Joseph Gerald Gallagher (born in London, 4 May 1964) is a British-born Swiss

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player and writer. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

in 1990 and has been the national champion of both Britain and Switzerland.

Career

Born to Irish parents Norah and Patrick, Gallagher was the eldest child (his sisters Catherine, Noreen, Pauline and Marie, and brother Stephen also played chess). He played for many years on the European chess circuit, before marrying and moving to

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

in Switzerland, taking Swiss nationality, being awarded the title of Grandmaster in 1990, and then winning 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 ha ...

in 2001 and the

Swiss Chess Championship The Swiss Chess Championship is held annually during two weeks of July. It is organised by the Swiss Chess Federation (the SSB), which has been a member of the overall governing body, Swiss Olympic, since 2000. The SSB is itself a relatively new org ...

in 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2012 and 2021. He has represented his adopted country Switzerland regularly 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 FIDE Onli ...

and at the

European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...

since 1997, his best result occurring at the 2006 Chess Olympiad, when he scored 6/10.Joseph Gallagher
team chess records at Olimpbase.org Gallagher is a noted author on various aspects of

chess opening theory The game of chess is commonly divided into three phases: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. There is a large body of theory regarding how the game should be played in each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame. Those who write ...

, being an expert on the

King's Indian Defence The King's Indian Defence (or KID) is a common chess opening. It is defined by the following moves: : 1. d4 Nf6 : 2. c4 g6 Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6 (the Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead and ...

as Black and the

King's Gambit The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. f4 White offers a pawn to divert the black e-pawn. If Black accepts the gambit, White may play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the gambit pawn with domination, or direc ...

as White. Gallagher was one of four writers of the popular volume ''Nunn's Chess Openings'' (

Everyman Chess Popular Chess, formerly known as Everyman Chess and 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 Ga ...

, 1999).

Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

* – middle name.

External links

Joseph G Gallagher
games at 365Chess.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Joseph 1964 births Living people Chess Grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors English chess players Swiss chess players Swiss non-fiction writers Swiss male writers British chess writers Chess players from London Male non-fiction writers