Nigel Short facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nigel ShortMBE |
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Short in 2018
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| Full name | Nigel David Short |
| Country | England |
| Born | 1 June 1965 Leigh, Lancashire, England |
| Title | Grandmaster (1984) |
| FIDE rating | 2626 (June 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2712 (April 2004) |
| Peak ranking | No. 3 (July 1988) |
Nigel David Short (born 1 June 1965) is a famous English chess grandmaster. A grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can get! He is also a writer, coach, and commentator. Since September 2022, he has been the Director for Chess Development at FIDE, which is the world's chess organization.
Nigel became a grandmaster when he was 19 years old. He was even ranked third in the world by FIDE from July 1988 to July 1989. In 1993, he made history by becoming the first English player to play for the World Chess Championship. He played against Garry Kasparov in London, but Kasparov won the match.
Nigel Short was given an award called the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1999 for his great contributions to chess.
Contents
Early Life and How He Started Chess
Nigel Short was born on June 1, 1965, in Leigh, England. He was the second of three boys. His dad was a journalist, and his mom was a school secretary. He grew up in Atherton.
Nigel started playing chess when he was just five years old. He watched his father teach his older brother, Martin, and wanted to learn too! He joined local chess clubs, first in Atherton and then in Bolton. He even got rejected by the Bolton club at age seven for being too young, but he joined later! When he was 17, Nigel left school to focus on chess full-time.
From Prodigy to Grandmaster
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Nigel learned chess from his father when he was five. He was a true chess prodigy, which means he was incredibly talented at a very young age. When he was only 10, he became famous for beating Viktor Korchnoi. Korchnoi was the second-best player in the world at the time! Nigel beat him in a special game where Korchnoi played against 31 people at once. Nigel was the only one to win!
In 1977, just before his 12th birthday, Nigel became the youngest person ever to play in the British Chess Championship. He even beat Jonathan Penrose, who had won the British championship ten times! Nigel did very well for his first time.
He was the best youth chess player in Britain during this time. In 1978, he won his first adult national title, the British Lightning Championship, when he was only 13. He won it again in 1980.
In 1979, Nigel tied for first place in the British Championship. He also tied for first in the World Championship for players under 16. He became the youngest International Master in chess history at the time, breaking a record set by the famous Bobby Fischer.
Nigel played in four World Junior Championships between 1980 and 1983. In 1980, he came in second place to Garry Kasparov. In 1984, when he was 19, Nigel was given the grandmaster title. He was the youngest grandmaster in the world at that time!
Journey to the World Championship
Nigel's journey to play for the World Chess Championship title really began in 1985. He became the first British player ever to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. This tournament decides who gets to challenge the current World Champion.
Nigel kept trying and doing well in these tournaments. He beat many strong players, including former World Champion Anatoly Karpov in 1992. This win was a huge moment in chess history! In the final match of the Candidates Tournament, Nigel defeated Jan Timman to earn the right to play against the defending World Champion, Garry Kasparov.
World Title Match in London (1993)
The World Championship match between Nigel Short and Garry Kasparov happened in London in 1993. There was a disagreement with FIDE, the main chess organization, about where the match should be held and the prize money. Because of this, Short and Kasparov created their own group called the Professional Chess Association (PCA).
The match was a big event, sponsored by The Times newspaper. Kasparov won the match. Even though Nigel didn't win the title, it was a huge achievement for him to reach the World Championship match.
Major Tournament Successes
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Nigel Short has won many important chess tournaments throughout his career. He won the British Chess Championship three times: in 1984, 1987, and 1998. He also won the English Chess Championship in 1991.
He was the Commonwealth Champion in 2004, 2006, and 2008. He also won the EU Individual Open Chess Championship in 2006.
Nigel has finished first or tied for first in dozens of other international tournaments around the world. Some of these include events in Geneva (1979), Wijk aan Zee (1986, 1987), Reykjavík (1987), Hastings (1987/88, 1988/89), Gibraltar (2003, 2004, 2012), and Bangkok (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017).
One of his best tournament performances was at the Amsterdam VSB tournament in 1991. He tied for first place ahead of both Kasparov and Karpov!
Match Play Success
Nigel Short has also done very well in chess matches, where two players compete against each other. He beat US Champion Lev Alburt in 1985. He also won matches against players like Étienne Bacrot in 2000 and Hou Yifan in 2016.
In 2013, Nigel played a special match in Iran called Talking Chess. During the games, he and his opponent, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, talked about their moves live. This helped the audience understand what the players were thinking. Nigel won all parts of this match: the classic games, the rapid games, and the blitz games.
Playing for England
Nigel Short first played for England's national team in 1983 when he was 17. He has represented England in 17 straight Olympiads (big international team tournaments) from 1984 to 2016!
His team highlights include:
- Winning silver medals with the team at the Chess Olympiads in Thessaloniki 1984, Dubai 1986, and Thessaloniki 1988. In Dubai 1986, he also won a gold medal for his own great performance.
- Winning a team bronze medal at the Novi Sad Olympiad of 1990.
- Leading the English team to victory in the 1997 European Team Championship.
- Winning individual gold medals at the World Senior Team Championship in 2015 and 2017.
Other Activities
Nigel Short has done many things besides playing chess. In 2018, he became one of the Vice Presidents of FIDE, the World Chess Federation.
He has written chess articles and book reviews for many British newspapers, including The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph. He also wrote a column called "Short Stories" for New in Chess magazine for many years.
Nigel has coached young chess stars like Pentala Harikrishna and Sergey Karjakin. He was also the national coach for the country of Iran from 2006 to 2007. Under his coaching, Iran won a team bronze medal at the Asian Games in 2006.
In 1999, he received the MBE award for his chess achievements. He has also been the president of the Commonwealth Chess Association.
Today, Nigel is often asked to commentate on important chess events during live online broadcasts. Many people enjoy listening to his insights.
Incidents
In 2001, Nigel Short thought he might have been secretly playing against the famous former chess champion Bobby Fischer online. Fischer was very private, and he later said it wasn't him.
In 2007, Nigel Short made some comments about a FIDE official. He was later asked to explain his words by the FIDE Ethics Commission. The main complaints were dismissed, but he was told off for using a certain word.
Personal Life
Nigel Short lives in Greece with his wife, Rhea Argyro Karageorgiou, who is a drama therapist. They got married in 1987 and have two children.
Chess Style
Nigel Short is known for his attacking and creative style of play. He often uses certain openings (the first few moves of a game) when he plays.
When playing as White (the first player):
When playing as Black (the second player):
- French Defense
- Ruy Lopez
- Queen's Pawn Game
- Queen's Gambit Declined
- Nimzo Indian
Images for kids
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Short in 2018
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Nigel Short (1976)
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Short at the 2005 Corus chess tournament
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Short in 2013
See also
In Spanish: Nigel Short para niños
