Jonathan Rowson | |
|---|---|
 Rowson at the38th Chess Olympiad | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Born | (1977-04-18)18 April 1977 (age 47) Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Title | Grandmaster (1999) |
| FIDE rating | 2524 (March 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2599 (July 2005) |
Jonathan Rowson (born 18 April 1977) is a Scottishchess grandmaster.[1][2] He is a three-time British chess champion and was awarded the title ofGrandmaster byFIDE in 1999[citation needed]. He was awarded an Open Society Fellowship in 2018 by the Open Society Foundations[citation needed]. He now works as an intellectual entrepreneur and civil society leader as co-founder and Chief Executive of Perspectiva.
Rowson came second in theEuropean Under 20 Championship in 1997 and achieved his third and finalnorm required for the title ofGrandmaster in the 1999Scottish Chess Championship. He went on to win the event again in 2001 and 2004, and went on to become the 2004British Champion. He successfully defended his British title in 2005[3] and again in 2006.[4] He also won the 2000Canadian Open Chess Championship and tied for first withVasilios Kotronias in theHastings International Chess Congress in 2003/04.[5]
Rowson was Director of the Social Brain Centre at the RSA and writes for The Guardian's Behavioural Insights Blog, was formerly a columnist for the Herald newspaper, and has authored three books.[6] In 2016, he founded the research institute Perspectiva in London together withTomas Björkman.
Rowson's peak rating of 2599 was achieved in July 2005, when he was ranked number 139 in the world.[2][7] In addition to winning the British Championship in three consecutive years, Rowson's best results include sharing first at theWorld Open in Philadelphia in 2002,[8] at the Hastings Premier in 2003/4, and outright first at the Capo D'Orso open in Sardinia in 2008.
Rowson has written numerous magazine articles and four books on the game:
