Fifteen-year-old Frederick Waldhausen Gordon was a surprise winner at the British Rapidplay Championship, held in Peterborough earlier this month. The teenager from Scotland was seeded just 25th in a field which contained seven grandmasters, including England team regulars Gawain Maroroa Jones and Michael Adams. After eight rounds (out of 11), Maroroa Jones had won all his games and led the field by 1.5 points, including a neat finish in the game below.
White should win this endgame, but Czopor’s last move, 79…Rb7-a7, left his rooks vulnerable and hastened the end. The queen now begins a nimble dance, with the ultimate aim of forking the king and the rook on b6.
Gawain Maroroa Jones-Maciej Czopor
British Rapidplay Championship, March 2026
80 Qf5+! Kh8 81 Qe5+ Kg8 81…Rg7 loses to 82 g5 Rb3+ 83 Kg3 Rb3+ 84 Kg2 since h6 is imminent and the queen covers the check on b2. 82 Qe8+ 82 Qd5+ wins faster, but two moves later it happens anyway. Kh7 83 Qe4+ Kg8 84 Qd5+ Kh7 85 Qd3+ Reaching the ideal square. Any king move is met by a fork (on d8, d4 or e3) Kg8 86 Qd8+ Black resigns
Waldhausen Gordon faced Maroroa Jones in the final round, by which point the teenager was just half a point behind, meaning a win would clinch the title. The superb game below decided it.
Frederick Waldhausen Gordon-Gawain Maroroa Jones
British Rapidplay Championship, March 2026
1 Nf3 Nf6 2 g3 g6 3 Bg2 Bg7 4 c4 O-O 5 Nc3 d6 6 O-O c5 7 a3 Nc6 8 Rb1 a6 9 b4 The position is close to symmetrical, but White’s extra tempo promises a small edge. cxb4 10 axb4 Rb8 11 b5 axb5 12 cxb5 Na5 This knight turns out to be rather awkward, so perhaps 12…Ne5 was the lesser evil. 13 d3 Be6 14 Bd2 h6 15 Qa4 Ra8 16 Qb4 Qd7 17 e4 b6 Securing the knight, but now the weak spot on c6 will become a problem. 18 Be3 Rfb8 19 Na4 Qd8 20 Nd4 Bd7 21 Rfc1 Qe8
Preventing Nd4-c6, but only temporarily. 22 e5! dxe5 23 Nc6 Much stronger than capturing on a8. White has too many threats here. Nb7 24 Nxb8 Rxb8 25 Nxb6 Bf5 26 Rb3 Nd6 27 Bc6 Qd8 28 Nc4 Nxb5!? 29 Bxb5 Bh3 The knight sacrifice on b5 was a resourceful defense. It is not obvious how to meet the counter-threat of Qd8-d5-g2 mate, but Waldhausen Gordon finds a neat way to wrap things up. 30 Qa5 Qd5 31 Bc6! Qxc6 32 Rxb8+ Kh7 33 Qa8! This ‘X-ray’ defence of g2 had to be seen in advance. Qe6 34 Nd2 Qf5 35 Rcc8 g5 36 Ne4 Ng4 37 Rh8+ Kg6 38 Rbg8 Black resigns since 38…Qf3 39 Rxg7+ leads to mate.
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