Luke McShane
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Luke James McShane (born 7 January 1984) is an English
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. A
chess prodigy Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on a square board consisting of 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The players, referred to ...
, 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 2000, at the age of 16. McShane has become one of England's leading players and a member of the national team. He also worked as a trader in London's financial sector, and has previously been described as the world's strongest amateur chess player.


Early career

McShane won the World Under 10 Championship in
Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...
at the age of eight. Shortly afterwards he found a sponsor in the form of computer company Psion and played
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...
at a
simultaneous exhibition 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 1995. At sixteen he became the youngest ever Briton to achieve the title Grandmaster, gaining the three results required ("
norm Norm, the Norm or NORM may refer to: In academic disciplines * Normativity, phenomenon of designating things as good or bad * Norm (geology), an estimate of the idealised mineral content of a rock * Norm (philosophy), a standard in normative e ...
s") in tournaments in Germany,
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
and the Politiken Cup in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, Denmark. He held the record until David Howell broke it in January 2007. In January 2004 McShane was ranked second in the world among junior (under 21) players behind
Teimour Radjabov Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov (also spelled Teymur Rajabov; , ; born 12 March 1987) is an Azerbaijani Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. A former child prodigy, he earned the title of Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster in March 2001 at age 14, ...
.


Grandmaster

Among McShane's more notable results are joint first in the 1998 Bunratty Masters in Ireland with
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 form ...
, winning five of his six games, and joint winner with Stuart Conquest and Bogdan Lalić of the
Iona Technologies IONA Technologies, Inc. was an Irish software company founded in 1991. It began as a campus company linked to Trinity College Dublin had its headquarters in Dublin, and eventually also expanded its offices in Boston and Tokyo. It specialised i ...
International Masters in
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
. McShane led the 2002 British Championship in
Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...
, and was in a good position in the final round before blundering and losing to the tournament's winner, Ramachandran Ramesh. McShane finished tied for fourth. From around 2002, McShane has been facing stiffer opposition, including players from the world's top ten. He played for England in the Chess Olympiad in Bled, scoring 6½/11 points, and won the silver medal at the World Junior Championship in
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
. In 2003 he finished fifth in the Hrokurinn tournament in
Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
, finishing ahead of Britain's number one player Michael Adams and drawing games against
Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (, ; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He is considered one of the strongest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Bor ...
and Alexei Shirov. Shortly afterwards, he beat Shirov in a Reykjavík blitz tournament. In the 2003 Sigeman & Co tournament in
Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
, he finished third with a score of 5½/9, drawing his game with the tournament winner, Vasily Ivanchuk. Also in 2003, McShane finished 27th out of 207 with 8/13 in the European Individual Championship in
Silivri Silivri, formerly Selymbria (Greek language, Greek: Σηλυμβρία), is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 217,163 (2022). It lies along the Sea of Marmara, outsi ...
in Turkey, 1½ points behind the winner, Zurab Azmaiparashvili. Shortly afterwards he tied for first with Alexei Dreev and Krishnan Sasikiran in the North Sea Cup played in
Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...
in Denmark with 6½/9, finished tied for second in the Politiken Cup in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
with 8½/11 and won the Malmö Masters with 7½/9, a point and a half ahead of his nearest rival. In 2009/10 he tied for first through fifth place with Eduardas Rozentalis, Pavel Ponkratov, Radosław Wojtaszek and Igor Lysyj at the 39th Rilton Cup in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. In 2010 he won the third Remco Heite tournament in Wolvega. McShane is a strong
blitz chess Fast chess, also known as speed chess, is a type of chess in which each player is given less time than classical chess time controls allow. Fast chess is subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blitz chess, and bullet chess. A ...
player. He won the 136-player Kuppenheim tournament in 2003 ahead of
Vladimir Epishin Vladimir Epishin (born 11 July 1965 in Leningrad) is a Russian chess grandmaster. Tournament play He finished third in the 58th USSR Chess Championship in 1991. He won the 1987 St. Petersburg Championship. Other tournament successes include ...
and former German blitz champion Robert Rabiega, finishing with a score of 50½/53 points. In this tournament he played his games over the Internet, while all other participants were in the playing hall in Germany. In 2003 he won the British Blitz Championship held at
Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...
with a score of 14½/16 and the
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
Open rapid tournament with 8½/9. In 2009 and 2010 McShane participated in the London Chess Classic. He finished mid-table at the tournament's inaugural showing and took the best game prize for his win against
Hikaru Nakamura Christopher Hikaru NakamuraViswanathan Anand Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster. Anand is a five-time World Chess Champion, a two-time World Rapid Chess Champion, a two-time Chess World Cup Champion and a World Blitz Chess Cup Champion. ...
(reigning world chess champion),
Magnus Carlsen Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
(rated number one for most of 2010) and
Vladimir Kramnik Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
(former world champion). Under a scoring system of 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss, McShane finished joint second with Anand, behind Carlsen, whom McShane had beaten in their individual encounter, and ahead of Kramnik. Undefeated, his event performance rating was 2838 – higher than Carlsen's or Anand's. In the January 2011 rating list, he briefly topped
Nigel Short Nigel David Short (born 1 June 1965) is an English Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, columnist, coach and commentator who has been the FIDE Director for Chess Development since September 2022. Short earned the title of grandmaster at the ...
to become the UK's second highest ranked player after Michael Adams. In January 2011 McShane came joint first with David Navara in the 'B group' of the Tata Steel tournament, winning on tie break and qualifying, with Navara, for the 2012 'A group' but did not play, owing to work commitments. McShane participated in the Tal Memorial in Moscow in June 2012. Seeded in last place, he beat
Levon Aronian Levon Grigori Aronian (; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster who has represented the United States since 2021. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at the age of 17. He is a former world rapid and blit ...
, then the world ranked number two, in a game where he sacrificed the exchange for the initiative. He then followed up with wins against
Alexander Morozevich Alexander Sergeyevich Morozevich (; born July 18, 1977) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1994. Morozevich is a two-time World Championship candidate (2005, 2007), two-time Russian champion and has re ...
and Vladimir Kramnik, his combative performances rewarding voters of the online poll responsible for securing his wildcard place, ahead of Alexei Shirov and
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Shahriyar Hamid oglu Mammadyarov (; born 12 April 1985), known internationally as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster. he is Azerbaijan's highest rated chess player. His personal best rating of 2820 makes him the sixth-h ...
. However, he finished last but one (tied eighth), after losing to Magnus Carlsen,
Fabiano Caruana Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is an Italian and American chess grandmaster who is the reigning four-time United States Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2844, Caruana is the third-highest-rated player in history. Born in Mia ...
,
Teimour Radjabov Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov (also spelled Teymur Rajabov; , ; born 12 March 1987) is an Azerbaijani Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. A former child prodigy, he earned the title of Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster in March 2001 at age 14, ...
and
Alexander Grischuk Alexander Igorevich Grischuk (born October 31, 1983) is a Russian chess grandmaster. Grischuk was the Russian champion in 2009. He is also a three-time world blitz chess champion (in 2006, 2012 and 2015). He has competed in five Candidates To ...
. McShane was particularly active in the USA during 2015. In June, he won the (Arlington) DC International with 7/9. The following month, he finished the World Open on 6½/9, a half-point behind the leading group. In October, he returned for the Las Vegas Millionaire Chess event, and narrowly failed to qualify for the knockout phase, but completed the Open event with 7/9, leaving him tied equal first with Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana and
Evgeniy Najer Evgeniy Yuryevich Najer (; born 22 June 1977) is a Russian chess grandmaster and the European champion of 2015. He is also one of the coaches of the Russian women's national team. Career He won the Moscow City Chess Championship in 1998 and 2 ...
. He was booked to give a simultaneous display at the 2015 London Chess Classic, but also entered two of the Festival events. The first was the inaugural British Knockout Championship, where he was eliminated by Nick Pert in the semi-final. At the Super Rapidplay Open, in a field that included 33 grandmasters, he was the winner with 9½/10, a full point clear of second place. In
Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...
2017, he took the silver medal at the European Blitz Championship, with a score of 17½/22, a half-point behind Sergei Zhigalko. McShane's finish placed him ahead of the highly rated
Jan-Krzysztof Duda Jan-Krzysztof Duda (; born 26 April 1998) is a Polish Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. A Chess prodigy, prodigy, he achieved the grandmaster title in 2013 at the age of 15 years and . he is ranked No. 1 in Poland and No. 17 in the FIDE w ...
and David Navara, with the total number of participants being in excess of one thousand. McShane participated in the 2019 World Team Championship, held in
Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...
, as a member of the English team. England took the silver medal and he also won the individual gold on board two.


Education and part-time status

McShane attended
Westminster Under School Westminster Under School is an independent preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13, attached to Westminster School in London. The school was founded in 1943 in the precincts of Westminster School in Little Dean's Yard, just behind Westminste ...
and then
City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...
, before entering
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
in 2003, where he read
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
at
University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...
. In the summer of 2006 he interned at
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
in FICC. After graduating in the summer of 2007, he worked there as a trader. A brief increase in his chess activity occurred when he subsequently left his job, but he was forced to decline his invitation to the 2011 British Championship when he later returned to full-time employment. He continues to play in a reduced capacity and has been referred to as the world's strongest amateur.


Columnist

McShane has been the chess columnist of ''The Spectator'' since October 2019.Luke McShane article
''British Chess News'', October 16, 2019


References


External links

* * * * *

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20050301165038/http://www.tsf.org.tr/english/goepresss/GM_McShane.htm An interview conducted by Geoffrey D Borg at the 2003 European Individual Championship(retrieved from the
Internet archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
) {{DEFAULTSORT:McShane, Luke 1984 births Living people Chess Grandmasters English chess players World Youth Chess Champions People educated at the City of London School Alumni of University College, Oxford Chess players from London Chess Olympiad competitors Goldman Sachs people