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The British Chess Magazine
In the Spotlight – with
Carl Portman
featuring… GM Gawain Jones
Describe yourself in three words.
Big, friendly giant!
What might people be surprised to know about you?
Despite my name I’m as English as everyone else, born in Yorkshire and both
parents born in Lancashire. Gawain is the name of one of ‘The Knights’ of the Round Table’,
King Arthur’s nephew.
What’s so great about chess?
Every game is unique and gives everyone a creative output.
Recommend one chess book that every club chess player should own
Other than my own?! I think Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors series are fantastic.
How do you deal with a loss?
I think I deal with them better than I used to. Normally a beer or three with some friends or
a meal with my wife.
Give one top tip for the amateur to improve at chess.
Analyse your own games, preferably with others, but alternatively just by yourself. Write
down what your thoughts were during the game and the variations you analysed (as much
as you can remember). Only after you’ve done that, check what the computer’s variations
are and try to compare.
Are computers ruining the game?
I don’t think so, but then computers have been a part of my whole chess life really. At the
top level openings are becoming more creative to try to avoid heavy theory build-up.
Who was your chess hero as a kid and why?
Garry Kasparov. I watched him retain the
World Championship title against Nigel
in 1993 and was really impressed with his
style. I also loved Alexander Morozevich’s
crazy ideas and tried to copy his openings,
not completely successfully! I got really
nervous when I played him in my first Olympiad in Dresden in 2008.
Gawain Jones