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Speelman 
Photo copright (c) 2007 John Saunders,
British Chess Magazine.
 
Jonathan Speelman
Number of games in database: 1,692
Years covered: 1969 to 2009
Current FIDE rating: 2534
Highest rating achieved in database: 2645
Overall record: +530 -240 =892 (58.7%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      30 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 English (89) 
    A15 A17 A13 A14 A10
 Queen's Pawn Game (85) 
    A46 A45 D02 A41 A40
 Sicilian (55) 
    B52 B81 B92 B67 B70
 King's Indian (54) 
    E92 E60 E97 E61 E90
 Reti System (48) 
    A04 A06
 Nimzo Indian (43) 
    E54 E44 E46 E42 E41
With the Black pieces:
 Caro-Kann (158) 
    B17 B12 B10 B14 B18
 Queen's Pawn Game (97) 
    A41 A40 A46 E00 D02
 English (72) 
    A10 A13 A15 A17 A14
 Sicilian (71) 
    B56 B57 B30 B22 B63
 French Defense (68) 
    C07 C11 C10 C02 C00
 Nimzo Indian (52) 
    E54 E32 E48 E33 E46
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Kasparov vs Speelman, 1989 0-1
   Y Visser vs Speelman, 2006 0-1
   Speelman vs Miles, 1975 1-0
   A Sokolov vs Speelman, 1989 0-1
   Speelman vs J T Fletcher, 1969 1-0
   Speelman vs Short, 1988 1-0
   J Levitt vs Speelman, 1982 0-1
   Speelman vs Sax, 1988 1-0
   Speelman vs M Stangl, 1994 1-0
   Chandler vs Speelman, 1985 0-1

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Jon Speelman's Best Games by suenteus po 147
   Reykjavik World Cup 1991 by suenteus po 147
   London Phillips & Drew 1980 by suenteus po 147
   Phillips & Drew Kings Chess Tournament 1982 by keypusher
   Linares 1991 by suenteus po 147
   Hastings Premier 1998/9 by protean
   WCC Index [Seirawan-Speelman 1988] by Raisin Death Ray
   English Defense by gmann
   WCC Index [Speelman-Short 1988] by Hesam7

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Jonathan Speelman
Search Google® for Jonathan Speelman


JONATHAN SPEELMAN
(born Oct-02-1956) United Kingdom

[what is this?]
Jonathan Simon Speelman was born on the 2nd of October 1956 in London, England. Awarded the IM title in 1978 and the GM title in 1980 he was British Champion in 1978, 1985 and 1986. Early in his career he had a problem with his eyesight but when this was resolved his strength increased dramatically. In 1987 he was 1st= at the Subotica Interzonal and as a Candidate in 1988 he beat Yasser Seirawan (+3, =2, -0) and Nigel Short (+2, =3, -0). Then, in 1989 he lost to Jan Timman (+1, =5, -2) in the semi-final. He is a superb analyst and a noted and well respected author. His books are often highly technical, two well known ones being Endgame Preparation and Endgame Analysis. He has a highly original chess style often playing less obvious moves and a wide opening repertoire. His highest ever FIDE ranking was joint 4th in the world in 1989.

 page 1 of 68; games 1-25 of 1,692  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. Speelman vs J T Fletcher 1-018 1969 BCF-ch U14C57 Two Knights
2. Miles vs Speelman  0-129 1970 IslingtonB32 Sicilian
3. Speelman vs E Warren  1-031 1970 Thames ValleyD07 Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defense
4. R O'Kelly vs Speelman  0-132 1971 MiddlesexE63 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Panno Variation
5. Holtzl vs Speelman  0-128 1971 HastingsB02 Alekhine's Defense
6. Speelman vs Hanau  1-043 1971 NiceD43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
7. A J Mestel vs Speelman  ½-½28 1971 HastingsB86 Sicilian, Fischer-Sozin Attack
8. Speelman vs G Bennett  1-033 1971 IslingtonA45 Queen's Pawn Game
9. Speelman vs Miles  1-020 1971 British U21A23 English, Bremen System, Keres Variation
10. Speelman vs S Hutchings  ½-½19 1972 BCF-chA17 English
11. M Basman vs Speelman  0-139 1972 BrightonB02 Alekhine's Defense
12. J Littlewood vs Speelman 1-028 1972 BCF-chB04 Alekhine's Defense, Modern
13. Speelman vs R Bellin  ½-½29 1972 BCF-chB25 Sicilian, Closed
14. Speelman vs T K Hemingway 0-130 1972 LondonB00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening
15. Pachman vs Speelman 1-034 1972 Islington opE61 King's Indian
16. M Haygarth vs Speelman  1-038 1972 BCF-chB06 Robatsch
17. Speelman vs C W Pritchett  ½-½45 1972 BCF-chA22 English
18. A Trangmar vs Speelman 1-035 1972 BCF-chE62 King's Indian, Fianchetto
19. Speelman vs G James  ½-½27 1972 BCF-chC00 French Defense
20. M Basman vs Speelman 0-138 1972 BCF-chB02 Alekhine's Defense
21. J S Emsley vs Speelman 0-171 1972 BCF-chA10 English
22. Speelman vs R Edwards ½-½30 1972 BCF-chA25 English
23. Speelman vs Schauwecker  1-048 1972 HastingsB23 Sicilian, Closed
24. R C Lemon vs Speelman  1-046 1972 BCF-chE74 King's Indian, Averbakh, 6...c5
25. Speelman vs Keene 0-123 1973 EastbourneC00 French Defense
 page 1 of 68; games 1-25 of 1,692  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Speelman wins | Speelman loses  
 

Kibitzer's Corner
Dec-23-01
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sneaky: Speelman is great!
Feb-12-03   Sarimanok: Why Speelman is great?
Sep-14-03   Shadout Mapes: I always remember his loss to Tal as one of my favorite games.
Sep-15-03   Kenneth Sterling: Speelman is a brilliant analyst. His games contain some interesting and original ideas. That last trait he shared with Miles, who was more unorthodox, but less solid.
Feb-13-04   Stavrogin: speelman is great cause he is original and dynamic.
Fantasy and fighting spirit combined = beautiful games.
Apr-26-04   Phoenix: I love his book of best games, and am waiting for a spare moment to reread it!
Oct-26-04   offramp: He played for many years without being able to see the board; his glasses were no good. He was practically playing blindfold and he used to offer a lot of early draws. Then his eyesight was corrected and he could see the board and he really took off; he became a candidate.
Dec-17-04   Dedalus: He was the Morozevich of his days - known for original play and original choices of opening variations. ...and just like Morozevich he didnīt manage the top 5 opponents...
Jan-09-05   rochade18: I've never seen a player relying on the Caro-Kann like Speelman!

Speelman was an Englishman?

Jan-09-05   hintza: <rochade18> Yes, Speelman is English, born October 2nd, 1956. He was British Champion three times, in 1978, 1985 and 1986.
Jan-09-05   WMD: Speelman made it through to the Candidates stage of the 1987-1990 WC cycle, and eliminated Seirawan and Short before being beaten in the semi-final by Timman.

In the next Candidates cycle, he fell at the first attempt, defeated by Short en route to his WC match with Kasparov. A match in which Speelman was one of Short's seconds.

Jan-28-05   Champ Supernova: Speelman has very poor eye sight, and this restricted his play for a long time. Then, when he improved his vision through some type of surgery, he immediately jumped in the world rankings and joined the elite. I believe this happened in the late 80's. I guess he does too much studying.
Apr-29-05   Rocafella: Long Live The Brit!
Feb-01-06   BIDMONFA: Jonathan Speelman

SPEELMAN, Jonathan
http://www.bidmonfa.com/speelman_jo...
_

Aug-28-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  YouRang: I just noticed that (in the chessgames.com database at least), Speelman +3 -0 =2 against Judit Polgar. Pretty impressive, I'd say.
Oct-02-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  Eggman: <<In the next Candidates cycle, he fell at the first attempt, defeated by Short en route to his WC match with Kasparov.>>

Even this loss was impressive in a way, considering that it went into overtime and that Short wind up actually winning the candidates.

Nov-20-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  refutor: does anyone have the pgn for the game palatnik-speelman frunze 1979? i have checked the usual sources (here, chesslive.de, chesslab.com, chessopolis.com/u-pitt, megabase) and couldn't find anything. i assume the game exists becaue there was 50 moves of analysis of a game fragment in speelman's "endgame preparation"

(black to move)


click for larger view

Sep-17-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  notyetagm: GM Speelman is working on a chess puzzle book for GAMBIT, due out in March 2008. For details, see http://www.gambitbooks.com/books/sp....
Oct-02-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: I lost in a simul to today's POTD in London in 1991 or so. Very pleasant man, then in the top 10 in the world, I think.
Jan-24-08   manethos: Nice game against Nakamura today at Gibralter........
Jun-11-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  suenteus po 147: For you Speelman fans, here's a collection of games from his book of best games: Game Collection: Jon Speelman's Best Games This collection includes some new games to the database from Speelman's early days.
Jun-11-08   MichAdams: Does Jon say why he didn't include his win over Kasparov? You'd think his publisher would have insisted.
Jun-25-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Ron: A chess column by Jonathan Speelman hasn't appeared in The Guardian in about two months. His column usually appeared weekly. Any information about this? Did The Guardian lay off Speelman like they did to Short?
Sep-24-08   GrahamClayton: Speelman was the chess consultant for the movie "The Luzhin Defence".
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