William Hartston facts for kids

William Roland Hartston (born August 12, 1947) is a well-known English journalist. He writes the "Beachcomber" column for the Daily Express newspaper. He has done this since 1998. William Hartston is also a very talented chess player. He played chess professionally from 1962 to 1987. He earned the title of International Master in 1972. Today, he is famous for writing books about chess. He also explains the game on television.

William Hartston's Story

Early Life and Chess Achievements

William Hartston was born in Willesden, England. He went to the City of London School. Later, he studied Mathematics at Jesus College, Cambridge University. He did not finish his advanced degree in mathematics. This was because he spent too much time playing chess.

William was a very strong chess player. At the 1970 Chess Olympiad in Siegen, he won a gold medal. This was for having the best score on board 3. He won the British Chess Championship twice. He won in 1973 and again in 1975. He played very well in many international chess events. He almost earned the title of International Grandmaster. This is the highest title in chess. William Hartston was also the first person to stack all the pieces from a chess set on top of one white rook.

TV and Media Work

Starting in the early 1970s, William Hartston appeared on the BBC many times. He was usually an expert commentator. He would explain world chess championship matches. These included famous matches like Fischer-Spassky in 1972. He also covered Karpov-Korchnoi in 1978.

On December 7, 1990, he was part of a special TV show. It was called Your Move on BBC Two. In this show, a grandmaster played against the audience. Viewers called in to vote for their chess moves. William Hartston helped explain the game. The grandmaster won, but the audience played well.

William Hartston won the BBC's The Master Game competition twice. He then became the show's main expert. In the 1980s, he presented the BBC series Play Chess.

Other Interests and Writings

In recent years, William Hartston has explored many different areas. He has created thinking competitions for The Independent newspaper. He also worked with the Mind Sports Olympiad. Since January 1996, he has written the unique "Beachcomber" column for the Daily Express.

He has written many books. These books cover topics like chess, mathematics, and humor. He also writes about interesting facts. He has been a regular guest on the BBC Radio 4 show Puzzle Panel. He also appeared on The Museum of Curiosity on Radio 4.

Besides his work in chess and media, Hartston is also a mathematician. He is also an industrial psychologist. In the 1980s, he researched how teams work together. He helped launch a website called "wakkipedia.com." This site shared interesting but useless information. His book, A Brief History of Puzzles, was published in 2019. It talks about 120 famous brainteasers. In 2023, his book Knock, knock! In pursuit of a grand unified theory of humour was published.

In 2013, William Hartston and his friend Josef Kollar became regular "viewers" on the Channel 4 TV show Gogglebox.

Personal Life

William Hartston was married to Woman Grandmaster Jana Bellin. She is also a famous chess player. They were married in 1970. He later married Elizabeth Bannerman in 1978. They have two sons named James and Nicholas.