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.
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.
Read more about British Chess Championship: BCA Congress (1857–1860), London International Tournaments (1862–1883), BCF Congress (1885–1899), BCA Challenge Cup (1866–1872), British Amateur Championship (1886–1902), British Championship (1904– )
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