Worst of British Chess Awards

Look out for our campaign to celebrate the worst of British chess

"Imperfection is not the tragedy of chess, but its attraction"
Australian Chess Brilliancies

The British Chess Championships are underway at Pond’s Forge in Sheffield. They are a celebration of the best of British chess. But, whilst the winners take home the titles, the plaudits and the prize money, the losers take home nothing but some injured pride and a slightly red face. At Hebden Bridge Chess Club we want to change all that by celebrating the worst of British chess. After all, just because you made a total mess of things doesn’t mean you didn’t invest as much time and effort into your game as the other player. That’s why we have 3 awards to hand out over the next few weeks.

• The Grossest Blunder Award: This is the blue riband event! Did you or your opponent leave a piece hanging, over-look a simple checkmate or touch a piece that then had to be moved with disastrous consequences. Maybe the ultimate sacrilege of resigning in a won or drawn position was committed. The more tragic-comic the circumstances the better.
• The Dullest Game Award: In this competition both participants share the glory. Did you plumb the depths of a particularly tedious opening variation, chop wood down to bare kings with the speed and efficiency of a chainsaw, or agree peace-terms only minutes after shaking hands to say “Hi”.
• The Obduracy Award: “Soldiering on” in a futile situation is not generally a characteristic that garners the highest praise. We think that’s wrong. Did your opponent force you to play to the bitter end after blundering a queen and a rook? Perhaps you overturned overwhelming odds to scrounge a draw, or even snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Please e-mail your nominations (you can nominate yourself or an opponent) to hebdenbridgechessclub@gmail.com. Entries must have been contested at this year’s British Chess Championships. Your e-mail should include the names of the combatants, the competition it took place in, a brief explanation of why you think your nomination should win and the game or position itself (preferably as a PGN or FEN). The closing date for entries is Friday the 12th of August and the winners will be announced at the end of the month. We promise that the prizes are unique and totally in keeping with the nature of the competition!

As entries come in we'll be posting the best (worst?) candidates right here so do come back to see the what crimes have been committed on a day by day basis.