Both players finished on 8/11.  Stuart had already beaten Keith early in the tournament and faced a tougher field, so the victory was well deserved.  He will be a popular champion with fellow players and fans alike.     

Nigel Davies, Stephen Gordon, Bogdan Lalic and Simon Williams shared third place with 7.5 points each. 

Here is the crucial playoff game.  The Caro-Kann is a notoriously tough nut to crack, but Stuart made light work of it in this game. 

Exchanging the c-pawn for the d-pawn gives Black a tiny structural edge - an extra centre pawn.  But it costs time, and 7.Be2!? is an interesting idea, anticipating the queen's switch to the kingside and fluid development.

Stuart Conquest - Keith Arkell
(Liverpool, 2008)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Ng3 c5 7.Be2!? cxd4 8.Qxd4 e6 9.0–0 Bc5 10.Qh4 0–0 11.Bd3 Be7 12.Bg5 g6?  12...h6? 13.Bxh6! gxh6 14.Qxh6 followed by Ng3-h5 (or Nf3-g5 is also dangerous) gives White a winning attack.  If 14...Re8 15.Ng5 Bf8 16.Bh7+! Kh8 17.Nxf7 mate.  Instead, 12...Re8! looks like the way to handle it, preparing h7-h6 (as the bishop can defend from f8 if White sacrifices).  13.Rad1  Natural play, mobilizing all the pieces.  13...Re8  13...a6 looks essential, but the pressure is already intense.  14.Bb5! a6 15.Bxd7 Nxd7  15...Bxd7 16.Ne5 Nd5 17.Nxf7! is decisive.  For example, 17...Kxf7 18.Qxh7+ Kf8 19.Bh6 is mate. 16.Ne4 f6  (see diagram)  17.Rxd7!! Bxd7 18.Nxf6+ Bxf6 19.Bxf6 Qc7 20.Be5 Qd8 21.Bf6 Qc7 22.Ne5!  No harm in repeating, and now Black's king is far too draughty to survive.  22...Bc6  22...Rf8 23.Ng4! h5 24.Qg5 wins.  23.Nxg6 Bd5 24.Qg5! Kf7 25.Be5 Qd8 26.Qh6 Re7 27.Qxh7+ Ke8 28.Nxe7 Qxe7 29.Qh8+ Qf8 30.Qxf8+ Kxf8 31.b3  Black can resign here - even with opposite coloured bishops the rest is trivial.  31...b5 32.Re1 Rc8 33.Re2 Kf7 34.f3 a5 35.Kf2 a4 36.h4 Kg6 37.g4 Rf8 38.Re3 Rc8 39.Re2 Rf8 40.f4 Kh6 41.Kg3 axb3 42.axb3 Ra8 43.h5 Ra2 44.Rh2 Be4 45.g5+ Kh7 46.Rd2 Ra7  1–0

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