Murray Graham Chandler (born 4 April 1960,

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

) is a

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

grandmaster who has played internationally for New Zealand and for England, after he gained British citizenship in the early 1980s. Chandler is also known as a chess writer and occasional organiser of chess tournaments. He is also the only NZ chess over-the-board grandmaster.

Career

Chandler won the

New Zealand chess championship The New Zealand Chess Championship was first conducted in 1879. Note: Up until 1934 foreign players were eligible for the title. The eligibility rules were changed in 1935 to preclude this; John Angus Erskine (twice champion in 1929 and 1935) was ...

in 1975–76, and qualified as an International Master in 1977 by winning the first Asian Junior Chess Championship in

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

. His first international chess appearance was in 1974 when he turned out for the New Zealand team in the first Asian Team Chess Championship in Penang,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Later, he represented New Zealand at the

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 an ...

s of 1976, 1978 and 1980 but then switched allegiance to England. He played for England at the

s of 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1992, as part of a highly successful team that defeated the Soviets in some crucial encounters. He qualified for the grandmaster title in 1983, and maintained an Elo rating around the 2600 level between 1987 and 1992. Amongst Chandler's best results have been Commonwealth Champion (twice – jointly in 1984 and outright in 1987), first place at Brighton 1981, first place in the Blackpool Zonal of 1990, tie for first place, Lloyds Bank Masters 1979, tie for first place, Hastings Premier 1986/7, and tied for second place (behind

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov ( rus, links=no, Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkarpəf; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Che ...

), London 1984. He also played for the Rest of World team versus the Soviet Union in 1984 and tied first at the

British Chess Championship The British Chess Championships are organised by the English Chess Federation. The main tournament incorporates the British Championship, the English Chess Championships and the British Women's Chess Championship so it is possible, although it has ...

of 1986, but lost the play-off match for the title. One curiosity is his lifetime score of two wins, no draws, no losses against

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...

. One win was in the World Under-16 Championship in 1976, and the other in a

simultaneous display A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition (commonly chess or Go) in which one player (typically of high rank, such as a grandmaster or dan-level player) plays multiple games at a time with a number of other pl ...

in 1985. Chandler was editor of ''

British Chess Magazine ''British Chess Magazine'' is the world's oldest chess journal in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as ''BCM''. The founder an ...

'' from 1991 to 1999. In the late 1990s he also set up ''

Gambit Publications {{Infobox publisher , name = Gambit Publications , image = , caption = , parent = , status = , traded_as = , predecessor = , founded = , founder = John Nunn, Murray Chandler, and Graham ...

'', a publisher of high quality chess books that has received good reviews from all quarters. Fellow Gambit directors were England teammate

John Nunn John Denis Martin Nunn (born 25 April 1955) is an English chess grandmaster, a three-time world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician. He is one of England's strongest chess players and was forme ...

and FIDE Master-cum-author,

Graham Burgess Graham K. Burgess (born 24 February 1968 in Liverpool, England) is an English FIDE Master of chess and a noted writer and trainer. He became a FIDE Master at the age of twenty. He attended Birkdale High School in Southport, Merseyside. In 198 ...

. The company now has a large back-catalogue containing contributions from all three directors and from a host of other respected chess writers. Books like ''Modern Chess Strategy'' by John L. Watson have been highly acclaimed and Chandler's own ''How To Beat Your Dad At Chess'' is a very large seller. He also produced VHS and DVD material for ''Bad Bishop Ltd.'', a company related to ''Gambit'', including a repertoire against the Nc6 Sicilian, based on the early Bb5 lines. He returned to New Zealand in 2006, winning his second

New Zealand Chess Championship The New Zealand Chess Championship was first conducted in 1879. Note: Up until 1934 foreign players were eligible for the title. The eligibility rules were changed in 1935 to preclude this; John Angus Erskine (twice champion in 1929 and 1935) was ...

that year and a third champion's title in 2008. He has now reverted his player registration to the New Zealand Federation, making him eligible once more to play for his country of birth. In 2013, he purchased the old Saint Paul's church in Auckland, converting it into a chess coaching centre. Murray Chandler MNZM investiture

In the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

Chandler was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

for services to chess.

Notable games

Chandler's 23.e6 is difficult to find, as it appears that the square is defended four ways. None of the available captures are satisfactory, however, making it equally difficult to meet. :Chandler vs. Helgi Ólafsson, Hastings 1990/1991; Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Qe2 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bg4 10.Rd1 Qc8 11.a4 b4 12.a5 bxc3 13.bxc3 Rb8 14.Bc4 exd4 15.cxd4 Nxa5 16.Rxa5 Rxb1 17.e5 dxe5 18.dxe5 Ne8 19.Rxa6 Rb6 20.Ra4 c5 21.h3 Bh5 22.Ra7 Nc7 23.e6 Bf6 24.e7 Re8 25.Rd8 Rxd8 26.Rxc7 Qb8 27.exd8=Q+ Qxd8 28.Bf4 g5 29.Bg3 Rb2 30.Qd3 Qa8 31.Qd7 Qa1+ 32.Kh2 Rb1 33.Bxf7+ Kh8 34.Qe8+ Kg7 35.Bg6+

Selected bibliography

*''The Complete c3 Sicilian'', 1997, American Batsford, . *''How To Beat Your Dad At Chess'', 1998,

, . *''Chess Tactics For Kids'', 2003, Gambit Publications, . *''Chess For Children'' (with

Helen Milligan Helen Milligan (born ''Helen Scott''; 25 August 1962) is a Scottish-New Zealand chess player holding the FIDE titles of Candidate Master (CM) and Woman FIDE Master (WFM), and three-time Asian senior women's champion. In 2004 Milligan co-author ...

), 2004, Gambit Publications, .

Notes

References

* Whyld, Kenneth, ''Guinness Chess The Records'', Guinness Books, 1986.
Auckland Chess website

External links

comprehensive games and results collection at britbase.info * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Murray Chess grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors Chandler Murray Chandler Murray 1960 births Living people British writers Chess writers Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit