1/2006 - Michael Adams had a very busy year in 2006. Although he didn't win
any tournaments, he definitely showed his true grit by defeating Topalov,
Anand, Kramnik, and Leko all within the same year. Adams showed he can beat
anyone with the exception of Garry Kasparov and Hydra; there aren't many
players around who can do that anyway.
Adams played in most, if not all the major tournaments in 2005. He
played in Corus, Linares, Mtel, Dortmund and San Luis. Despite this very
busy tournament schedule, Adams found time to take on Peter Leko and Hydra
in matches. Adams faired far better against Leko than he did against Hydra.
In his match against Leko, Adams pulled out to a 3-game lead. But, Leko rallied
to draw their match. Against the 2nd coming of
Deep Blue, Adams was no match for Hydra and lost the by a 0.5 - 5.5
score.
Adams a perennial top 10 player, first got his GM title in 1989. He is
England's best chess player. His highest rating was 2755. Adams recently
dropped out of the top 10, but I think he will climb back into the top ranks
in 2006. In 2004, Adams fought his way to the finals of the 2004 FIDE KO
tournament. However, Rustam Kasimdzhanov would KO Adams to take the title.
In 1997, Adams also found himself in the finals of the FIDE KO, that time
Vishy Anand Kayoed him. Adams best tournament result was probably at
Dos Hermanas in 1999; Adams finished first ahead of Anand, Kramnik, Judith Polgar,
Svidler, Topalov, and Karpov. In 1994, Adams shared first with Vishy Anand
at Groningen PCA qualifier.
In 1994, Adams qualified to become a candidate for both the PCA and FIDE
world championship cycles. Adams would get past S Tiviakov in the PCA
Quarterfinal candidate match, but would not get past Anand in the
semifinals. In the FIDE cycle, Adams was stopped by Boris Gelfand in the
quarterfinal match.
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