Jonathan Rowson is an applied philosopher turned grandmaster...
And not just any grandmaster. He's a three-time Scottish champion (1999, 2001, 2004) and a three-time British champion (2004, 2005, 2006), too.
Jonathan also shared first in the 30th World Open, where 216 players including 26 grandmasters participated. He also shared first in Hastings 2003/4, and took sole first in Capo d'Orso Open 2008 ahead of 2600-grandmasters.
Jonathan reached a peak rating of 2599, which put him at the 139th spot in the world rankings at the time... and he achieved all that while juggle chess with university studies and Doctoral research!
How did he do it?
By combining his penchant for chess and philosophy.
Make no mistake: Jonathan is a theoretically well-prepared player, too. He played the both the Ruy Lopez and Queen's Gambit as White... and responded with the Sicilian Najdorf and Nimzo-Indian as Black.
But it was his curiosity about how we feel and think over the board — and how it affects one's chess-playing abilities that compelled Jonathan to try look into his head and the way he finds moves.
He even wrote a book about in 2001 it called The Seven Deadly Chess Sins, which became a modern classic. Within the book's detailed chess analysis and philosophical insights is a self-correction system — one that lets readers weed out the deeply embedded psychological traps that hold back their progress.
Well, 20 years later, Jonathan is back to give us a fresh perspective on The Seven Deadly Chess Sins, and you can find it all in his first ever video course.
Nowadays, Jonathan rarely plays chess. He spends most of his time working as the Director the Social Brain Centre at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).
Nevertheless, the insights he's gained on the field of behavioral science and psycho-social studies might just take your chess to the next level.
