Jon Speelman - Biography

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, earning a doctorate.

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:

• In the 1989–1990 cycle, Speelman qualified by placing third in the 1987 interzonal tournament held in Subotica, Yugoslavia. After beating Yasser Seirawan in his first round 4–1, and Nigel Short in the second round 3½–1½, he lost to Jan Timman at the semi-final stage 4½–3½.
• In the following 1990–93 championship cycle, he lost 5½–4½ in the first round to Short, the eventual challenger for Garry Kasparov's crown.

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

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.

He is noted for his imaginative style, often choosing unobvious ways to carry on his games.

Speelman is also known as "Spess", short for "specimen", one of the many misspellings of his name in the press over the years.

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 1970–1980 (1982), a thesis-like analysis of nearly fifty of the best games by top players from that decade, and the critically acclaimed Jon Speelman's Best Games (1997),

Personal life

Speelman is married to Lyndsey Thomas, they have a son, Lawrence, born in January 1994.

Bibliography

(partial)

• Speelman, Jonathan (1981). Analysing the Endgame. Batsford (London, England). 142 pages. ISBN 978-0-713-41909-2.
• Speelman, Jonathan (1981). Endgame Preparation. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 177 pages. ISBN 978-0-713-44000-3.
• Speelman, Jon (1982). Best Chess Games, 1970-80. Allen & Unwin (London, England; Boston, Massachusetts). 328 pages. ISBN 9780047940156.
• Speelman, Jonathan; Tisdall, Jon; Wade, Bob. (1993). Batsford Chess Endings. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 448 pages. ISBN 978-0-713-44420-9.
• Speelman, Jon (1997). Jon Speelman's Best Games. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 240 pages. ISBN 978-0-713-46477-1.

External links

• (World Chess Federation)
• Interview