Septuagenarian John Nunn

by John Nunn
5/6/2025 – He is one of our oldest friends, a valuable assistant and advisor when ChessBase was first launched. The Oxford mathematician has had a long and very illustrious career in chess, sometimes counted amongst the top ten in the world. So how does he celebrate his 70th birthday? Let John Nunn show us how – and give us two celebratory puzzles to solve.

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Seven years ago I wrote about my fifty years playing in British Championships, and now I have reached another milestone with my 70th birthday. Some years ago, I and my family moved from Surrey to Cornwall, a beautiful area in south-west England. This fitted well with our lifestyles, which are based mainly on outdoor activities such as hiking and swimming. At the time, I anticipated that this would effectively mean retirement from over-the-board chess, but events turned out differently.

In 2022 I was encouraged to start playing for the England 65+ team in the World Senior Team Championships and since then have taken part in many 65+ events, both team and individual. Success in these has enabled me to increase my total of major chess titles, which currently stands at (counting both team and individual results) 13 World Championship titles and six European Championship titles (footnote below). Adding British titles would more than double this total, but that’s enough self-congratulation for now.

This year’s win in the European 65+ Team Championship, in which the English team won every match and didn’t lose a single individual game, was a poignant moment for me as it was almost exactly 50 years since my first-ever major title. This was the 1974-5 European Junior Championship held in Groningen, which I won by beating Yehuda Grunfeld in the last round. I don’t have any good photos from this time, so you will have to make do with this image from the tournament book.

Curiously, I won against the same opponent in the 2024 World 65+ Team Championship, almost 50 years after our first encounter.

Apart from senior events, I don’t take part in many chess activities, so my retirement is partially true. I did make a comeback in the World Problem-Solving Championship in 2024, finishing second to Kacper Piorun in the individual (note, not a senior event!) and helping the British trio win the team event for the first time since 2007.

The highly academic winning British problem-solving team from Jurmala 2024, (L to R) Prof Jonathan Mestel, Dr John Nunn and Dr David Hodge, all mathematicians. Jonathan has three grandmaster titles, for over-the-board play, problem-solving and bridge.

My only other over-the-board chess is playing for Bude in the Cornish League. Teams compete for the ‘County Shield’, and this year Bude have defended their title from 2024, possibly helped by a top board who scored 11/12.

The trophy [click to enlarge] dates back to 1903 and must be one of the oldest active chess trophies in the world. The championship has been run more or less continuously since then, with breaks only for the two World Wars and for Covid.

Now we come on to my 70th birthday. I wanted a special event and decided on something which I am pretty sure has never been attempted before: to hold a blitz tournament at the highest point in Cornwall, the oddly-named ‘Brown Willy’ (there are various theories as to the origin of this name). So the three members of the Nunn family and three fit local players started off for this unique event.

Michael Nunn, John Nunn, John Constable, Petra Nunn, Helen Cooley, Lloyd Russell. It felt like an Enid Blyton book : ‘Six go up Brown Willy’. Some of her books were set in Cornwall.

At the summit we had a fine view of Bodmin Moor and the North Cornish countryside.

Having found a suitable venue for the event – a flat rock, play begins

There were a few interested spectators

Surfer Lloyd explains how he took off all his opponent’s pieces. Note that there was no FIDE Dress Code at this event.

And the least important part of the event, the final result: John Nunn 5, Petra Nunn 4, Michael Nunn, John Constable and Lloyd Russell 2, Helen Cooley 0. Since it’s apparently not allowed to write an article for ChessBase which doesn’t contain any chess, here’s the crucial last-round battle that decided the destination of top spot.

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.f3 b5 8.Qd2 Qc7 9.g4 h6 10.h4 Nbd7 11.0-0-0 b4 12.Nce2 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Bf2 Bb7 15.Bh3 Bd6 16.Kb1 Ne5 17.g5 Nc4 18.Qc1 Nf4 19.Bg3 Nxh3 20.Bxd6 Nxd6 21.Rxh3 e5 22.Nb3 0-0-0 23.f4 hxg5 24.fxg5 Nf5 25.c3 Rxh4 26.Rxh4 Rxd1 27.Qxd1 Nxh4 28.cxb4 Be4+ 29.Ka1 Qc2 30.Qxc2+ Bxc2 31.Nc5 Nf3 32.Nxa6 Bd3 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nunn,P-Nunn,J-0–12025B80Brown Willy Blitz

And as a bonus, here’s a game from this year’s World 65+ Team Championship, held in Prague and won by England.

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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 Vaisser has played the Four Pawns Attack for most of his life and even wrote a book Beating the King's Indian and Benoni based on this system, so 5.f4 did not come as a surprise. 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.dxc5 But this was unexpected, since he has almost always played 7.d5 Na6! The influence of the computer. For a century, Black almost always played 7...Qa5 or 7...dxc5 but if you put on the machine, it gives the almost unknown knight move as best after a very short time and evaluates the position as dead equal. The resulting lines are quite complicated, but in summary Black's lead in development and pressure against e4 provide good compensation for the pawn. 8.cxd6 exd6 9.e5 This can hardly be critical, since Black regains the pawn, but it is the computer's preference. After 9.Bd3 Qb6 10.Na4 Qc6 11.Nd4 Qe8 12.0-0 Nxe4 or 9.Be3 Re8 10.Bd3 Ng4 Black is doing well. 9...dxe5 10.Qxd8 Rxd8 11.fxe5 Ng4 12.Bf4 Nb4 13.Rc1 Nxe5 13...Nc6 14.Be2 Ngxe5 is also equal 14.Bxe5 Bxe5 15.Nxe5 Re8 16.Kf2 16.Be2 Rxe5 17.0-0 is impossible due to Nxa2 16...Rxe5 Material equality is restored and the game is totally level, but White has to take a bit of care. 17.Be2 Rf5+ 18.Kg3?! This looks natural, but now Black can claim a slight advantage. 18.Ke1 Be6 19.Rf1 would have led to safe equality. 18...Rg5+ 19.Kf2 The machine claims that 19.Kf3 is slightly better, but few humans would go for this move. 19...Bg4 Now White faces some problems because the a2- and c4-pawns are weak. 20.Bf1? White tries to hold on to all his pawns, but now Black develops a dangerous attack. It would have been better to jettison a pawn immediately by 20.Bxg4 Rxg4 21.Rhd1 Rxc4 22.Rd7 and the active rook gives White reasonable play for the pawn. 20...Rd8 21.a3 Nc6 Black has a strong initiative and threatens ...Rd2+. 22.Ne4 22.Nd5 Be6 loses a pawn, but 22.h3 Be6 23.Rd1 may have been a better chance, although Black still has a large advantage. 22...Rf5+ 23.Kg3 Rd4 24.Nf2 h5 Black is no longer interested in pawns and plays for direct threats against White's king. 25.h3 25.h4 Re5 26.Rc3 Be6 followed by ...Ne7-f5+ is also lost, since White is totally paralysed. 25...h4+! 26.Kxh4 Rxf2 27.hxg4 Ne5 Black not only regains the pawn but also secures an irresistible attack. 28.Re1 Rxg4+ 29.Kh3 Rg5 There's no immediate threat, but White can barely move and if nothing else Black can start taking White's queenside pawns 30.Kh4 Rff5 Threat ...Rh5+. 31.Be2 Rxg2 32.Kh3 Rfg5 33.Rh2 R5g3+ and mate in two more moves. 0–1
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  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vaisser,A2452Nunn,J25330–12025E76WchT Seniors 657.1

Your slightly bemused-looking author receiving a cuddly toy representing the ‘Best Game of the Round’ prize for the above game

Finally, readers should do a bit of work, so here are two problems I composed especially for my 70th birthday. These are both helpmates in six. Black moves first, and both sides cooperate to ensure that White mates Black on his (White’s) sixth move. So both sides play six moves and all the moves must be legal. You can move pieces to solve the problems below.

John Nunn, April 25, 2025
Helpmate in six
John Nunn, April 25, 2025
Helpmate in six

Solutions

  • 1.Kg7 B×e4 2.Rf8 Ke3 3.Nf7 Kf4 4.Nh8+ Kg5 5.Kg8 Kh6 6.Bf7 Bh7#
  • 1.e1B K×d5 2.Re2 Kc5 3.Re5+ Kb4 4.Ke4 Kc3 5.Bf2 Kc4 6.Be3 d3#

Note that in helpmate solutions the moves immediately after the move numbers are black moves – to make the move total come out correctly.


Footnote: Such claims often give rise to a degree of scepticism, so here is my list. World Championships: World Problem-Solving Individual Championship: 2004, 2007 and 2010, World Problem-Solving Team Championships: 1990 (tie with Russia), 2005, 2006, 2007, 2024, World 65+ Team Championship: 2022, 2024, 2025, World 65+ Individual Championship: 2022, 2023. European Championships: European Junior Championship: 1975, European 65+ Individual Championship 2023, European 65+ Team Championship 2024, 2025, European Problem-Solving Individual Championship 2010, European Problem-Solving Team Championship 2010.


Dr John Nunn (born 1955) is an English grandmaster, author and problem-solver. He was among the world’s leading grandmasters for nearly twenty years, winning four gold medals in chess Olympiads, and is a much-acclaimed writer whose works have won ‘Book of the Year’ awards in several countries. In 2004, 2007 and 2010, Nunn was crowned World Chess Solving Champion. He continues to compete successfully in over-the-board and problem-solving events.
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