Jonathan Simon Speelman (born 2 October 1956) is an English chess grandmaster and author.
Early life and education
Jonathan Simon Speelman was born on 2 October 1956 in
Marylebone, London. He was educated at St Paul's School, London, and Worcester College, Oxford, where he read mathematics.
[ The Spectator, Volumes 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."]
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 organised by
FIDE, the World Chess Federation.
He qualified for two Candidates Tournaments:
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In the 1989–1990 cycle, Speelman qualified by placing third in the 1987 interzonal 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.
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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.
In 1989, Speelman beat Kasparov in a televised speed tournament and then went on to win the event.
On 7 December 1990, Speelman was featured in an experimental interactive BBC Two broadcast called Your Move, which was hosted by Rob Curling and commentated by chess writer William Hartston. In the groundbreaking one-off episode, Speelman was pitted against the audience, who would use a special telephone line to submit their moves, with the move played by the viewers being decided by a democratic vote.
Writing
He has written a number of books on chess, including several on the
Chess 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), an analysis of nearly fifty of the best games by top players from that decade, and Jon Speelman's Best Games (1997). Today he is primarily a chess journalist and commentator, being the chess correspondent for The Observer and The Independent and sometimes providing commentary for games on the Internet Chess Club.
Bibliography
(partial)
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Speelman, Jonathan (1981). Analysing the Endgame. Batsford (London, England). 142 pages. .
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Speelman, Jonathan (1981). Endgame Preparation. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 177 pages. .
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Speelman, Jon (1982). Best Chess Games, 1970-80. Allen & Unwin (London, England; Boston, Massachusetts). 328 pages. .
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Speelman, Jonathan; Jon Tisdall; Wade, Bob. (1993). Batsford Chess Endings. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 448 pages. .
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Speelman, Jon (1997). Jon Speelman's Best Games. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 240 pages. .
External links
