Mr. Hodgson

[MJMcCready]

... it seems such a sad loss for a country that is, chess-wise, in decline.

Well if Julian Hodgson was one of our leading players still that would be a sign of our decline.

I do not what you mean but it does seem more likely that 'good' players are more likely to stop playing that mediocre hackers such as ourselves. Probably quite difficult to not be able to play at your previous level. that’s not something that those of us who’ve never reached a meaningful level have to worry about.

And that’s before you get to the economics and losing your taste for an itinerant lifestyle - once you have a family, say.


As for your question about did the ECF/BCF do anything to try to prevent this retirement: I"ve no idea but I doubt it.

What do you think they could have done?


Incidentally , I don’t think a career changes are particularly unusual at ' a certain age'. I know a lot of people who - like me - are no longer working as Social Workers even though we put many years of time and effort into becoming one and then being one.

Given that he was British champion a number of times, I'd say he was a leading British chess player.

[Matt Mackenzie]

It would be possible for him to play in Seniors events though?

You never know, the 50+ events didn't exist when I spoke to him but it could be something that tempts him, and others, to come out of retirement.

Nunn being one example.

Not sure he ever totally retired, though?

[Brian Towers]

Nunn being one example.

Not sure he ever totally retired, though?

He can only be thought of as having been "retired" if you limit it to OTB tournament play.
He certainly continued to thrash the rest of the world at problem solving as well as bringing out several first rate analytical chess books that reinforced the view many club players have of him as some kind of chess cyborg .

[Matt Mackenzie]

I think he still played OTB to a limited degree (at least one tournament a year)

[Jonathan Bryant]

... it seems such a sad loss for a country that is, chess-wise, in decline.

Well if Julian Hodgson was one of our leading players still that would be a sign of our decline.


Given that he was British champion a number of times, I'd say he was a leading British chess player.

Yes he was. You have missed the key word still. If Hodgson was still playing and remained one of our top players that would just further emphasise how relatively few people (Howell and McShane being obvious exceptions) have come through over the past 35 years.

[MJMcCready]

---------snip----------------

[Brian Towers]

I think he still played OTB to a limited degree (at least one tournament a year)

According to the FIDE rating website he played no FIDE rated chess between January 2007 and November 2014.
According to the ECF grading website he has a current rapid rating (246E) but is ungraded at standard chess.
He was ungraded at rapid from 2010 through to 2014.
His last ECF standard grade was 251C in July 2002.

[MJMcCready]

I think he still played OTB to a limited degree (at least one tournament a year)

According to the FIDE rating website he played no FIDE rated chess between January 2007 and November 2014.
According to the ECF grading website he has a current rapid rating (246E) but is ungraded at standard chess.
He was ungraded at rapid from 2010 through to 2014.
His last ECF standard grade was 251C in July 2002.

Do you, Mr. Towers, agree with what you have quoted?

[Brian Towers]

I think he still played OTB to a limited degree (at least one tournament a year)

Do you, Mr. Towers, agree with what you have quoted?

If you are asking, MJMcCready, whether or not I agree with Matt Mackenzie's claim that John Nunn played at least one OTB tournament a year, then the answer is "No". The searches I made on the FIDE rating site and ECF grading site show that the "Doctor" played very few OTB tournaments in the last 10 years with several years in which he played no tournaments whatsoever.

[Roger de Coverly]

He was ungraded at rapid from 2010 through to 2014.
His last ECF standard grade was 251C in July 2002.

That's John Nunn rather than Julian Hodgson, whose last graded season was 2004-2005 where he had a grade of 249E.

[Brian Towers]

He was ungraded at rapid from 2010 through to 2014.
His last ECF standard grade was 251C in July 2002.

That's John Nunn rather than Julian Hodgson, whose last graded season was 2004-2005 where he had a grade of 249E.

Roger, the bit you quoted from me does indeed refer to the "John Nunn" rathole that Matt Mackenzie and I were busy digging.

[Martin Benjamin]

I have seen Julian only occasionally since leaving school about 35 years ago, but I have learned from a couple of conversations with him and mutual friends that Julian is very unlikely to return to playing chess over the board in the foreseeable future. Please believe me when I write that the reasons are neither sinister, nor controversial, and honestly wouldn't arouse interest or excitement if they became publicly known. The only reason I am not being more candid is that it's Julian's life, and it's up to him to decide what he wants put in the public domain, as it is for all of us, even when there is nothing to hide (as in this case). It's possible Julian will play over the board again one day, but I suspect not any time soon.

[Stewart Reuben]

James Howell is even more retired than Julian, as far as I know. Julian still commentates at the London Chess Classic and teaches chess. Has anybody sighted James on the internet?
I saw Dharshan Kumaran at the Candidates in London. Pehaps he plays online. He really retired early. He is the odd man out from Speelman, Hodgson, Watson. All four were at St Paul's (only Julian and William at the same time). All 4 are GMs, but Dharshan never won the Briitish Championship.

[LawrenceCooper]

James Howell is even more retired than Julian, as far as I know. Julian still commentates at the London Chess Classic and teaches chess. Has anybody sighted James on the internet?

I saw him at the wedding of Ann-Marie & Russell James and he is on Facebook.