Biography

I have been playing chess regularly since a young age. In my earlier years I was supported strongly by my parents, my chess coach, Kevin O’Connell, and my desire to beat my twin brother, Richard! My tournament successes came from an early age, notably when aged just 12 years old, I came 3rd in the European Under 12 Championship and won the Suffolk Closed Championship, Suffolk Open Championship and Ipswich Club Championship against adult opposition. I had my most noteworthy result aged 17 when I won the World Under 18 Championship in Spain. After progressing from Oakham school with straight As at A-Level, I went on to study Mathematics and Statistics at Warwick University. I gained all my GM norms during this period and had many notable successes including winning the Oakham Grandmaster tournament outright, 2 years in a row. I also did a lot of individual and school teaching during university which has helped me establish myself as an experienced coach. After graduating with a 2:1 honours degree I went on to become a trainee actuary with Punter Southall & Co until 2006. During this time I achieved my Grandmaster title with a 2670 performace in Hoogeveen, Holland in 2003. I got my first England senior team call up in the European Team Championships in Gothenburg 2005 (board 5). This was followed by selection in the Olympiad in Turin in 2006 (board 6) and the European Team Championships in Crete in 2007 (board 3). Now I play and teach fulltime and have won several strong tournaments since leaving Punter Southall, including the 2007 Irish Championships. This year I have been selected to represent England in the European Team Championships in Crete in 2007 on board 3.

Achievements

1993: Suffolk County Champion, European U12 Bronze Medal
1994: European Under 14, placed 4th
1998, 2000, 2001: British Under 21 Champion
1998: World Under 18 Champion
2003: GM Title Achieved with 2670 performace in Essent Tournament, Holland
2004: British Rapidplay Champion by 1.5 Clear Points
2005: Represented England in European Team Championships unbeaten 5/8
2006: Represented England in Olympiad in Turin
2007: Represented Great Britain in match v China
2007: Represented England in European Team Championships in Crete
2008: Ranked number 4 in England on the April list, FIDE 2545

FIDE Rating 2545