“Being too intelligent can be a burden. It can get in your way. I am convinced that the reason [he] never became the World Champion is that he is too clever for that”,
were the words of the future World Champion, Magnus Carlsen in a 2010 interview for Chessbase.
The [he] in his sentence was John Nunn, a renowned English grandmaster and book author.
Stating he was too clever for anything was probably an understatement. Nunn was more than “just” devilishly smart. He was a complete outlier.
It showed in his chess results in youth. As a 12-year-old kid, he became British U14 Champion. As a 14-year-old – London U18 Champion (mind you, that was before the era of computer and prodigy saturation in chess). But more amazingly, as a 15-year-old kid, he enrolled in an Oxford University to study mathematics (the youngest undergraduate since 1520). In 1978, at the age of 23 (!!) he got his Ph.D. and became a lecturer.
Fortunately, his love for chess prevailed. In 1981, he gave up his spot at Oxford University to pursue a professional chess career. At his peak, he was a part of the World Top 10. Alas, he never managed to qualify for the title and reach the very chess summit.
Fortunately for us chess players. Because Nunn became an incredibly productive and renowned chess author. He has written over 40 books, some of which – like Understanding Chess Middle Games have almost instantly become classics of literature.
Oh, have I mentioned he also achieved outstanding success in chess composition solving. He is a three-time World Champion and only the fourth person in the history to score Grandmaster Titles in both chess composition and over-the-board play.
Yeah, in case you were wondering, he was also interested in computer chess and editor of some of the first chess computer magazines.
The reasoning behind Magnus’ 2010 words should now be clear:
“He has so incredibly much in his head. Simply too much. His enormous powers of understanding and his constant thirst for knowledge distracted him from chess.”
Happy Birthday to such an amazing and outstanding individual!
To John Nunn!
(If you like posts as these, check our complete list of Chess Birthdays )