Jon Speelman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jon Speelman |
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Speelman in 2024
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| Full name | Jonathan Simon Speelman |
| Country | England |
| Born | 2 October 1956 London, England |
| Title | Grandmaster (1980) |
| FIDE rating | 2503 (August 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2645 (July 1988) |
| Peak ranking | No. 5 (July 1988) |
Jonathan Simon Speelman, born on October 2, 1956, is a famous English chess grandmaster and writer. A Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can achieve, showing they are one of the best in the world.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Jonathan Simon Speelman was born in Marylebone, a part of London, England. He went to St Paul's School, London, which is a well-known school. Later, he studied mathematics at Worcester College, Oxford, a famous university.
Chess Career Highlights
Jon Speelman has won the British Chess Championship three times: in 1978, 1985, and 1986. He was also a regular player for the English team in the Chess Olympiad. This is a big international chess tournament held every two years by FIDE, which is the World Chess Federation.
Playing in Top Tournaments
Speelman played in two important Candidates Tournaments. These tournaments are a big step for chess players who want to challenge for the World Chess Champion title.
- In the 1989–1990 tournament, he did very well. He finished third in a qualifying tournament in Subotica, Yugoslavia. He then won his first two matches against strong players, Yasser Seirawan and Nigel Short. He reached the semi-finals but lost to Jan Timman.
- In the next championship cycle (1990–1993), he played against Nigel Short again in the first round. Short eventually went on to challenge Garry Kasparov for the world title.
Beating a World Champion
In 1989, Jon Speelman had an exciting win against Garry Kasparov. Kasparov was the World Chess Champion at the time. Speelman beat him in a fast-paced chess tournament that was shown on TV. Speelman then went on to win the whole event!
Interactive TV Chess Match
On December 7, 1990, Speelman was part of a special TV show on BBC Two called Your Move. It was a very new idea for its time. Speelman played a chess game against the TV audience! Viewers could call in using a special phone line to suggest moves. The move with the most votes was then played. Speelman won this unique match. The show lasted about three hours, which was longer than planned because everyone was so interested.
Writing and Commentary
Jon Speelman has written many books about chess. Some of his books focus on the endgame, which is the final part of a chess game. These include Analysing the Endgame (1981), Endgame Preparation (1981), and Batsford Chess Endings (1993), which he co-wrote.
He also wrote books like Best Games 1970–1980 (1982), which looked at nearly fifty great games by top players. Another book is Jon Speelman's Best Games (1997). Today, he often writes about chess for newspapers like The Observer and The Independent. He also sometimes provides commentary for chess games online on the Internet Chess Club.
See also
In Spanish: Jonathan Speelman para niños
