Jon Speelman

Jon Speelman

black and white photograph of dark-haired male wearing glasses, seated at chess game

Speelman (unknown date)
Born Jonathan Simon Speelman
(1956-10-02) 2 October 1956
Fields   Chess
  Mathematics
  Writing
Alma mater Worcester College, Oxford
Spouse Lyndsey Thomas

Jonathan Simon "Jon" Speelman (born 2 October 1956) is an English Grandmaster chess player, mathematician and chess writer.

Early life and education

He was educated at Worcester College, Oxford, where he studied mathematics.[1]

Career

A winner of the British Chess Championship in 1978, 1985 and 1986, Speelman has been a regular member of the English team for the Chess Olympiad, an international biennial chess tournament organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.

He qualified for two Candidates Tournaments:

Speelman's highest ranking in the FIDE Elo rating list was fourth in the world, in January 1989.[2]

In 1989, he beat Kasparov in a televised speed tournament, and then went on to win the event.

In the April 2007 FIDE list, Speelman had an Elo rating of 2518, making him England's twelfth-highest-rated active player.

Writing

He has written a number of books on chess, including several on the endgame, among them Analysing the Endgame (1981), Endgame Preparation (1981) and Batsford Chess Endings (co-author, 1993).

Among his other books are Best Games 19701980 (1982), a thesis-like analysis of nearly fifty of the best games by top players from that decade, and Jon Speelman's Best Games (1997). These days he is more of a chess journalist and commentator than a player, is the chess correspondent for The Observer and The Independent and sometimes provides commentary for games on the Internet Chess Club

Bibliography

(partial)

References

  1. The Spectator, Volume 258–259, Issue 8306, 1987, p. 92: "Jon was educated at St Paul's School, London, and went on to Worcester College, Oxford, where he gained a second in mathematics."
  2. All Time Rankings

External links

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