Stewart Gavin Haslinger (born 25 November 1981 in

Ainsdale Ainsdale is a village near Southport, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Sefton district, in Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lanca ...

, Merseyside) 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 and former British Junior champion.

Biography

Now a resident of nearby

Formby Formby is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under ...

, Haslinger comes from a strong chess-playing family. Taught by his father at four years of age, he became British under-12 champion in 1993, in step with the achievements of sisters Cathy and Mandy, who were British girls' junior champions across the range of age groups. Cathy progressed to become World Youth Champion (for girls under-14) in 1987. Haslinger finished a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in mathematics at

Liverpool University The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University, it received Royal Charter by King Edward VII in 1903 attaining the de ...

in 2006 and decided to spend some time trying to become a chess Grandmaster. Achieving his aim sooner than expected, he gained his final two

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 at the 2006/7

4NCL The 4NCL, or Four Nations Chess League, is the national chess league of the British Isles. The league is named after the four constituent nations: England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. The league is played over five weekends, typically at Midl ...

and at the

Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...

South Wales International 2007, having previously earned a norm at the British Championship of 2002. It was around the time of his first norm that he experienced a leap forward in his chess, following several months of dedicated chess study during a period of ill health. Haslinger has represented SG

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

in the German Schachbundesliga from 2009. He began his studies for a PhD in applied mathematics at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

in 2010 and was awarded it in 2014.

Tournament highlights

*British Championship,

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 ...

, 2002 – Fourth place after

Ramachandran Ramesh Ramachandran Ramesh (born 20 April 1976), also known as R. B. Ramesh, is an Indian chess grandmaster (GM) from Chennai who won the 2002 British Championship and the 2007 Commonwealth Championship. He is married to WGM Aarthie Ramaswamy. T ...

Joseph Gallagher Joseph Gerald Gallagher (born in London, 4 May 1964) is a British-born Swiss chess player and writer. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1990 and has been the national champion of both Britain and Switzerland. Career Born to ...

and

Krishnan Sasikiran Krishnan Sasikiran (Tamil: கிருஷ்ணன் சசிகிரண்; born 7 January 1981) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He was one of Viswanathan Anand's seconds in the World Chess Championship 2013. Chess career Born in Madra ...

(GM Norm attained). *

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Hilton Premier, 2003 – Fourth place after

Abhijit Kunte Abhijit Kunte (born 3 March 1977) is an Indian chess player from Pune who holds the FIDE title of Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster. Biography He has participated many times in the Indian Chess Championship, winning two gold medals (1997, 2000) ...

, John Shaw and Nigel Davies. *British Championship,

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

, 2005 – Shared second place, after

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 ...

. * Four Nations Chess League, 2006/7 – 6.5/9 (GM Norm attained). *South Wales International,

, 2007 – Second place, after

Marat Dzhumaev Marat Dzhumaev (born 12 January 1976) is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster (2001) and twice national champion (2012, 2015). He played for Uzbekistan in the Chess Olympiads of 2000 and 2002, in the World Team Chess Championship of 2001 and in th ...

(GM Norm attained). *British Championship,

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

, 2007 – Shared fourth place, after

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 ...

, Jonathan Rowson and Stephen Gordon. *''Four Nations Chess Challenge'',

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, 2008 – In his international (England team) debut, he contributed a plus score, helping England to second place. *

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

, 2008 – Shared first place, with

Vladimir Burmakin Vladimir Burmakin (born 6 June 1967) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1994. Chess career In 1994 he tied for 3rd-5th places in the Russian championship at Elista, with Sergei Rublevsky and Vasily Y ...

Boris Avrukh Boris Leonidovich Avrukh (; born 10 February 1978 in Ukraine, Soviet Union) is a chess grandmaster, author, and buinessman. Avrukh has published several books, including ''The Classical Slav''. He was the World Under-12 champion in 1990. Books ...

and

Eduardo Iturrizaga Eduardo Patricio Iturrizaga Bonelli (born 1 November 1989) is a Venezuelan-born Spanish chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2008, making him the first Venezuelan to achieve this. He competed in the FIDE World Cup in 200 ...

. *South Wales International,

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

, 2008 – Shared first place with

Normunds Miezis Normunds Miezis (born 11 May 1971) is a Latvian chess Grandmaster (1997). Chess career He won the Latvian Chess Championship in 1991 and 2006. He played for Latvia in the Chess Olympiads of 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 ...

*Essent Open

Hoogeveen Hoogeveen (; or '' 't Oveine'') is a municipality and a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. Population centres Elim, Fluitenberg, Hoogeveen and Noordscheschut, which still have the canals which used to be throughout the town. Other v ...

, 2008 – Shared first place, with

Friso Nijboer Friso Nijboer (born May 26, 1965) is a Dutch chess player. He achieved the title of Grandmaster in 1996. Nijboer won the Vlissingen Chess Tournament in 2002 and 2005, and won the 3rd Nancy Chess Festival in 2005. He participated in six Chess ...

and

Alexandr Fier Alexandr Hilário Takeda Sakai dos Santos Fier (born 11 March 1988) is a Brazilian chess grandmaster. He competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2023. Career Fier won five gold medals at the Pan American Youth Chess F ...

. *3rd Open,

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

, 2008 – First place. *

Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...

Open, 2009 – Shared first place with

Daniel Fridman Daniel Fridman (; born February 15, 1976) is a Latvian-German chess player. Awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2001, he was Latvian champion in 1996 and German champion in 2008, 2012 and 2014. Early chess career Fridman was born in ...

Mikhail Krasenkov Michael is a common masculine given name derived from the Hebrew phrase ''mī kāʼēl'', 'Who slike-El', in Aramaic: ܡܝܟܐܝܠ (''Mīkhāʼēl'' ). The theophoric name is often read as a rhetorical question – "Who slike he Hebrew Go ...

and

Predrag Nikolić Predrag Nikolić (born 11 September 1960 in Bosanski Šamac) is a Bosnian chess grandmaster. Biography He first competed for the Yugoslav Championship in 1979, taking a share of second place. The following year and agai ...

. *Unive Open, Hoogeveen, 2009 – First place (a point clear of ten other Grandmasters). *

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

International Open 2011 – Shared first place with

Deep Sengupta Deep Sengupta (born 30 June 1988) is an Indian chess player. He is India's 22nd player to be awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE. Sengupta competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2017. Career Born in Chakradharpur, Sengupta started chess with ...

* Noteboom Memorial,

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

2011 – Shared second place after

Jan Smeets Jan Smeets (born 5 April 1985) is a Dutch chess grandmaster. He is a two-time Dutch Chess Champion. Playing record 2004 was the year that his participation in senior tournaments began to yield encouraging results. He finished in second place i ...

International Open 2013 – First place (a point clear of field including ten other Grandmasters). *

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

ROC Nova College Schaaktoernooi 2013 - First place.

Notable game

S Haslinger-A Jaunouby, Bolton Congress, 2008, Modern Defence
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 a6 5.f4 Nf6 6.Nf3 b5 7.e5 Ng4 8.Bg1 f6 9.h3 Nh6 10.Bd3 fxe5 11.dxe5 c6?! 12.Qd2 Qc7 13.0–0–0 0–0 14.g4 dxe5 15.Nxe5 g5 16.fxg5 b4 17.Bc4+ e6 18.Ne2 Bxe5 19.gxh6 c5 20.Qg5+ Kh8 21.Bh2! Nc6 ''Diagram.'' 22.Rhf1!! Rg8 23.Rd8!! (The rook is en prise in three different ways, but all lines are winning for White) Rxd8 24.Bxe5+ Qxe5 25.Qxd8+! 1-0 (if 24...Nxe5 25.Rf7! Qxf7 26.Qxd8+ Qg8 27.Qf6+ Qg7 28.Qxg7 mate or 24...Nxe5 25.Rf7! Nxf7 26.Qg7 mate)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haslinger, Stewart 1981 births Living people Chess Grandmasters English chess players Sportspeople from Southport Alumni of the University of Liverpool