Chess: Adams stirs with win under Ciderdrinker alias before Biel event

England’s No 1 Michael Adams will be in international action next weekend when Biel, Switzerland, stages the first major European tournament since lockdown. Biel is a triathlon of classical, rapid and blitz chess and Adams, whose online handle is Ciderdrinker, proved in fine form in a speed event last Saturday.

Over the board chess has been virtually nonexistent in Britain since April, and there is as yet no firm sign of a revival, whereas several continental organisers are taking a bolder approach. The European Chess Union calendar for June-July shows 16 events in 11 countries, most of them master level opens.

Related: Chess: Magnus Carlsen chasing another prize despite bizarre four-move loss

Biel has been staged annually since 1968, and next weekend’s revival at the Palais de Congrès in the heart of the lakeside town will be Europe’s strongest over the board event since April. Then the Candidates to decide Magnus Carlsen’s 2021 challenger was stopped at halfway in Russia, with its completion now scheduled for September-October.

Adams is among eight grandmasters at Biel 2020. The Cornishman, 48, is the UK’s only player with an elite 2700 world rating, and he will be seeded fourth behind India’s Pentala Harikrishna, Poland’s Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Spain’s David Antón. Biel will be a triathlon with classical, rapid and blitz sections, and that should help Adams who has excellent speed skills.

Biel has stated that its GMs will be separated at the table by a plexiglass screen, although blitz and moving to the eighth rank could be problematic.

Players in the Corona Amateur tournament will sit at the same table 1.5 metres apart (Switzerland’s social distance), will be given their own set of pieces for the tournament, and will have the increment per move increased from 30 to 45 seconds, because making long moves or pressing the clock may require standing up. Face masks are optional. Will it work? We shall see.

Adams displayed his fast and accurate reactions last Saturday when he won an informal blitz tournament held on lichess.org to celebrate the 50th birthday of the sports betting specialist and Fide Master Chris Duncan.

Many of England’s leading GMs and IMs took part. FM David Haydon was second and the England No 4 GM Gawain Jones (‘VerdeNotte”) third. Adams’s most visual win was against GM David Norwood (“Davenogood”) who gave up chess for investment, became a millionaire, remains a sharp blitz player who always opens 1 g3 as White and 1...g6 as Black, and who won a second blitz event staged late last Saturday night.

Nigel Short is also likely to resume over-the-board tournaments shortly, as the 1993 world title challenger revealed this week that he already has three invitations for the second half of 2020.

In contrast, progress in reviving over-the-board chess in England appears slow, handicapped by strict social distance regulations for indoor events. The British Championship, planned for next weekend in Torquay, has been cancelled, while the Four Nations League, already postponed from April-May to August-September, will not resume before November, although its online version will continue. London and Hastings at the end of the year are in doubt, though either could decide to function with a slimmed down event.

Lower-ranked GMs and IMs who earn modest incomes from international and weekend opens, plus fees from teams in national leagues, are among the hardest hit. The outlook is also poor for local chess clubs and leagues, which often meet in small crowded rooms.

A model of what can be achieved to keep club chess alive is provided by Guildford, who have dominated the 4NCL for nearly a decade. Its championship is now played over eight weeks online on the usual club night, followed by rapid and blitz versions. On another night of the week there are zoom sessions where a member plays through games while others kibitz. The junior chess club is online with 20 minutes of instruction and discussion via Zoom followed by a 45-minute tournament on Lichess.

Magnus Carlsen? The world champion, winner of four of his last five online tournaments, is now preparing for the Legends of Chess, starting 21 July. His opponents will be Anish Giri, Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi from the Chessable Masters semi-finals, plus eight legendary players led by the last two world champions, Vladimir Kramnik and Vishy Anand.

3679 1...Qd7! and White resigned. If White guards or retreats his attacked b5 rook, then 2...Qh3 wins material or mates, eg 2 Rb4 Qh3 3 a4 Qc3 4 Qxc4 Rxa4+ 5 Rxa4 Qb2 mate.