As I write, young Jonathan Hawkins has stormed into the lead in the British Championship in Aberystwyth with the tremendous score of 6/6. This is not quite a record since in the British Championship of 1976, won by Jonathan Mestel, the new champion won his first nine games, a record unlikely to be surpassed.
It is too early to tell whether Hawkins has won this year but from what I have seen of his games his style exhibits a felicitous blend of accurate strategy and alert tactics, always a difficult combination of talents to confront. The following game is a case in point. Simon Williams is a grand-
master, notably gifted in the tactics department, yet Hawkins overruns him with a devastating sequence of sacrificial blows.
Williams-Hawkins; British Championship, Aberystwyth 2014; King’s Indian Defence
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 Bd3 Although this has been recognised as a main line, I find this early development of the king’s bishop somewhat suspect.
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