The European Championships

Hard to see how this one fits in with Westcountry Chess isn't it? GMs Michael Adams and Keith Arkell are the link. Now resident in Somerset and Devon respectively, they've flown out to Rijeka in Croatia to compete in the European championships, starting tommorow. For anyone wondering where exactly in Croatia Rijeka is, it's (hope I'm getting this right) in the north- west of Croatia, right on the coast, close to the Slovenian border.

Michael Adams seems to have been around top level chess for as long as anyone, but his form has dipped slightly in recent years. Boasting a very impressive 2704 rating, he's 7th seed, and as long as he doesn't get bogged down in drawing with lower rated players, will be one of the favourites to win the tournament.

I think I'd need a calculator to add up the number of weekend congresses Keith Arkell's won, but here he's 212th seed, just in the bottom half of the draw. Given that the first round is done on a top-half vs bottom- half pairing system, he's going to face a very tough first round.

Best of luck to both, and I'll keep you updated with their progress.