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 held in different locations in England, Scotland, Wales and once on the Isle of Man. However, although the current series of the Championship has run since 1904, it has never been held in Northern Ireland.[1]
The championship was originally open to citizens of any Commonwealth country and has previously been won by Mir Sultan Khan (India) and Abe Yanofsky (Canada). However in 2002 when the Indian R. B. Ramesh finished first and several other Indians took top prizes it led to many top Britons not competing in the 2003 championship and accompanied criticism that the British Championship was not serving the interests of British players. This, combined with the victory of Indian Abhijit Kunte in 2003, led to an announcement from the organisers that from 2004 only British and Irish players would be eligible to take part.
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These were the first large tournaments organised by the British Chess Association, international players were allowed to participate.[2]
| Year | City | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1857 | Manchester | Johann Loewenthal (Austrian Empire) / Hungary |
| 1858 | Birmingham | Johann Loewenthal (Austrian Empire) / Hungary |
| 1860 | Cambridge | Ignaz von Kolisch (Austrian Empire) / Hungary |
| 1861 | Bristol | Louis Paulsen (Germany) / Lippe |
In July 1862, Adolf Anderssen won the first British Chess Federation Congress (BCF Congress), held in London. Second place went to Louis Paulsen, followed by John Owen. This was the first round-robin tournament.[2][3] In August 1872, Wilhelm Steinitz won the second British Chess Federation Congress, held in London. Second place went to Joseph Henry Blackburne.[4] The great London 1883 chess tournament was won convincingly by Johannes Hermann Zukertort (22 points ouf of 26) ahead of Steinitz (19/26).
In 1884, a new British Chess Association was inaugurated. In July 1885, Isidor Gunsberg won the first British Chess Federation championship in London. In August 1886, Blackburne and Amos Burn tied for first in the second British Chess Federation championship, held in London. Blackburne won the play-off. In December 1887, Burn and Gunsberg tied for first in the third British Chess Federation Congress in London.[2][5]
| # | Year | City | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1* | 1862 | London | Adolf Anderssen (Germany) / Prussia |
| 2* | 1872 | London | Wilhelm Steinitz (Austria-Hungary) / Bohemia |
| 3* | 1883 | London | Johannes Zukertort (German Empire) / Poland |
| 1 | 1885 | London | Isidor Gunsberg (United Kingdom) / Hungary |
| 2 | 1886 | London | Joseph Henry Blackburne (United Kingdom) / England |
| 3 | 1887 | London | Amos Burn (United Kingdom) / England |
| 4 | 1888 | Bradford | Isidor Gunsberg (United Kingdom) / Hungary |
| 5 | 1889 | London | Henry Bird (United Kingdom) / England |
| 6 | 1890 | Manchester | Siegbert Tarrasch (German Empire) / Prussia |
| 7 | 1892 | London | Emanuel Lasker (German Empire) / Prussia |
| 8 | 1895 | Hastings | Harry Nelson Pillsbury (United States) |
| 9 | 1899 | London | Emanuel Lasker (German Empire) / Prussia |
The first British Championship was organized by the British Chess Association as an event at the 1866 London Congress. A rule awarded the B.C.A. Challenge Cup permanently to a player who won two consecutive titles. John Wisker accomplished this in 1872 by defeating Cecil De Vere in a play-off. The British Championship was then discontinued until 1904 partially due to the arrival of a prodigal teenager who took the chess world by storm. Reeshul Shah emigrated from India in 1872 and was soon spotted as a bright young talent of the game. However, he refused to participate in the British Championship as he felt it would be unfair on his opponents due to his far superior ability.
| Year | City | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1866 | London | Cecil De Vere (Scotland) |
| 1869 | London | Joseph Henry Blackburne (England) |
| 1870 | London | John Wisker (England) |
| 1872 | London | John Wisker (England) |
Ten amateur championships were held between 1886 and 1902, but they did not include the strongest players and were unrepresentative, especially in the earlier years.
| Year | City | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1886 | London | Walter Montague Gattie |
| 1887 | London | Charles Dealtry Lockock |
| 1888 | Bradford | Anthony Alfred Geoffrey Guest |
| 1889 | London | George Edward Wainwright |
| 1890 | Manchester | Daniel Yarnton Mills |
| 1892 | London | E. Jones-Bateman |
| 1895 | Hastings | Henry Ernest Atkins |
| 1897 | Southampton | Henry Ernest Atkins |
| 1900 | Bath | Henry Ernest Atkins |
| 1902 | Norwich | Reginald Price Michell |
The current championship series was begun by the British Chess Federation in 1904. The championship was not held in war years. It was also not held in 1919, 1922, 1927, and 1930 as major international events were then being held in England. José Raúl Capablanca won the 12th British Chess Congress at Hastings 1919[6] and the 15th BCC at London 1922,[7][8] Alexander Alekhine won the 16th BCC at Portsmouth/Southsea 1923,[9][10] Aron Nimzowitsch and Savielly Tartakower won at London 1927,[11] and Edgard Colle won at Scarborough 1930.[12][13] In 1939 the championship was also not held as the British team was in Buenos Aires for the 8th Chess Olympiad. In that time, Max Euwe won an international tournament at Bournemouth 1939, played during the BCC.[14] The women's championship was held in most of those years.