British Chess Championship gets competitive from round one
Plus: Harika Dronavalli's double gold in Asia, Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz launches, Arab Youth Championship underway.
TL;DR
- Luke McShane, Michael Adams, and four other top seeds won opening games at the British Championship; 11-year-old Bodhana drew despite material deficit.
- Harika Dronavalli won gold in both rapid (8.5/11) and blitz (10.5/13) at the Asian Women's Championships, claiming 33,000 HKD.
- Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz kicks off August 2-6 as the fourth Grand Chess Tour leg, featuring Caruana, Keymer, So, and challenger Sindarov.
- The Arab Youth Championship continues in Cairo through August 4 across 14 age-group tournaments from 16 nations.
Tournaments
Top seeds advance; Bodhana holds on in Coventry
The British Championship's 112th edition opened with 106 players competing in classical chess through August 9.
Luke McShane, Michael Adams, and four fellow top seeds all won their opening matches at the 112th British Chess Championship in Coventry, while 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan drew with George Zhao after recovering from a material deficit. McShane defeated Peter Wells (2313) and Adams topped Oleg Verbytski in commanding fashion, with only 4 draws across the top 20 games. (via ChessBase)
Arab Youth Championship ongoing. The competition in Cairo drew young players from 16 Arab nations for 14 separate age-group tournaments (Under-8 through Under-20) with both Open and Girls divisions. After three rounds of nine-round Swiss play, early leaders have emerged in several categories, though many sections remain wide open with six rounds remaining. (via FIDE)
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz launches. The fourth leg of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour opens August 2-6 at the Saint Louis Chess Club with ten grandmasters including Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Wesley So, and World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov. The tour's rapid and blitz events draw elite competition for the Grand Chess Tour title race. (via ChessBase)
Players and ratings
Harika sweeps rapid and blitz gold in Hong Kong
The Indian legend captured both titles at the Asian Women's Championships with unbeaten rapid play and a lone blitz loss.
Harika Dronavalli claimed gold in both rapid and blitz at the Asian Women's Rapid & Blitz Championships in Hong Kong, winning 33,000 HKD across both tournaments. The top seed remained unbeaten in the rapid championship with 8.5 points from 11 games (six wins, five draws), then scored 10.5/13 in blitz with just one loss to Valentina Gunina. The double gold caps a strong performance by the Indian grandmaster balancing motherhood with elite competition. (via ChessBase India)
