Michael Adams – "The Spider"

Michael "Mickey" Adams is an English Chess Grandmaster who has remained one of the world's top players for over three decades. He is the long-standing British number one.

He earned this nickname because of his unique playing style. Like a spider, he weaves a web around his opponents, slowly restricting their pieces and squares until they are suffocated.

He is a universal positional player, often compared to Anatoly Karpov. He excels at accumulating small advantages ("The Squeeze") and grinding out wins in the endgame.

Yes. He famously reached the final of the 2004 FIDE World Championship in Libya, narrowly losing to Rustam Kasimdzhanov in rapid tie-breaks.

Adams is classically principled. With White, he favors 1.e4 (often the Ruy Lopez). With Black, he is a lifelong expert in the French Defense and the Queen's Gambit Declined.

Adams came within inches of the crown, reaching the finals of the knockout tournament in Tripoli.

He reached his peak ranking of World #4 multiple times between 2000 and 2002.

A dominant force in British chess, winning the national title in 1989, 1997, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2023.

His ability to restrict enemy pieces without engaging in tactical brawls earned him this famous moniker.

He achieved this massive rating in 2013, maintaining a 2700+ rating for nearly two decades.

One of his greatest tournament wins, scoring 7/9 ahead of Kramnik and Caruana with a performance rating over 2900.

In 2005, he played a famous match against the supercomputer Hydra. Though he lost, it was a landmark event in human-computer chess.

Adams has remained in the World Top 100 longer than almost any other active player from his generation.

He is widely considered one of the greatest endgame players of the modern era, capable of winning "drawn" rook endings.

Despite being a positional player, he is one of the world's leading experts on the chaotic Marshall Attack in the Ruy Lopez.

He tied for first place with Kramnik and Veselin Topalov in this elite super-tournament.

He won the British Championship at age 17, confirming his status as a world-class talent early on.

Known for his poker face. Opponents often say they cannot tell if Adams thinks he is winning or losing.

Adams is one of the few players to have defeated Garry Kasparov in a competitive game (Las Palmas 1996).

Like Karpov, his first instinct is often to prevent the opponent's active ideas before creating his own.

He has played board one for England in numerous Chess Olympiads, anchoring the team for decades.

Long before it became trendy, Adams was showing how to play solid d4 systems with venom.

While known for positional chess, he can calculate tactical complications with the best when forced.

He writes a highly respected chess column for The Telegraph.

Continuing his legacy, he recently added the World Senior Team title to his achievements with the England squad.