Rowson Returns!

Jonathan Rowson (courtesy Brendan O'Gorman)

The acclaimed Scottish author and public intellectual GM Jonathan Rowson had largely (save a few London Chess Classics) retired from competitive chess, but last September saw him back at the board at the Mindsports Masters in London.

I confess that the inspiration of #ChessOlympiad2022 has me wondering if I should start playing chess again.

I wrote a book to explain to myself why I had played enough, but I haven't felt this tempted in years... pic.twitter.com/zQ1QiKFoCn
— Jonathan Rowson (@Jonathan_Rowson) August 9, 2022

In round eight he played one of the most fascinating games of the year.

Afterwards, Rowson tweeted that while he’d shed a few rating points, “chess [was] back in [his] life,” and indeed, he has continued to play regularly in both the 4NCL and the London Chess League.

So my bold venture back into chess has ended with a score of 5/9 against IM opposition and the loss of 15 rating points! That’s the bad news.

The good news is that chess is back in my life. Today’s second game was a beauty, and I’m proud of it, even if I screwed up at the end.
— Jonathan Rowson (@Jonathan_Rowson) September 13, 2022

Here are two recent games of note: a fine win at the expense of GM Gawain Jones in the London Chess League, and a nice pawn sacrifice and conversion against IM Richard Bates in the 4NCL.

We will pick up the game against Jones with yet another Exchange sac. This one, however, is more of a "sham" considering Jones has nothing better than returning the favor a few moves later.

To keep up with Rowson’s over-the-board exploits, along with his intellectual efforts, follow him on Twitter at @Jonathan_Rowson. And check out his annotations to the Willow game in the November issue of Chess.

Note: an earlier version of this text appears in the February issue of Chess Life.