John Leonard Watson (born 1951) is an American chess

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

and author. In 2022, Watson was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame along with GM

James Tarjan James Edward Tarjan (born February 22, 1952 in Pomona, California) is an American chess Grandmaster. Tarjan was 17 when he was selected to the American team for the 1969 World Students' Olympiad, at Dresden. He was a member of the winning American ...

and the late Daniel Willard Fiske. Watson is also a recipient of the US Chess Federation's Frank J. Marshall Award, and a 2015 inductee into the Colorado Chess Hall of Fame. Watson was born in Milwaukee and grew up in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

, Nebraska, United States. He was educated at Brownell-Talbot,

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and the University of California, San Diego, where he took his degree in engineering. He has won many chess tournaments including the first US National High School Chess Championship and the American Open. As an engineer at Hughes Aircraft, Watson co-developed an
patented
(with colleagues M.I. Parr and T. G. Vishwanath) the algorithm that permits mobile phones to function in valleys. Watson is a renowned chess theorist and author, having published more than thirty books on many aspects of chess. His 1999 book ''Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy'' won the British Chess Federation's ''Book of the year'' award as well as the United States Chess Federation Book of the Year. The successor volume ''Chess Strategy in Action'' was the Chesscafe Book of the Year. These two books explore and theorize how radically chess has changed since the early 20th century, and how old and supposedly 'time-tested' rules for the conduct of play have been replaced by broader and revolutionary practice over-the-board. These books have been translated into several languages. In a lighter vein, Watson wrote the Chessman comic book series, illustrated by Chris Hendrickson and Svein Myreng. Chessman Comics are now out-of-print collectors' items. Watson has a regular book review columns at The Week in Chess, the publication of the London Chess Centre (available online), and in

Chess Life The monthly ''Chess Life'' and bi-monthly ''Chess Life Kids'' (formerly ''School Mates'' and ''Chess Life for Kids'') are the official magazines published by the United States Chess Federation (US Chess). ''Chess Life'' is advertised as the "most ...

. His weekly Internet radio show 'Chess Talk with John Watson' was hosted by on Chess.FM, the radio arm of the Internet Chess Club (ICC). Watson is much in demand as a chess

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

; his students have included

Tal Shaked Tal Shaked is an American chess grandmaster who is best known for winning the World Junior Championship in 1997. Shaked learned the game at the age of seven, and developed his chess skills in the scholastic chess organizations of Tucson, Arizon ...

, the 1997 World Junior Champion, Senior Master Patrick Hummel, Abby Marshall, and other US scholastic champions. Watson is married to drama schola
Maura Giles-Watson
who teaches at the University of San Diego; they live in San Diego, California.

Selected books

*''Play the French'', third edition, (

Cadogan Chess Everyman Chess, formerly known as Cadogan Chess, is a major publisher of books and CDs about chess. "Everyman" is a registered trademark of Random House and the company headquarters is in London. Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov is the ...

Books) *''The Unconventional King's Indian'' *''The Gambit Guide to the Modern Benoni'' *''Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy: Advances since Nimzowitsch'', Gambit Publications, 1999, *''Chess Strategy in Action'', Gambit, 2003, *''English 1...P-K4'' *''Dangerous Weapons: The French'', Everyman Chess (2007): *''Mastering the Chess Openings'', Gambit Publications (in four volumes) **Volume 1 (1. e4): (2006) **Volume 2 (1. d4): (2007) **Volume 3 (1. c4): (2009) **Volume 4: (2010)

External links

*
Book Reviews by IM John WatsonPhotograph on Colorado Chess Informant

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John L. 1951 births Living people Harvard University alumni University of California, San Diego alumni American chess players American non-fiction writers American chess writers American male non-fiction writers Chess International Masters Chess coaches