Chess Grandmaster & 3-time British champion. Author. This is now a chess account. For philosophy, Perspectiva etc, see my Substack, The Joyous Struggle 🙏
Joined July 2011
- Tweets 37,733
- Following 5,083
- Followers 13,015
- Likes 40,328
Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
21 Nov 2023
If you’ve ever wondered what I’m working on, or what @Perspecteeva is responding to, you might like this half-hour mini-documentary called *Living in the Metacrisis* which is beautifully produced by Katie Teague.
youtu.be/IjOQB608ylQ?si=OdqJ…
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Jonathan Rowson retweeted
3 Dec 2015
My first ever selfie on Twitter, but I trust you'll forgive me. #rsaclimate
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Jonathan Rowson retweeted
1 Dec 2025
Inspired by #StAndrewsDay
“To define ‘nation’ is to commit a political act. The etymology relates to birth, and that permeates many of the attempts at definitions, though it also feels like the idea of nation gradually outgrows them all.”
open.substack.com/pub/jonath…
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30 Nov 2025
A good moment to pretend you are learning foreign languages as an excuse to watch the same goal over again.
30 Nov 2025
🇧🇷 "Golazo!"
🇫🇷 "C'est incroyable!"
🇦🇷 "Gol! Gol! Gol! Gol!"
This is how the world reacted to that Scott McTominay goal!
📺 Watch more: scotfa.co/WorldComms
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18 Nov 2025
Not too shabby at all.
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18 Nov 2025
Not too shabby at all.
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18 Nov 2025
Not too shabby at all.
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Jonathan Rowson retweeted
8 Nov 2025
I can listen to MIKHAIL TAL talk about Chess forever
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4 Nov 2025
This would be good news for those who migrated from Twitter to Substack but kept their accounts here.
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28 May 2025
I took Vishnu(9) & friend to a chess camp near Brompton Cemetery earlier today. I remembered that there is a famous chess player there - Johannes Zukertort (28.Qb4!!) - so we paid homage.
Kudos to @stuthefox for his work in 2012 that led to restoring the gravestone.
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4 May 2025
“In a world that can seem shallow, chess meets a longing for depth. In a world that can feel lonely and confusing, chess offers the experience of shared meaning and mattering. In a world of shrill whataboutery, chess offers rule-bound intellectual clarity”
open.substack.com/pub/grandm…
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17 Apr 2025
Doing some tidying up.
I came upon this gift I received last year. The bubbly was a thank you for two impromptu analysis sessions to a crowd of fifty or so at The London Junior Chess Championship.
The note made me feel seen and appreciated and very glad to have gifted my time.
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13 Apr 2025
Nearing the end of a holiday in St Ives, Cornwall, England. The chess set is mostly for Vishnu(9) but I confess it still makes me happy to look at it.
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24 Mar 2025
I took Vishnu(9) for a junior session at The Mind Sports Centre in London and was pleasantly surprised by their selection of vintage books.
I may have bought a few…
Who could resist Larsen’s invitation?
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Jonathan Rowson retweeted
17 Mar 2025
Important and widely relevant on the mass demonstrations in Serbia, from @Jonathan_Rowson : "What do all these people want? The real demand is terrifying for those in power: "Can you please ensure that our institutions work as they are supposed to?"
jonathanrowson.substack.com/…
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Jonathan Rowson retweeted
3 Apr 2023
George Orwell’s final warning.
#1984
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7 Mar 2025
Alas, AI indicates that the answer is yes.
It is geometrically possible because even though there are only ten 'edible' pieces, enough captures can create two passed pawns, and that can be arranged.
It's definitely not normal though!
7 Mar 2025
Here's how I saw it:
1 Why not? Both underpromoted 8 pawns
2 Maybe not. To promote, a pawn must bypass its opposing pawn; meaning captures
3. 20 knights! 16 Ps 4 Ns are involved
4 16 promotions required, but only 10 remaining pieces are 'edible'
5 The answer is probably no.
🤔
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7 Mar 2025
Here's how I saw it:
1 Why not? Both underpromoted 8 pawns
2 Maybe not. To promote, a pawn must bypass its opposing pawn; meaning captures
3. 20 knights! 16 Ps 4 Ns are involved
4 16 promotions required, but only 10 remaining pieces are 'edible'
5 The answer is probably no.
🤔
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