Michael adams biography

English chess maven (born )

For other people baptized Michael Adams, see Michael President (disambiguation).

Michael Adams (born 17 Nov ) is an English bromegrass grandmaster and is an eight-time British Chess Champion. His maximum ranking is world No. 4, achieved several times from Oct to October ^[1] His cap Elo rating is , say publicly highest achieved by an Land chess player.^[2]

Several times a Environment Championship Candidate, he reached magnanimity semifinals in , and Type reached the final at decency FIDE Championship, narrowly losing costume to Rustam Kasimdzhanov in justness tie-break games.

Adams won dignity World Senior Chess Championship (Over category) in

Early career

Adams was born on 17 November pressure Truro, Cornwall, UK. By , his chess talent had antediluvian recognised by the British Cheat Federation, and he received mighty coaching from former European Growing ChampionShaun Taulbut and coaching pass up local chess champion Michael Prettejohn.^[3] In , aged nine, President entered the Cornwall (County) Under-9 Championship and won it. Perform won the Under, Under soar Under Championships at the very event. The last two contests clashed for one day, give orders to he had to play them simultaneously, commuting cautiously between divergent rooms, some thirty metres apart.^[4]

In , he took the flatware medal at the World Out of the sun Championship, held in Innsbruck, cling the Icelandic player Hannes Stefánsson.^[5] Later that year, at blue blood the gentry age of fifteen, he became the world's youngest International Maestro (IM).^[6]

Two books co-written with wreath father, Bill Adams, Development signify a Grandmaster () and Chess in the Fast Lane (), discuss his early chess employment. In a television documentary was screened nationwide featuring Adams person in charge Gary Lane. It is important regularly screened at chess disc festivals.^[7]

National success

Adams' early endeavours were already beginning to pay dividends at the British Championship become aware of , where he gained jurisdiction final IM norm and took the best junior prize. Unwind proceeded to win the replete Championship title in , enviable just seventeen years old. Smartness won again in , in collusion with Matthew Sadler. Then, aft a lengthy break from excellence event, he returned to asseverate further titles in , , ,^[8] , ^[9] and

His win at the British Bromegrass Championship with 10/11 tied say publicly record score set by Statesman Hodgson in ^[10]

Adams also won the British Rapidplay Championship pustule , and

World Championship candidate

Adams has performed strongly in assorted World Chess Championship tournaments.

In he finished equal first (with Viswanathan Anand) in the GroningenInterzonal tournament to determine challengers attach importance to the PCA World Chess Patronage This took him to class Candidates Tournament matches, where type beat Sergei Tiviakov in honourableness quarter-finals but lost to Anand in the semifinals.

He too qualified for the Candidates Competition for the FIDE World Bromegrass Championship , losing to Boris Gelfand in the first insist of matches.

In , without fear took part in the – FIDE World Championship, which, fulfill the first time, was a- large knockout event, the conqueror of which would play cool match against reigning champion Anatoly Karpov. This tournament included important of the world's top remove (Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, current Gata Kamsky were the solitary notable absentees), and Adams won short matches against Tamaz Giorgadze, Sergei Tiviakov, Peter Svidler, Loek van Wely and Nigel Diminutive, before coming up against Anand in the final round. Their four games at normal over and over again controls were all drawn, style were four rapidplay games reduced quicker time limits before Anand won the sudden-death game, thereby eliminating Adams from the conflict.

The FIDE World Championship resulted in another semifinal finish cart Adams before losing to Vladimir Akopian.^[11] Nevertheless, he reached primacy semifinals of the FIDE Earth Championship before losing to concluding winner Anand.^[12] In the FIDE World Championship he won government first three rounds before character knocked out in the 'round of 16' by Peter Svidler.^[13]

Adams came closest to claiming unadorned world title at the FIDE Championship when he reached honesty final, winning matches against Husain Asabri, Karen Asrian, Hichem Hamdouchi, Hikaru Nakamura, Vladimir Akopian current Teimour Radjabov. However, he strayed to Rustam Kasimdzhanov in description final (3½–4½ after rapidplay tie-breaks, the match having been clumsy 3–3 after the six horrible games).

As runner-up in excellence event, Adams was one expend eight players invited to decency FIDE World Chess Championship Powder finished in equal sixth–seventh worrying, with a score of 5½ out of

In May–June , Adams participated in the Grassland Tournament to qualify for ethics FIDE World Chess Championship Crystalclear drew 3–3 with Alexey Shirov in the first round submit was beaten 2½–½ in blue blood the gentry rapidplay playoff.

Other results

Among realm other notable results were crowning place at Terrassa in , joint first at Dos Hermanas in (with Kamsky and Karpov), joint first at Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting in (with Kramnik and Svidler) and clear principal at Dos Hermanas in , ahead of Kramnik, Anand, Svidler, Karpov, Veselin Topalov, Judit Polgár and others.

In more virgin times, he won the 5th Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament^[14] arrangement August , achieving a evaluate of 8½/11 (six wins, quint draws), picking up the not get enough sleep purse of £ The highest-seeded player in the tournament impervious to 45 Elo points, Adams through a full point ahead sharing Dutch Grand MastersIvan Sokolov forward Loek van Wely. The event, one of a series booked in London, commemorated the being of the nineteenth-century English cheat master Howard Staunton.^[15] Prior yon the start of the meeting, on 4 August, Adams mated his longtime girlfriend, the competitor Tara MacGowran, at a observance in Taunton, close to ring they live.^[16]

In September , President took part in a twin between the United Kingdom trip China, held in Liverpool, England. Playing alongside Adams was badger World Championship challenger GM Nigel Short. This chess event was the first time in nominal 15 years that the unite GMs had played chess instantaneously on British soil.^[15] Overall, fiasco scored 3½/6, conceding one disappearance to GM Zhang Pengxiang (ELO , at the match) splotch round four. The UK line-up lost the match to Ware, who had also defeated clean up Russian chess team a seizure weeks before, 20–^[17]

Adams won say publicly 2nd Ruy Lopez Masters match held in Mérida, Spain, 4–13 April , scoring 5½/7 scolding finish a half-point ahead good deal Zhang Pengxiang. The tournament was an eight-player round-robin with implicate average rating of (FIDE division 15).^[18][19] In August , relative to was a second successive realization in the Staunton Memorial. President finished on 8/11, ahead strain Loek van Wely (7½/11) delighted Jan Smeets (7/11).^[20] He followed this with a share realize second place at the Quaternary EU Individual Open Chess Patronage in Liverpool, joining Viktor Láznička and Nigel Short on 7½/10 (after winner Jan Werle, 8/10).^[21]

After topping a strong open competition in Gibraltar in , forbidden won the British Chess Backing, held in Canterbury, with upshot undefeated score of /11^[22] take up shared second place at character Chicago Open.

Further successes followed in , with a ability of first place at rectitude Philadelphia World Open and great clear win at the Country Championship in Sheffield. Adams reach the summit of outright first at the Los Angeles Metropolitan International and authority European Team Championship and was awarded the gold medal pray his performance on board ventilate.

In , he shared twig place with Nigel Short strike the Bunratty International and reach the summit of with a share of bag place at the London Bromegrass Classic, equal with Hikaru Nakamura and ahead of the field champion Viswanathan Anand and universe number two ranked player Levon Aronian.

In the Alekhine Marker tournament, held from 20 Apr to 1 May, Adams hone fourth, with +2−2=5.^[23] In Pace , he came first trudge the 20th Bunratty Masters tournament.^[24]

At the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Encounter in July–August , Adams scored possibly the best result stencil his career, with a evaluation performance of He won significance tournament with five wins jaunt four draws (7/9), ahead be advisable for a field of 9 regarding grandmasters whose ratings averaged anxious , including Fabiano Caruana () and Vladimir Kramnik ().^[25]

In Oct of that year, the 6th Grand Slam Chess Masters rearmost was held in Bilbao whilst a double round-robin with quartet players. Adams' opponents were Levon Aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Adams finished second call off Aronian, scoring +2−1=3 or 9 points according to the "football scoring system" traditionally used coach in the Grand Slam.^[26]

included brace notable results; a silver order for his performance on timber 1 at the Tromsø Period and a share of pass with flying colours place at the London Bromegrass Classic Blitz tournament (with Nakamura and Kramnik).

In , President played his first World Highflying Chess Championship and was illustriousness winner in the Over variety at Terrasini in Italy.

Now in his 50's, Adams indication one of the top Honourably chess-players and is rated mid the top chess players rot the world.

Hydra match

In June , Adams took on prestige chess supercomputerHydra in a six-game match in London, England, peer a prize of $10, intolerant each draw and $25, mention each win.^[27] Hydra, housed elaborate Abu Dhabi at the interval of the match, consisted show signs 64 PCs, each running GHzIntelXeon processors. Its designers said go it could, under optimal catches, analyse up to &#;million places or roles a second and, in primacy endgame, calculate up to 40 moves ahead.^[28] Adams lost honourableness match, drawing only the in a short while game. The final score was Hydra 5½, Adams ½, jiggle Adams only receiving $10, uphold the $, prize fund.

Personal life

Adams lives in Somerset connote his wife, actress Tara MacGowran.^[29][30] His nickname is "Mickey".^[31]

He was educated at Truro School.

References

External links