Daniel J. King
Encyclopedia
Daniel John King is an English chess
grandmaster, writer, coach
, journalist and broadcaster.
1987, 1st= (with Boris Gelfand
) at the Sydney Open 1988, 5th= London 1988, 2nd= Dortmund 1988 and 2nd (after Bent Larsen
) London 1989. At the Geneva Young Masters in 1990, he shared first place with the Australian, Ian Rogers
. There then followed a parallel media career that spanned the presenter, commentator, reporter, analyst spectrum and this most likely impacted on his playing career, by limiting the opportunity for dedicated research and study. Nevertheless, as a professional player for more than 20 years, he has continued to play chess at a high level, including the top leagues of the Bundesliga
and 4NCL
. In 1996, he was the winner of the Bunratty Masters, an Irish tournament with an impressive list of previous winners, including John Nunn
, Sergei Tiviakov
and Peter Svidler
.
King also achieved international team honours, representing England at the European Team Championship
(Haifa 1989) and at the Reykjavik VISA
Chess Summit of 1990, the latter being the scene of a celebrated victory over the Soviet team and a team silver medal.
Generally known as 'Dan' or 'Danny', he is a well-respected trainer and a coach to many of the UK's brightest chess prospects. An author of more than 15 chess books, his subject matter has ranged from the preparatory Winning with the Najdorf to the self-tutoring How Good is your Chess and Test Your Chess.
, live from the Savoy in London, on Channel 4
television. The programme, hosted by Carol Vorderman
, contained expert commentary and analysis from King, Ray Keene, Jon Speelman
and Fritz
, the chess-playing computer program. Against all the odds, the show struck a chord with the British public and showed King to be a likeable, media-friendly personality. It was even reported that he had become the choice of 'thinking women' across the UK, as they watched in large numbers, whether chess-literate or not. Television work continued to come his way and he contributed to three further world championships broadcast by the BBC
, ESPN
, Eurosport
, STAR TV (Asia)
and other networks. He covered the controversial Kasparov versus Deep Blue
match in 1997 and for four months of 1999, provided daily MSN
commentary on the high profile Kasparov versus The World
game. In October 2002, he was a key part of the elite analytical team engaged in the prominent 'man versus machine' contest, Brains in Bahrain
.
His growing affinity with television created other opportunities too; he was a games consultant for the Cilla Black
(ITV
) show Moment of Truth, he scripted and presented two half hour chess documentaries on radio and has, over many years, produced instructional chess videos and DVDs for GM Video and ChessBase
, among others. In the mid-nineties he appeared in the UK advertising campaign for Audi
/Volkswagen
cars.
In the field of journalism, King writes regular columns in CHESS magazine
(How Good Is Your Chess?) and Schach 64, the leading journals of the UK and Germany. Since 2006, he has co-hosted a regular Monday chess column with Ronan Bennett
in The Guardian
, which seeks to be instructive, rather than topical. Through test positions taken from actual games, their amateur and expert assessments of the possible continuations are discussed and compared. It has been supposed that Nigel Short
's column was axed to make way for the new feature and the justification for this change has been the subject of some debate in chess circles. Daniel King lives in Teddington
, Middlesex.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grandmaster, writer, coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
, journalist and broadcaster.
Chess career
When at his most active as a player of the game, he made solid progress, picking up the International Master title in 1982 and the Grandmaster title in 1989. King won minor tournaments around the world and recorded promising results at some of the more prestigious events, for example 4th= at Bern 1987, 4th= British ChampionshipBritish Chess Championship
The British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
1987, 1st= (with Boris Gelfand
Boris Gelfand
Boris Abramovich Gelfand is a Belarus-born Israeli chess Grandmaster. He won the 2011 Candidates Tournament and will challenge Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship 2012.-Biography:...
) at the Sydney Open 1988, 5th= London 1988, 2nd= Dortmund 1988 and 2nd (after Bent Larsen
Bent Larsen
Jørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
) London 1989. At the Geneva Young Masters in 1990, he shared first place with the Australian, Ian Rogers
Ian Rogers (chess player)
Ian Rogers , is a retired Australian chess grandmaster and FIDE Senior Trainer .-Career:Rogers was the first Australian to become a Chess Grandmaster, a title he achieved in 1985 after becoming an International Master in 1980...
. There then followed a parallel media career that spanned the presenter, commentator, reporter, analyst spectrum and this most likely impacted on his playing career, by limiting the opportunity for dedicated research and study. Nevertheless, as a professional player for more than 20 years, he has continued to play chess at a high level, including the top leagues of the Bundesliga
Chess Bundesliga
The term Chess Bundesliga , normally refers to the premier league of team chess in Germany. It is arguably the strongest and longest running league of its kind, attracting many top grandmasters from Europe and beyond....
and 4NCL
4NCL
4NCL is an acronym, standing for Four Nations Chess League; the four nations being England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The league is however truly international, with players from as many as 27 different countries taking part....
. In 1996, he was the winner of the Bunratty Masters, an Irish tournament with an impressive list of previous winners, including John Nunn
John Nunn
John Denis Martin Nunn is one of England's strongest chess players and once belonged to the world's top ten. He is also a three times world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician....
, Sergei Tiviakov
Sergei Tiviakov
Sergei Tiviakov is a naturalised Dutch chess Grandmaster.Tiviakov won the Dutch Chess Championship in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, in Plovdiv, he won the European Individual Chess Championship with 8.5/11....
and Peter Svidler
Peter Svidler
Peter Veniaminovich Svidler is a Russian chess grandmaster.He is six-time Russian champion ....
.
King also achieved international team honours, representing England at the European Team Championship
European Team Championship
The European Team Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9...
(Haifa 1989) and at the Reykjavik VISA
Visa
Visa or VISA may refer to:* Visa , a document issued by a country's government allowing the holder to enter or to leave that country...
Chess Summit of 1990, the latter being the scene of a celebrated victory over the Soviet team and a team silver medal.
Generally known as 'Dan' or 'Danny', he is a well-respected trainer and a coach to many of the UK's brightest chess prospects. An author of more than 15 chess books, his subject matter has ranged from the preparatory Winning with the Najdorf to the self-tutoring How Good is your Chess and Test Your Chess.
Media interests
He became well known nationally for his coverage of the World Chess Championship 1993World Chess Championship 1993
The World Chess Championship 1993 was held from 1990 to 1993. It was one of the most controversial in history, with incumbent World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, and official challenger Nigel Short, splitting from FIDE, the official world governing body of chess, and playing their title match...
, live from the Savoy in London, on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television. The programme, hosted by Carol Vorderman
Carol Vorderman
Carol Jean Vorderman MBE is a British media personality, best known for co-hosting the popular game show Countdown for 26 years from 1982 to 2008. In September 2011 she became a co-anchor of the ITV1 panel show Loose Women....
, contained expert commentary and analysis from King, Ray Keene, Jon Speelman
Jon Speelman
Jonathan Simon "Jon" Speelman is an English Grandmaster chess player, mathematician and chess writer.-Early life and education:He was educated at Worcester College, Oxford, where he studied mathematics, earning a doctorate.-Career:...
and Fritz
Fritz (chess)
Fritz is a German chess program developed by Frans Morsch and Mathias Feist and published by ChessBase. There is also a version called Deep Fritz that is designed for multiprocessing....
, the chess-playing computer program. Against all the odds, the show struck a chord with the British public and showed King to be a likeable, media-friendly personality. It was even reported that he had become the choice of 'thinking women' across the UK, as they watched in large numbers, whether chess-literate or not. Television work continued to come his way and he contributed to three further world championships broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, Eurosport
Eurosport
Eurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
, STAR TV (Asia)
STAR TV (Asia)
Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels....
and other networks. He covered the controversial Kasparov versus Deep Blue
Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov
Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov was a pair of famous six-game human-computer chess matches played between the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue and the World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. The first match was played in February 1996 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kasparov won the match 4–2, losing one...
match in 1997 and for four months of 1999, provided daily MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
commentary on the high profile Kasparov versus The World
Kasparov versus The World
Kasparov versus the World was a game of chess played in 1999 over the Internet. Conducting the white pieces, Garry Kasparov faced the rest of the world in consultation, with the World Team moves to be decided by plurality vote. Over 50,000 individuals from more than 75 countries participated in the...
game. In October 2002, he was a key part of the elite analytical team engaged in the prominent 'man versus machine' contest, Brains in Bahrain
Brains in Bahrain
Brains in Bahrain was an eight-game chess match between World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the computer program Deep Fritz 7, held in October 2002. The match ended in a tie 4-4, with two wins for each participant and four draws.-Outcome of games:...
.
His growing affinity with television created other opportunities too; he was a games consultant for the Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
(ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
) show Moment of Truth, he scripted and presented two half hour chess documentaries on radio and has, over many years, produced instructional chess videos and DVDs for GM Video and ChessBase
ChessBase
ChessBase GmbH is a German company that markets chess software, maintains a chess news site, and operates a server for online chess. Set up in 1998, it maintains and sells massive databases, containing most historic games, that permit analysis that had not been possible prior to computing...
, among others. In the mid-nineties he appeared in the UK advertising campaign for Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
/Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
cars.
In the field of journalism, King writes regular columns in CHESS magazine
CHESS magazine
CHESS magazine , also called CHESS and previously called CHESS Monthly, is a chess magazine published monthly in the UK by Chess and Bridge Limited. CHESS was founded by Baruch Harold Wood in 1935 in Sutton Coldfield. Wood edited it until 1988, when it was taken over by Pergamon Press and changed...
(How Good Is Your Chess?) and Schach 64, the leading journals of the UK and Germany. Since 2006, he has co-hosted a regular Monday chess column with Ronan Bennett
Ronan Bennett
Ronan Bennett is a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family headed by William H. and Geraldine Bennett at 420 Merville Garden Village in the Whitehouse area of Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. Since its development in the late-1940s, Merville has...
in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, which seeks to be instructive, rather than topical. Through test positions taken from actual games, their amateur and expert assessments of the possible continuations are discussed and compared. It has been supposed that Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
's column was axed to make way for the new feature and the justification for this change has been the subject of some debate in chess circles. Daniel King lives in Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
, Middlesex.