British Championship 2022, Round 4

 Danny Gormally's position in the lead of was short-lived, as he lost in Round 4 to Brandon Clarke. Clarke is now one of five joint leaders, along with Kirk (who beat Derakhshani), Arkell (who beat Price), Richard Pert (who beat Domenech) and Grieve (who was the only lower-seeded player to win at the top, with a win against Nigel Davies). Grieve's results so far are enough to have taken him clearly over the 2400 barrier, although as yet he does not have enough norms for the IM title.

My own game was a bit of a horror show; my opponent's attacking instincts were more switched on than mine, and he built up a lovely attack that forced me to give up my queen for a rook and a piece. He then really should have gone on to convert that to victory, but nerves and time worked against him, and he ended up blundering his queen. Well, I'll take the lucky victories along with the good ones.





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