Mickey Adams won the British Championship, which finished last week in Torquay, for the seventh time. Leading scores (out of nine) were as follows: 1. Adams 7½; 2. Howell 7; 3= Haria and Palliser 6½; 5= Gordon, Tan and Houska 6. Jovanka Houska has now won the British Women’s Championship a record nine times.
The key element in Adams’s success was his deadly ability to score with the white pieces, racking up five wins from five games as White. This week, an excursion around the Adams Avalanche.
Adams-Gordon: British Championship, Torquay 2019 (see diagram 1)
Black is relying on the pin along the a4-e8 diagonal to regain his pawn but he is in for a nasty surprise. 15 b6! Nxa4 16 Rxa4 Bxa4 17 Qxa4 White’s sacrifice of the exchange is overwhelming. He has a monster passed b-pawn and his knights utterly dominate the light squares. 17 … f6 17 … Nf6 is met by 18 Bg5, maintaining light square control.
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