limits, before Anand won the sudden-death game, thereby eliminating Adams from the competition.
The 1999 FIDE World Championship
resulted in another semi-final finish for Adams, before losing to Vladimir Akopian. Yet again, he reached the semi-finals of the 2000 FIDE World Championship
before losing to eventual winner Anand. In the 2002 FIDE World Championship
he won his first three rounds before being knocked out in the 'round of 16' by Peter Svidler
.
Adams came closest to claiming a world title at the 2004 FIDE Championship, when he reached the final, winning matches against Hussein Asabri, Karen Asrian
, Hichem Hamdouchi
, Hikaru Nakamura
, Vladimir Akopian and Teimour Radjabov
. However, he lost to Rustam Kasimdzhanov
in the final (3½-4½ after rapidplay tie-breaks, the match having been tied 3-3 after the six standard games).
As runner-up in the 2004 event, Adams was one of eight players invited to the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
. He finished in equal sixth-seventh place, with a score of 5½ out of 14.
In May–June 2007, Adams participated in the Candidates Tournament to qualify for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007. In the first round he drew 3-3 with Alexey Shirov, and was beaten 2½-0½ in the rapidplay playoff.
Among his other notable results are first at Terrassa
in 1991, joint first at Dos Hermanas
in 1995 (with Kamsky and Karpov), joint first at Dortmund
in 1998 (with Kramnik and Svidler), and clear first at Dos Hermanas in 1999, ahead of Kramnik, Anand, Svidler, Karpov, Veselin Topalov
, Judit Polgár
and others.
In more recent times, he won the fifth Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament
. in August 2007, achieving a score of 8½/11 (six wins, five draws), picking up the top purse of £1000. Adams, the highest seeded player in the tournament by 45 Elo
points, finished a full point ahead of Dutch Grand Masters Ivan Sokolov
and Loek van Wely
. The tournament, played in London, is an annual memorial to the British chess master Howard Staunton. Prior to the start of the tournament, on August 4, Adams married his longtime girlfriend, the actress Tara MacGowran, at a ceremony in Taunton
, close to where they live.
In September 2007, Adams took part in a match between United Kingdom and China, held in Liverpool
, England. Playing alongside Adams was former World Championship challenger GM Nigel Short
. This chess event was the first time in almost 15 years that the two GMs had played chess together on British soil. Overall, he scored 3½/6, conceding one loss to GM Zhang Pengxiang
(ELO 2649, at time of match) in round four. The UK team lost the match to China, 20-28, who had also defeated a Russian chess team a few weeks before.
Adams won the 2nd Ruy Lopez Masters tournament held in Mérida, Spain
, 4–13 April 2008, scoring 5½/7 to finish a half point ahead of Zhang Pengxiang. The tournament was an eight player round-robin
with an average rating of 2616 (FIDE category 15). In August 2008, there was a second successive victory in the Staunton Memorial. Adams finished on 8/11, ahead of Loek Van Wely
(7½/11) and Jan Smeets
(7/11). He followed this with a share of second place at the 4th EU Individual Open Chess Championship
in Liverpool, joining Viktor Laznicka
and Nigel Short
on 7½/10 (after winner Jan Werle
, 8/10).
After topping a strong open tournament in Gibraltar
in 2010, he convincingly won the 2010 British Chess Championship, held in Canterbury
, with an undefeated score of 9.5/11.
in a six-game match in London, England, with a prize of $10,000 for each draw and $25,000 for each win.
Hydra, housed in Abu Dhabi
, at the time of the match consisted of 64 PCs each running 3.06 GHz Intel Xeon
processors. Its designers said that it could, under optimal conditions, analyse up to 200 million positions a second, and, in the endgame, calculate up to 40 moves ahead.
Adams lost the match, drawing only the second game. The final score was Hydra 5½, Adams ½, with Adams only receiving $10,000 of the $145,000 prize fund.
He has achieved good results in World Chess Championship
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
tournaments. Several times a Candidate
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
, he reached the semi-finals in 1997, 1999 and 2000. At the 2004 FIDE Championship
FIDE World Chess Championship 2004
The FIDE World Chess Championship, 2004 was held at the Almahary Hotel in Tripoli, Libya, from June 18 to July 13.It was won by Rustam Kasimdzhanov, who beat Michael Adams in the final by a score of 4½-3½...
, he reached the final, narrowly losing out to Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Rustam Kasimdzhanov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster, best known for winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. He was born in Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic...
in the tie-break games.
Early career
By 1980, Adams' chess talent had been recognised by the BCF and he received high level coaching from former European Junior ChampionEuropean Junior Chess Championship
The first chess youth championship in Europe was the yearly European Junior Championship for under age 20. It was played from 1971–2002. FIDE officially introduced the European Junior Championship in 1970 at their Annual Congress and so the 1971/72 edition was the first official European...
, Shaun Taulbut. In 1981, aged nine, he entered the Cornwall (County) Under-9 Championship and won it. At the same event, he won the Under-13, Under-15 and Under-18 Championships. For one day, the latter two contests clashed and he had to play them simultaneously, commuting cautiously between different rooms, some thirty metres apart.
In 1987, he took the silver medal at the World Under-16 Championship
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also...
, held in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
, behind the Icelandic player Hannes Stefansson
Hannes Stefansson
Hannes Hlífar Stefánsson is an Icelandic chess Grandmaster. Stefánsson has won the Icelandic Chess Championship every year since 1998 except for 2000 and 2009 when he didn't participate. His 11 titles make him the record holder for most Championships...
. Later that year, at the age of fifteen, he became the youngest International Master (IM) in the world.
Two books co-written with his father, Bill Adams, Development of a Grandmaster (1991) and Chess in the Fast Lane (1996), discuss his early chess career.
National success
Adams' early endeavors were already beginning to pay dividends at the British ChampionshipBritish Chess Championship
The British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
of 1987, where he gained his final IM norm and took the best junior prize. He proceeded to win the full Championship title in 1989, at just seventeen years of age. Making only rare appearances, he won again in 1997, jointly with Matthew Sadler
Matthew Sadler (chess player)
Matthew Sadler is an International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess writer.Sadler won the British Championship in 1995 at the age of 21 and again in 1997...
. After a lengthy break, he claimed further titles in 2010, at Canterbury and in 2011 at Sheffield.
Adams also won the British Rapidplay Championship
British Rapidplay Chess Championships
The British Rapidplay Chess Championships is a rapid play chess congress held in the UK annually since 1986 under the auspices of the English Chess Federation...
in 1995, 1996 and 1999.
World Championship Candidate
Adams has performed strongly in a number of World Chess ChampionshipWorld Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
tournaments.
In 1993 he finished equal first (with Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan Anand
V. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
) in the Groningen Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
tournament to determine challengers for the PCA World Chess Championship 1995. This took him to the Candidates Tournament
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
matches, where he beat Sergei Tiviakov
Sergei Tiviakov
Sergei Tiviakov is a naturalised Dutch chess Grandmaster.Tiviakov won the Dutch Chess Championship in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, in Plovdiv, he won the European Individual Chess Championship with 8.5/11....
in the quarter finals, but lost to Anand in the semi-finals.
He also qualified for the Candidates Tournament for the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996
FIDE World Chess Championship 1996
The FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 was a chess tournament held by FIDE to determine the World Chess Champion.-Background:At the time the World Chess Champion title was split....
, losing to Boris Gelfand
Boris Gelfand
Boris Abramovich Gelfand is a Belarus-born Israeli chess Grandmaster. He won the 2011 Candidates Tournament and will challenge Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship 2012.-Biography:...
in the first round of matches.
In 1997, he took part in the 1997-1998 FIDE World Championship
FIDE World Chess Championship 1998
The FIDE World Chess Championship 1998 was contested in a match between the FIDE World Champion Anatoly Karpov and the challenger Vishwanathan Anand. The match took place between 2 January and 9 January 1998 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The challenger was determined in a tournament held in Groningen,...
, which, for the first time, was a large knock-out event, the winner of which would play a match against reigning champion, Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
. This tournament included most of the world's top players (Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
, Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
and Gata Kamsky
Gata Kamsky
Gata Kamsky is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and the current World Rapid Chess Champion. He is also the current United States Chess Champion. As of September 2011, he is rated No. 1 in the United States and No...
were the only notable absentees), and Adams won short matches against Tamaz Giorgadze, Sergei Tiviakov
Sergei Tiviakov
Sergei Tiviakov is a naturalised Dutch chess Grandmaster.Tiviakov won the Dutch Chess Championship in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, in Plovdiv, he won the European Individual Chess Championship with 8.5/11....
, Peter Svidler
Peter Svidler
Peter Veniaminovich Svidler is a Russian chess grandmaster.He is six-time Russian champion ....
, Loek van Wely
Loek van Wely
Loek van Wely is a chess Grandmaster from the Netherlands. He won the Dutch Chess Championship six times straight from 2000 through 2005. He was rated among the world's top ten in 2001. In 2002, in Maastricht, Netherlands, van Wely took on the computer program Rebel in a four-game match. The...
, and Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
, before coming up against Anand in the final round. Their four games at normal time controls were all drawn
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
, as were four rapidplay games at quicker time limits, before Anand won the sudden-death game, thereby eliminating Adams from the competition.
The 1999 FIDE World Championship
FIDE World Chess Championship 1999
The FIDE World Chess Championship 1999 was held in Las Vegas, United States, between 31 July and 28 August 1999. The championship was won by Russian Alexander Khalifman, making him the FIDE World Chess Champion.-Format:...
resulted in another semi-final finish for Adams, before losing to Vladimir Akopian. Yet again, he reached the semi-finals of the 2000 FIDE World Championship
FIDE World Chess Championship 2000
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2000 was held in New Delhi, India, and Tehran, Iran. The first six rounds were played in New Delhi between 27 November and 15 December 2000, and the final match in Tehran started on 20 December and ended on 24 December 2000...
before losing to eventual winner Anand. In the 2002 FIDE World Championship
FIDE World Chess Championship 2002
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2002 was held in Moscow, Russia. The first six rounds were played between 27 November and 14 December 2001, and the final match started on 16 January and ended on 23 January 2002...
he won his first three rounds before being knocked out in the 'round of 16' by Peter Svidler
Peter Svidler
Peter Veniaminovich Svidler is a Russian chess grandmaster.He is six-time Russian champion ....
.
Adams came closest to claiming a world title at the 2004 FIDE Championship, when he reached the final, winning matches against Hussein Asabri, Karen Asrian
Karen Asrian
Karen Asrian was an Armenian chess Grandmaster.As of the October 2006 FIDE rating list, his Elo rating was 2634, tied for the fourth highest rank in Armenia....
, Hichem Hamdouchi
Hichem Hamdouchi
Hichem Hamdouchi is currently the strongest Moroccan chess player and one of the leading African grandmasters....
, Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
, Vladimir Akopian and Teimour Radjabov
Teimour Radjabov
Radjabov's knight sacrifice, 21. ... Ngxe5, was praised by several strong players for its bravery, including English grandmaster Nigel Short. Said Short of the move, "Radjabov plays very imaginatively... he just won't give up, he is extremely tenacious and will always find a way to muddy the...
. However, he lost to Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Rustam Kasimdzhanov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster, best known for winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. He was born in Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic...
in the final (3½-4½ after rapidplay tie-breaks, the match having been tied 3-3 after the six standard games).
As runner-up in the 2004 event, Adams was one of eight players invited to the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 took place in Potrero de los Funes, San Luis Province in Argentina from September 27 to October 16, 2005. It was won by Veselin Topalov.-Background:...
. He finished in equal sixth-seventh place, with a score of 5½ out of 14.
In May–June 2007, Adams participated in the Candidates Tournament to qualify for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007. In the first round he drew 3-3 with Alexey Shirov, and was beaten 2½-0½ in the rapidplay playoff.
Other results
Terrassa
Terrassa is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the comarca of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell, the historic capital....
in 1991, joint first at Dos Hermanas
Dos Hermanas
Dos Hermanas is a Spanish city south of Seville in Andalusia, with a population of 125,086 as of 2010.The city's name, which means "two sisters", dates from its founding in 1248 by King Ferdinand III of Castile and honours the sisters of Gonzalo Nazareno, one of the king's principal military...
in 1995 (with Kamsky and Karpov), joint first at Dortmund
Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting
The Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting is an elite chess tournament held every summer in Dortmund, Germany.Dortmund is an invite-only event, and only the strongest grandmasters are invited...
in 1998 (with Kramnik and Svidler), and clear first at Dos Hermanas in 1999, ahead of Kramnik, Anand, Svidler, Karpov, Veselin Topalov
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
, Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. She is by far the strongest female chess player in history. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, the youngest person ever to do so at that time.Polgár was ranked No...
and others.
In more recent times, he won the fifth Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament
Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament
The Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament is an annual chess tournament held in honour of the English chess player Howard Staunton .The first edition was played in 2003 in Simpson's-in-the-Strand, London, England to mark its 175th birthday; subsequent editions have also been held there...
. in August 2007, achieving a score of 8½/11 (six wins, five draws), picking up the top purse of £1000. Adams, the highest seeded player in the tournament by 45 Elo
Elo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
points, finished a full point ahead of Dutch Grand Masters Ivan Sokolov
Ivan Sokolov
Ivan Sokolov is a chess grandmaster born in Jajce, SFR Yugoslavia, who currently resides in the Netherlands. Sokolov won the 1988 Yugoslav Championship....
and Loek van Wely
Loek van Wely
Loek van Wely is a chess Grandmaster from the Netherlands. He won the Dutch Chess Championship six times straight from 2000 through 2005. He was rated among the world's top ten in 2001. In 2002, in Maastricht, Netherlands, van Wely took on the computer program Rebel in a four-game match. The...
. The tournament, played in London, is an annual memorial to the British chess master Howard Staunton. Prior to the start of the tournament, on August 4, Adams married his longtime girlfriend, the actress Tara MacGowran, at a ceremony in Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
, close to where they live.
In September 2007, Adams took part in a match between United Kingdom and China, held in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England. Playing alongside Adams was former World Championship challenger GM Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
. This chess event was the first time in almost 15 years that the two GMs had played chess together on British soil. Overall, he scored 3½/6, conceding one loss to GM Zhang Pengxiang
Zhang Pengxiang
Zhang Pengxiang is a Chinese chess Grandmaster, and was the 2007 Asian Chess Champion. In 2001, he became China's 12th Grandmaster. He has stated his desire to teach and give training to youngsters in China via an . He lives in Beijing.-Career:...
(ELO 2649, at time of match) in round four. The UK team lost the match to China, 20-28, who had also defeated a Russian chess team a few weeks before.
Adams won the 2nd Ruy Lopez Masters tournament held in Mérida, Spain
Mérida, Spain
Mérida is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura, western central Spain. It has a population of 57,127 . The Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993.- Climate :...
, 4–13 April 2008, scoring 5½/7 to finish a half point ahead of Zhang Pengxiang. The tournament was an eight player round-robin
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
with an average rating of 2616 (FIDE category 15). In August 2008, there was a second successive victory in the Staunton Memorial. Adams finished on 8/11, ahead of Loek Van Wely
Loek van Wely
Loek van Wely is a chess Grandmaster from the Netherlands. He won the Dutch Chess Championship six times straight from 2000 through 2005. He was rated among the world's top ten in 2001. In 2002, in Maastricht, Netherlands, van Wely took on the computer program Rebel in a four-game match. The...
(7½/11) and Jan Smeets
Jan Smeets
Jan Smeets is a Dutch chess player with the title Grandmaster. He was the Netherlands' national champion in 2008. In 2009 he did not take part, but in 2010 he successfully reclaimed the championship.-Competitive beginnings:...
(7/11). He followed this with a share of second place at the 4th EU Individual Open Chess Championship
EU Individual Open Chess Championship
The EU Individual Open Championship was first contested in Cork, Ireland in 2005, under the auspices of organising body, the European Chess Union . The event is open to members of chess federations within the European Union...
in Liverpool, joining Viktor Laznicka
Viktor Láznicka
Viktor Láznička is a chess grandmaster from the Czech Republic.-Early moves:After learning the game at age six, he progressed quickly to playing junior tournaments and achieved many prize-winning performances in the national championships across the range of age limits...
and Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
on 7½/10 (after winner Jan Werle
Jan Werle
Jan Werle is a Dutch chess player with the title Grandmaster.-Junior success:He learned the moves at the age of five, after watching his father play with a friend. Rapid progress brought him much junior success across the various age groups of both national and regional championships...
, 8/10).
After topping a strong open tournament in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
in 2010, he convincingly won the 2010 British Chess Championship, held in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, with an undefeated score of 9.5/11.
Hydra match
In June 2005, Adams took on an advanced chess super computer called HydraHydra (chess)
Hydra was a chess machine, designed by a team with Dr. Christian "Chrilly" Donninger, Dr. Ulf Lorenz, GM Christopher Lutz and Muhammad Nasir Ali. Since 2006 the development team consised only of Donninger and Lutz. Hydra was under the patronage of the PAL Group and Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al...
in a six-game match in London, England, with a prize of $10,000 for each draw and $25,000 for each win.
Hydra, housed in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, at the time of the match consisted of 64 PCs each running 3.06 GHz Intel Xeon
Xeon
The Xeon is a brand of multiprocessing- or multi-socket-capable x86 microprocessors from Intel Corporation targeted at the non-consumer server, workstation and embedded system markets.-Overview:...
processors. Its designers said that it could, under optimal conditions, analyse up to 200 million positions a second, and, in the endgame, calculate up to 40 moves ahead.
Adams lost the match, drawing only the second game. The final score was Hydra 5½, Adams ½, with Adams only receiving $10,000 of the $145,000 prize fund.
External links
- Homepage of GM Michael Adams
- Adams analysed games, tactical combinations and more.