Stephen John Gordon (born 4 September 1986) 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 ...

grandmaster.

Chess career

In September 2004 he took a break from his

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

studies at The Blue Coat School, Oldham to compete in the thirteenth Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International. In 2005, while still a

FIDE 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 ...

, he finished 6th in the British Championships ahead of a Grandmaster and several International Masters. At the

EU Individual Open Chess Championship The EU Individual Open Championship was first contested in Cork, Ireland in 2005, under the auspices of organising body, the European Chess Union (ECU). The event is open to members of chess federations within the European Union. Exceptionally, at ...

held at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in 2006, he led the tournament after eight rounds and finished a very creditable (joint) second, a half point behind winner

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 ...

and level with

Luke McShane Luke James McShane (born 7 January 1984) is an English chess player. A chess prodigy, he was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2000, at the age of 16. McShane has become one of England's leading players and a member of the national t ...

among others. Probably his best result to date however, was second place in the 2007 British Championship, narrowly losing his share of the lead in the final round. In other rounds, he defeated both tournament victor

Jacob Aagaard Jacob Aagaard (born 31 July 1973) is a Danish-Scottish chess grandmaster and the 2007 British Chess Champion. Biography In 2004, Aagaard took second place in the Scottish Chess Championship. In 2005, he took first place in the Scottish Champ ...

and previous champion

Jonathan Rowson Jonathan Rowson (born 18 April 1977) is a Scottish chess grandmaster. He is a three-time British chess champion and was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1999 . He was awarded an Open Society Fellowship in 2018 by the Open Society Fo ...

. By 2008, his rating had reached grandmaster level, although the title itself had not yet been secured. At the British Championship in Liverpool, he almost repeated his performance of the previous year, by taking a share of third place. He was the British under-21 Champion each consecutive year between 2005 and 2008. He became a grandmaster on 1 August 2009. He has been one of the co-presenters of the chess podcast The Full English Breakfast since its inaugural show in October 2010.

Achievements

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Under 10 Champion - 1997 *England Under 11 Champion - 1998 *England Junior Squad Under 18 Champion - 2003 *England Junior Squad Under 21 Champion - 2003 *

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

Under 18 Champion - 2002, 2003 *British Under 18 Champion - 2005 *British Under 21 Champion - 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

References

European Union Individual Championship 2006The Full English Breakfast

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Stephen J. 1986 births Living people English chess players Chess Grandmasters Sportspeople from Oldham