Jonathan Speelman

Jonathan Speelman was born in 1956 and graduated from Worcester College Oxford, where he read mathematics. He became an IM and a professional chess player in 1977, a GM in 1980 and was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006. Three times British Champion he played twice in the Candidates, reaching the semi-final (of what was then a knockout series of matches) in 1989 when he lost 4.5-3.5 to Jan Timman. He was twice a second to a world championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.

Jon has written for The Observer (weekly) since 1993 and The Independent since 1998. With its closure (going online, but without Jon on board) he is expanding online activity and is also now offering online tuition. He likes puzzles, especially (cryptic) crosswords and killer sudokus. If you'd like to contact Jon, then please write to jonathan@speelman.demon.co.uk

Recent news

Jon Speelman: Defeat and redemption

7/8/2025 – In today's competitive chess landscape, even legends would struggle to maintain spotless records. This reflective piece contrasts the rare losses of Capablanca with the regular defeats modern players face, particularly in rapid formats. From Nodirbek Abdusattorov's heartbreaking loss in Tashkent to Richard Rapport's brilliant comeback, the article explores the psychological toll of losing - and recovering - in elite chess. Personal memories and missed chances add an introspective touch to this insightful journey through triumph and defeat. | Pictured: A 16-year-old Jon Speelman | Photo: Hulton Archive
More...
 5

Jon Speelman: Keeping the king upright

6/2/2025 – Premature resignation in chess has long been a subject of debate, and recent events have brought it back into focus. Hikaru Nakamura's resignation against Magnus Carlsen in a winning position sparked discussion about etiquette, pressure and online play. While resignation is often appropriate, even expected, history shows many cases where players have walked away from drawn or even winning positions. A look at some notable examples highlights the fine line between prudence and error. | Photo: chess.com / Thomas Tischio
More...
 5

Jon Speelman: Triple-jump in spring, a celebration of Vasyl Ivanchuk

5/11/2025 – Ukrainian chess legend Vasyl Ivanchuk has made a remarkable comeback, gaining 40 rating points in April and re-entering the top 100 with a FIDE rating of 2644. The 54-year-old grandmaster remained unbeaten in 27 games across three tournaments, including the Reykjavík Open, Semana Santa Open and Menorca Open, where he finished first with an impressive 8/9 score. Despite the turmoil in Ukraine, Ivanchuk continues to demonstrate his enduring talent, reminding the chess world of his prodigious skill and unpredictable brilliance. | Photo: Andreas Kontokanis, via Wikimedia Commons (2007)
More...
 3

Jon Speelman: Ructions in Romania

4/11/2025 – The 2024 European Chess Championship in Romania drew nearly 400 players and concluded with Matthias Bluebaum claiming the title for a second time. Across eleven rounds, the tournament offered no shortage of drama and complexity. In this article, two games from the event are examined - both notable for their sharp conclusions and instructive endgame moments. Light annotations in the openings are followed by deeper analysis of the critical late-stage play. | Pictured: Mahammad Muradli from Azerbaijan (FIDE)

Jon Speelman: A few patterns

3/4/2025 – In his latest column, GM Jon Speelman explores the fascinating Novotny theme in chess problems, sharing two of his own recent compositions. With the aid of modern software, he crafted problems that highlight this striking interference motif. He also delves into the theme's history, tracing its origins to Antonin Novotny (pictured) and Henry Turton, and recalls brilliant missed Novotnys in practical play.

Jon Speelman: Reasonable doubt

2/2/2025 – When should you take the plunge on a risky move? GM Jon Speelman explores this question by diving deep into a single position from his recent 4NCL game against IM Richard Palliser. Analysing a critical moment in the Caro-Kann, Speelman weighs the dangers of a bold knight leap and the fine margins between courage and calamity. His conclusion? Sometimes, the gamble is worth it — especially if the worst outcome is losing in style.

Jon Speelman: The wrong trousers and vengeance most equine

1/8/2025 – Welcome to 2025, a rare "square year" (45×45), and a time for both reflection and prediction. Chess fans enter the new year with excitement after a historic 2024, crowned by Gukesh's ascension as World Champion, marking India's growing dominance in chess. Meanwhile, Ian Nepomniachtchi's dazzling ...Ne3+!! in the World Blitz final against Magnus Carlsen provided a fitting finale to a dramatic year. As we look ahead, will 2025 unveil a new prodigy destined for greatness? Share your thoughts and favourites in the comments. | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

Jon Speelman: Remember 1963 (plus other worthy exhortations and an assertion)

12/4/2024 – Grandmaster Jon Speelman delves into the ongoing World Chess Championship match in Singapore, offering insightful analysis and drawing fascinating parallels to historic encounters like Botvinnik v. Petrosian in 1963. With Gukesh and Ding trading psychological blows as much as tactical ones, Speelman highlights critical moments that reveal each player's mindset and strategy under immense pressure. From Gukesh's bold refusal of a threefold repetition to Ding's cautious attempts to regain control, Speelman's commentary illuminates the evolving dynamics of a closely contested match. | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

Jon Speelman: Beware ferocious chess children

11/3/2024 – When facing a young, ambitious opponent, it's best not to let them gain momentum. At the recent Hoogeveen Open, Surya Shekhar Ganguly learned this the hard way against Emil Frederick Schuricht, a German teenager who, despite being rated 2145, outplayed the Indian GM spectacularly on the dark squares. Meanwhile, young chess prodigies keep raising the bar - most notably 9-year-old Ethan Pang (pictured), who reached an impressive 2303 rating this month. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Jon Speelman: Beauty in London and Budapest

10/6/2024 – Every month or so, I have lunch with some chess players in central London. We normally go to a pub and this time I had a decent pint and a reasonable veggie burger which was punctuated by some gossip and some chess. Find here a few of the positions we discussed - plus three remarkable games from the Olympiad in Budapest! | Pictured: Benjamin Gledura (Hungary) at the 2024 FIDE Chess Olympiad | Photo: Michal Walusza

Jon Speelman: Pushing the limits of greed and analysis

9/1/2024 – One of the most popular ideas for my columns here has been to look at great attacking games. Various names have been mentioned, and I'm starting today with a fine example by the Soviet grandmaster Leonid Stein (pictured), one of the greatest attacking players of the mid-20th century. I've also continued with the theme of exploring the limits of analysis, with a game from the Sinquefield Cup between D. Gukesh and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. | Photo: Dutch National Archive

Jon Speelman: Analysis and the Oracle

8/4/2024 – As we try to improve our chess, much of the work involves considerable analysis, which is hugely expedited by talking to our silicon masters. The important thing, however, is not merely to sit at the Oracle's feet and genuflect, but to ask sufficient questions so as to develop our own understanding and, on a very good day, to do some of the work ourselves. | Pictured: Ray Robson | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club
More...
 4

Trappers trapped

7/7/2024 – Trapping the pieces of the opponent has a particular charm. When thinking back to the first days of ChessBase and looking at a game Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja recently played at the Superbet Classic in Bucharest, Jon Speelman (pictured) remembered a number of famous and entertaining games, in which pieces were caught. | Photo: David Llada
More...
 4

Jon Speelman: May miscellany

6/2/2024 – Study composition is one of the aspects of chess that has been both most helped and most muddied by computers. Sometimes it turns out that a study is actually unsound or at least has dual(s), and sometimes there are complications regarding the 50-move rule, for example. But if you have an idea, then it has never been easier to test it, so that a process that would once have taken days can now be finalised in mere minutes. | Photo: John Upham

Jon Speelman: The search for less than perfection (or when -0.07 > 0.11)

5/5/2024 – One of the most interesting aspects of the Candidates Tournament was the superb opening preparation, and in particular how they managed to set each other problems which hadn’t been foreseen. This is a special skill that involves interacting with the fearsome engines not to find the “best” moves but ones which are almost as strong according to the silicon evaluation — but lower down the food chain! | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Jon Speelman: Predators in Toronto

4/7/2024 – As the much-anticipated Candidates Tournament is taking place in Toronto, it’s not too difficult to separate the players into those with a decent chance of winning and becoming Ding’s challenger and those who will hope to have a decent result and gain invaluable experience for the future. After three rounds of play, the overall impression is that these guys are going to beat each other to a pulp and that the level of opening preparation is terrifying! | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Jon Speelman: Charge of the chestnuts!

3/3/2024 – A fortnight ago, I showed a game by Lu Miaoyi, a ferocious 14-year-old Chinese girl. This started me thinking about the best attacking players of all time. I don’t have an ordered list myself, just some names which I think should go very close to the top. Here I analysed three brilliant attacking wins by Rashid Nezhmetdinov (pictured), Paul Keres and Wei Yi. What is your top ten of attacking players? Share your list in the comments section.

Jon Speelman: The joy of innumeracy

2/18/2024 – Today’s column is about sacrifices and the exchange in particular. If you’re shown a chess position cold, then the first thing you do normally is to count the pieces just to check that the material is fairly balanced. But the relative activity is at least as important. The “joy of innumeracy” might turn out to be a valuable (in)ability in many chess positions! | Pictured: Lu Miaoyi at the 2023 Rapid and Blitz World Championships. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
More...
 6
Scroll down to reload more
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.