Tag Archives: 2020

Birthday of IM Michael Hennigan (08-x-1970)

We send best wishes to IM Michael Hennigan.

Michael Thomas Hennigan was born on October 8th, 1970 in Hammersmith, London. His mother’s name was Donnelly.

Michael attended the City of London School.

Michael became World Under-18 Youth Champion in 1988 in Aguadilla (Puerto Rico).

He became a FIDE Master in 1990 and an International Master title in 1991 and in the same year was British Under-21 Champion at Eastbourne and was British Champion in 1993 in Dundee beating Dharshan Kumaran in the play-off.

In 1995 he was 1st= in the Arnold Cup in Gausdal with Igor Rausis

His peak FIDE rating (according to Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2465 in July 1994 at the age of 24.

He played for North West Eagles in the Four Nations Chess League.

Michael married WIM Rita Zimmersmann and settled in London. Rita subsequently became Rita Atkins.

Michael stopped playing in 2010 but has recently in 2020 started playing online chess on the chess.com platform.

Michael is a Senior Director with FTI Consulting

With the white pieces Michael used to be an e4 player but in 2020 has switched to 1.g3 to get back into the swing of things.

As the second player he plays the Sicilian Four Knights and the King’s Indian Defence.

Stuart Conquest vs Michael Hennigan at 4NCL,, photo by Meri Grigoryan
Stuart Conquest vs Michael Hennigan at 4NCL,, photo by Meri Grigoryan

Birthday of IM Michael Hennigan (08-x-1970)

We send best wishes to IM Michael Hennigan.

Michael Thomas Hennigan was born on October 8th, 1970 in Hammersmith, London. His mother’s name was Donnelly.

Michael attended the City of London School.

Michael became World Under-18 Youth Champion in 1988 in Aguadilla (Puerto Rico).

He became a FIDE Master in 1990 and an International Master title in 1991 and in the same year was British Under-21 Champion at Eastbourne and was British Champion in 1993 in Dundee beating Dharshan Kumaran in the play-off.

In 1995 he was 1st= in the Arnold Cup in Gausdal with Igor Rausis

His peak FIDE rating (according to Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2465 in July 1994 at the age of 24.

He played for North West Eagles in the Four Nations Chess League.

Michael married WIM Rita Zimmersmann and settled in London. Rita subsequently became Rita Atkins.

Michael stopped playing in 2010 but has recently in 2020 started playing online chess on the chess.com platform.

Michael is a Senior Director with FTI Consulting

With the white pieces Michael used to be an e4 player but in 2020 has switched to 1.g3 to get back into the swing of things.

As the second player he plays the Sicilian Four Knights and the King’s Indian Defence.

Stuart Conquest vs Michael Hennigan at 4NCL,, photo by Meri Grigoryan
Stuart Conquest vs Michael Hennigan at 4NCL,, photo by Meri Grigoryan

Birthday of IM Michael Hennigan (08-x-1970)

We send best wishes to IM Michael Hennigan.

Michael Thomas Hennigan was born on October 8th, 1970 in Hammersmith, London. His mother’s name was Donnelly.

Michael attended the City of London School.

Michael became World Under-18 Youth Champion in 1988 in Aguadilla (Puerto Rico).

He became a FIDE Master in 1990 and an International Master title in 1991 and in the same year was British Under-21 Champion at Eastbourne and was British Champion in 1993 in Dundee beating Dharshan Kumaran in the play-off.

In 1995 he was 1st= in the Arnold Cup in Gausdal with Igor Rausis

His peak FIDE rating (according to Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2465 in July 1994 at the age of 24.

He played for North West Eagles in the Four Nations Chess League.

Michael married WIM Rita Zimmersmann and settled in London. Rita subsequently became Rita Atkins.

Michael stopped playing in 2010 but has recently in 2020 started playing online chess on the chess.com platform.

Michael is a Senior Director with FTI Consulting

With the white pieces Michael used to be an e4 player but in 2020 has switched to 1.g3 to get back into the swing of things.

As the second player he plays the Sicilian Four Knights and the King’s Indian Defence.

Stuart Conquest vs Michael Hennigan at 4NCL,, photo by Meri Grigoryan
Stuart Conquest vs Michael Hennigan at 4NCL,, photo by Meri Grigoryan

Birthday of IM Andrew Greet (05-x-1979)

IM Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet

BCN wishes IM Andrew Greet best wishes on his birthday.

Andrew Nicholas Greet was born on Friday, October 5th, 1979 in the cathedral city of Truro, Cornwall and has resided in St. Austell, Cornwall. “Message in a Bottle” by The Police held the number one spot in the UK singles chart (three weeks in total).

Andrew attended Truro School leaving in 1998.

Andrew became a FIDE Master in 2004 and an International Master in 2005. His peak rating (according to Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2456 in April 2016 at the age of 37.

Andrew was British Under-18 Champion in 1996 at the age of 16 sharing the title with Oliver Rosten & Rohan Churm. In 1998 Andrew won the title outright.

From 1998 – 2001 had a break from chess to study Psychology at The University of Kent in Canterbury.

In 2005 he scored a record breaking 11/11 in the Four Nations League playing for Hillsmark Kingfisher. By now, Andrew had moved to Glasgow and had changed his FIDE federation from England to Scotland.

Andrew was joint winner (with Simon Knott) of the Southend Open in 2006.

In April 2009 Andrew joined Quality Chess in Sales and Marketing which led to the position of editor.

In 2010 Andrew became Scottish Champion outright.

In 2017 won outright the Dundee grandmaster tournament : here is the story of the tournament.

In 2018 he played board one for Scotland in the 43rd Olympiad in Batumi.

Andrew is a successful martial artist specialising in a a discipline known as Brazilian Jiujitsu, which is a form of grappling.

Here is an article (by Dave Regis) concerning a simultaneous display at Exeter Chess Club in 2010

From britishchess.co.uk :

“He has a very friendly personality which works well when coaching, and he has coached England juniors on foreign trips.”

Andrew has written a number of publications as follows :

Play the Ruy Lopez, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2007
Play the Ruy Lopez, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2007
Dangerous Weapons 1.e4 e5, Andrew Greet, John Emms & Glenn Flear, Everyman, 2008
Dangerous Weapons 1.e4 e5, Andrew Greet, John Emms & Glenn Flear, Everyman, 2008
Starting Out : The Accelerated Dragon, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2008
Starting Out : The Accelerated Dragon, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2008
Beating Unusual Chess Defences to 1.e4, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2011
Beating Unusual Chess Defences to 1.e4, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2011
Play the Queen's Indian, Everyman, Andrew Greet
Play the Queen’s Indian, Everyman, Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet

Birthday of IM Andrew Greet (05-x-1979)

IM Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet

BCN wishes IM Andrew Greet best wishes on his birthday.

Andrew Nicholas Greet was born on Friday, October 5th, 1979 in the cathedral city of Truro, Cornwall and has resided in St. Austell, Cornwall. “Message in a Bottle” by The Police held the number one spot in the UK singles chart (three weeks in total).

Andrew attended Truro School leaving in 1998.

Andrew became a FIDE Master in 2004 and an International Master in 2005. His peak rating (according to Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2456 in April 2016 at the age of 37.

Andrew was British Under-18 Champion in 1996 at the age of 16 sharing the title with Oliver Rosten & Rohan Churm. In 1998 Andrew won the title outright.

From 1998 – 2001 had a break from chess to study Psychology at The University of Kent in Canterbury.

In 2005 he scored a record breaking 11/11 in the Four Nations League playing for Hillsmark Kingfisher. By now, Andrew had moved to Glasgow and had changed his FIDE federation from England to Scotland.

Andrew was joint winner (with Simon Knott) of the Southend Open in 2006.

In April 2009 Andrew joined Quality Chess in Sales and Marketing which led to the position of editor.

In 2010 Andrew became Scottish Champion outright.

In 2017 won outright the Dundee grandmaster tournament : here is the story of the tournament.

In 2018 he played board one for Scotland in the 43rd Olympiad in Batumi.

Andrew is a successful martial artist specialising in a a discipline known as Brazilian Jiujitsu, which is a form of grappling.

Here is an article (by Dave Regis) concerning a simultaneous display at Exeter Chess Club in 2010

From britishchess.co.uk :

“He has a very friendly personality which works well when coaching, and he has coached England juniors on foreign trips.”

Andrew has written a number of publications as follows :

Play the Ruy Lopez, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2007
Play the Ruy Lopez, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2007
Dangerous Weapons 1.e4 e5, Andrew Greet, John Emms & Glenn Flear, Everyman, 2008
Dangerous Weapons 1.e4 e5, Andrew Greet, John Emms & Glenn Flear, Everyman, 2008
Starting Out : The Accelerated Dragon, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2008
Starting Out : The Accelerated Dragon, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2008
Beating Unusual Chess Defences to 1.e4, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2011
Beating Unusual Chess Defences to 1.e4, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2011
Play the Queen's Indian, Everyman, Andrew Greet
Play the Queen’s Indian, Everyman, Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet

Birthday of IM Andrew Greet (05-x-1979)

IM Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet

BCN wishes IM Andrew Greet best wishes on his birthday.

Andrew Nicholas Greet was born on Friday, October 5th, 1979 in the cathedral city of Truro, Cornwall and has resided in St. Austell, Cornwall. “Message in a Bottle” by The Police held the number one spot in the UK singles chart (three weeks in total).

Andrew attended Truro School leaving in 1998.

Andrew became a FIDE Master in 2004 and an International Master in 2005. His peak rating (according to Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2456 in April 2016 at the age of 37.

Andrew was British Under-18 Champion in 1996 at the age of 16 sharing the title with Oliver Rosten & Rohan Churm. In 1998 Andrew won the title outright.

From 1998 – 2001 had a break from chess to study Psychology at The University of Kent in Canterbury.

In 2005 he scored a record breaking 11/11 in the Four Nations League playing for Hillsmark Kingfisher. By now, Andrew had moved to Glasgow and had changed his FIDE federation from England to Scotland.

Andrew was joint winner (with Simon Knott) of the Southend Open in 2006.

In April 2009 Andrew joined Quality Chess in Sales and Marketing which led to the position of editor.

In 2010 Andrew became Scottish Champion outright.

In 2017 won outright the Dundee grandmaster tournament : here is the story of the tournament.

In 2018 he played board one for Scotland in the 43rd Olympiad in Batumi.

Andrew is a successful martial artist specialising in a a discipline known as Brazilian Jiujitsu, which is a form of grappling.

Here is an article (by Dave Regis) concerning a simultaneous display at Exeter Chess Club in 2010

From britishchess.co.uk :

“He has a very friendly personality which works well when coaching, and he has coached England juniors on foreign trips.”

Andrew has written a number of publications as follows :

Play the Ruy Lopez, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2007
Play the Ruy Lopez, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2007
Dangerous Weapons 1.e4 e5, Andrew Greet, John Emms & Glenn Flear, Everyman, 2008
Dangerous Weapons 1.e4 e5, Andrew Greet, John Emms & Glenn Flear, Everyman, 2008
Starting Out : The Accelerated Dragon, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2008
Starting Out : The Accelerated Dragon, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2008
Beating Unusual Chess Defences to 1.e4, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2011
Beating Unusual Chess Defences to 1.e4, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2011
Play the Queen's Indian, Everyman, Andrew Greet
Play the Queen’s Indian, Everyman, Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet

Birthday of IM Andrew Greet (05-x-1979)

IM Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet

BCN wishes IM Andrew Greet best wishes on his birthday.

Andrew Nicholas Greet was born on Friday, October 5th, 1979 in the cathedral city of Truro, Cornwall and has resided in St. Austell, Cornwall. “Message in a Bottle” by The Police held the number one spot in the UK singles chart (three weeks in total).

Andrew attended Truro School leaving in 1998.

Andrew became a FIDE Master in 2004 and an International Master in 2005. His peak rating (according to Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2456 in April 2016 at the age of 37.

Andrew was British Under-18 Champion in 1996 at the age of 16 sharing the title with Oliver Rosten & Rohan Churm. In 1998 Andrew won the title outright.

From 1998 – 2001 had a break from chess to study Psychology at The University of Kent in Canterbury.

In 2005 he scored a record breaking 11/11 in the Four Nations League playing for Hillsmark Kingfisher. By now, Andrew had moved to Glasgow and had changed his FIDE federation from England to Scotland.

Andrew was joint winner (with Simon Knott) of the Southend Open in 2006.

In April 2009 Andrew joined Quality Chess in Sales and Marketing which led to the position of editor.

In 2010 Andrew became Scottish Champion outright.

In 2017 won outright the Dundee grandmaster tournament : here is the story of the tournament.

In 2018 he played board one for Scotland in the 43rd Olympiad in Batumi.

Andrew is a successful martial artist specialising in a a discipline known as Brazilian Jiujitsu, which is a form of grappling.

Here is an article (by Dave Regis) concerning a simultaneous display at Exeter Chess Club in 2010

From britishchess.co.uk :

“He has a very friendly personality which works well when coaching, and he has coached England juniors on foreign trips.”

Andrew has written a number of publications as follows :

Play the Ruy Lopez, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2007
Play the Ruy Lopez, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2007
Dangerous Weapons 1.e4 e5, Andrew Greet, John Emms & Glenn Flear, Everyman, 2008
Dangerous Weapons 1.e4 e5, Andrew Greet, John Emms & Glenn Flear, Everyman, 2008
Starting Out : The Accelerated Dragon, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2008
Starting Out : The Accelerated Dragon, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2008
Beating Unusual Chess Defences to 1.e4, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2011
Beating Unusual Chess Defences to 1.e4, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2011
Play the Queen's Indian, Everyman, Andrew Greet
Play the Queen’s Indian, Everyman, Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet
IM Andrew Greet

Birthday of GM David Norwood (03-x-1968)

We wish David Norwood all the best on his birthday,

David Robert Norwood was born in Farnworth, Bolton, Greater Manchester on October 3rd 1968 to an electrician. His mother’s maiden name was Mellor.

Mary Hopkin was still UK number one with “Those were the days” and would remain at number one for six weeks in total.

David Norwood
David Norwood

David read history at Keeble College, Oxford before pursuing a successful business career (see below).

David became an International Master in 1985 and a Grandmaster in 1989 and his peak FIDE rating (Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2545 in July 1994 at the age of 26.

GM David Norwood
GM David Norwood

David has a score of +2 against Viswanathan Anand, +1 against Neil McDonald, +2 against Keith Arkell and +2 against Mark Hebden.

Preparing for David would have been fairly straightforward as he played almost the same opening with white and black playing 1.g3 (and less frequently, 1.d4) and the Modern Defence although his did flick the Modern Benoni into the mix every now and then.

As well as moving to Oxford for University he was =1 at the 1988 (fifth) NatWest Young Masters with 6/9 (along with Adams and Kudrin) securing a GM norm :

Crosstable for 1988 NatWest Young Masters
Crosstable for 1988 NatWest Young Masters
IM David Norwood at the 1988 NatWest Young Masters. Photo by Tom Elek
IM David Norwood at the 1988 NatWest Young Masters. Photo by Tom Elek

In 1990 David became the first Grandmaster to play in the annual Varsity match. This was the 108th such encounter and David played on board one against Jeremy P Sharp of Downing College, Cambridge. David first played in the 107th match in 1989 on board two below James Howell. David played one more time in 1991 scoring 2/3 from his three appearences.

IM David Norwood at 1991 Varsity Match. Henry Gerald Mutkin (organiser and sponsor) is seated.
IM David Norwood at 1991 Varsity Match. Henry Gerald Mutkin (organiser and sponsor) is seated.

According to FIDE David is registered with Andorra which appropriately (for DN) has Catalan as its national language. David has yet to win the Andorran Championship. He first played in the Andorran Open in 2011 and came close to winning in 2013 with 7/9. Since 2017 David has not played in a FIDE rated event.

A powerful Unisys personal computer being present to Bolton-born GM David Norwood by Alva Rodger (centre), general manager of Unisys banking district ad Dr Brian Bailey, managing director of Infolink, a credit referencing agency.
A powerful Unisys personal computer being present to Bolton-born GM David Norwood by Alva Rodger (centre), general manager of Unisys banking district ad Dr Brian Bailey, managing director of Infolink, a credit referencing agency.

David is an active director of Genomics Plc, and 4D Pharma Plc.

David Norwood
David Norwood

As a writer David wrote a chess column for The Daily Telegraph and has written :

The Usbourne Book of Chess Puzzles, David Norwood, 1992
The Usbourne Book of Chess Puzzles, David Norwood, 1992
Winning with the Modern, David Norwood, B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1994
Winning with the Modern, David Norwood, B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1994
Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur, Steve David and David Norwood, 1995
Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur, Steve David and David Norwood, 1995
The Usbourne Guide to Advanced Chess, David Norwood, 1995
The Usbourne Guide to Advanced Chess, David Norwood, 1995

From Wikipedia :

“David Robert Norwood (born 3 October 1968) is an English businessman who runs an investment fund that finances spin-off companies from Oxford University science departments. He is also a chess grandmaster, chess writer, former captain of the English chess team and now represents Andorra at chess.”

“The son of an electrician, Norwood graduated with a history degree from Keble College, Oxford University in 1988 before joining city investment bank Banker’s Trust in 1991.”

Peter Wells, Gary Lane, John Emms and David Norwood
Peter Wells, Gary Lane, John Emms and David Norwood

“Norwood cofounded Oxford Sciences Innovation, a £600m investment company dedicated to funding deep science from Oxford University, and was its CEO from 2015 to 2019. Formerly he was founder of IP Group plc, a fund that invested in spinoffs from Oxford University’s Chemistry department, in exchange for 50% of the revenues from the licensing of the department’s intellectual property.

In 2017, Norwood donated £1.9M to Keble College’s future hub for innovation at Oxford University.”

From The Times of London, November 20th, 2008 by Ian King, Business Editor :

“Entrepreneur David Norwood swaps City for sun, sea and writing

David Norwood resigned all his directorships yesterday and is heading to a tiny island in the Bahamas, where he will write the novel

One of the City’s best-known entrepreneurs resigned all his directorships yesterday – to move to a desert island, where he plans to become a writer.

IM David Norwood and IM Aldo Haik (France) taking a drink at the bar during Cappelle-Le-Grande, 1988. Photograph by Caroline Winkler
IM David Norwood and IM Aldo Haik (France) taking a drink at the bar during Cappelle-Le-Grande, 1988. Photograph by Caroline Winkler

David Norwood, a former chief executive of the stockbrokers Evolution and Beeson Gregory, resigned from the boards of a number of companies, including Oxford Advanced Surfaces, ORA Capital, Oxeco and Plus-listed Green Chemicals. He has also given up his role as special projects director at IP Group, the intellectual property commercialisation company, which he started eight years ago and floated on AIM in 2003. Shares of all five companies fell after the news was released.”

GM David Norwood
GM David Norwood

Birthday of GM David Norwood (03-x-1968)

We wish David Norwood all the best on his birthday,

David Robert Norwood was born in Farnworth, Bolton, Greater Manchester on October 3rd 1968 to an electrician. His mother’s maiden name was Mellor.

Mary Hopkin was still UK number one with “Those were the days” and would remain at number one for six weeks in total.

David Norwood
David Norwood

David read history at Keeble College, Oxford before pursuing a successful business career (see below).

David became an International Master in 1985 and a Grandmaster in 1989 and his peak FIDE rating (Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2545 in July 1994 at the age of 26.

GM David Norwood
GM David Norwood

David has a score of +2 against Viswanathan Anand, +1 against Neil McDonald, +2 against Keith Arkell and +2 against Mark Hebden.

Preparing for David would have been fairly straightforward as he played almost the same opening with white and black playing 1.g3 (and less frequently, 1.d4) and the Modern Defence although his did flick the Modern Benoni into the mix every now and then.

As well as moving to Oxford for University he was =1 at the 1988 (fifth) NatWest Young Masters with 6/9 (along with Adams and Kudrin) securing a GM norm :

Crosstable for 1988 NatWest Young Masters
Crosstable for 1988 NatWest Young Masters
IM David Norwood at the 1988 NatWest Young Masters. Photo by Tom Elek
IM David Norwood at the 1988 NatWest Young Masters. Photo by Tom Elek

In 1990 David became the first Grandmaster to play in the annual Varsity match. This was the 108th such encounter and David played on board one against Jeremy P Sharp of Downing College, Cambridge. David first played in the 107th match in 1989 on board two below James Howell. David played one more time in 1991 scoring 2/3 from his three appearences.

IM David Norwood at 1991 Varsity Match. Henry Gerald Mutkin (organiser and sponsor) is seated.
IM David Norwood at 1991 Varsity Match. Henry Gerald Mutkin (organiser and sponsor) is seated.

According to FIDE David is registered with Andorra which appropriately (for DN) has Catalan as its national language. David has yet to win the Andorran Championship. He first played in the Andorran Open in 2011 and came close to winning in 2013 with 7/9. Since 2017 David has not played in a FIDE rated event.

A powerful Unisys personal computer being present to Bolton-born GM David Norwood by Alva Rodger (centre), general manager of Unisys banking district ad Dr Brian Bailey, managing director of Infolink, a credit referencing agency.
A powerful Unisys personal computer being present to Bolton-born GM David Norwood by Alva Rodger (centre), general manager of Unisys banking district ad Dr Brian Bailey, managing director of Infolink, a credit referencing agency.

David is an active director of Genomics Plc, and 4D Pharma Plc.

David Norwood
David Norwood

As a writer David wrote a chess column for The Daily Telegraph and has written :

The Usbourne Book of Chess Puzzles, David Norwood, 1992
The Usbourne Book of Chess Puzzles, David Norwood, 1992
Winning with the Modern, David Norwood, B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1994
Winning with the Modern, David Norwood, B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1994
Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur, Steve David and David Norwood, 1995
Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur, Steve David and David Norwood, 1995
The Usbourne Guide to Advanced Chess, David Norwood, 1995
The Usbourne Guide to Advanced Chess, David Norwood, 1995

From Wikipedia :

“David Robert Norwood (born 3 October 1968) is an English businessman who runs an investment fund that finances spin-off companies from Oxford University science departments. He is also a chess grandmaster, chess writer, former captain of the English chess team and now represents Andorra at chess.”

“The son of an electrician, Norwood graduated with a history degree from Keble College, Oxford University in 1988 before joining city investment bank Banker’s Trust in 1991.”

Peter Wells, Gary Lane, John Emms and David Norwood
Peter Wells, Gary Lane, John Emms and David Norwood

“Norwood cofounded Oxford Sciences Innovation, a £600m investment company dedicated to funding deep science from Oxford University, and was its CEO from 2015 to 2019. Formerly he was founder of IP Group plc, a fund that invested in spinoffs from Oxford University’s Chemistry department, in exchange for 50% of the revenues from the licensing of the department’s intellectual property.

In 2017, Norwood donated £1.9M to Keble College’s future hub for innovation at Oxford University.”

From The Times of London, November 20th, 2008 by Ian King, Business Editor :

“Entrepreneur David Norwood swaps City for sun, sea and writing

David Norwood resigned all his directorships yesterday and is heading to a tiny island in the Bahamas, where he will write the novel

One of the City’s best-known entrepreneurs resigned all his directorships yesterday – to move to a desert island, where he plans to become a writer.

IM David Norwood and IM Aldo Haik (France) taking a drink at the bar during Cappelle-Le-Grande, 1988. Photograph by Caroline Winkler
IM David Norwood and IM Aldo Haik (France) taking a drink at the bar during Cappelle-Le-Grande, 1988. Photograph by Caroline Winkler

David Norwood, a former chief executive of the stockbrokers Evolution and Beeson Gregory, resigned from the boards of a number of companies, including Oxford Advanced Surfaces, ORA Capital, Oxeco and Plus-listed Green Chemicals. He has also given up his role as special projects director at IP Group, the intellectual property commercialisation company, which he started eight years ago and floated on AIM in 2003. Shares of all five companies fell after the news was released.”

GM David Norwood
GM David Norwood

Birthday of GM David Norwood (03-x-1968)

We wish David Norwood all the best on his birthday,

David Robert Norwood was born in Farnworth, Bolton, Greater Manchester on October 3rd 1968 to an electrician. His mother’s maiden name was Mellor.

Mary Hopkin was still UK number one with “Those were the days” and would remain at number one for six weeks in total.

David Norwood
David Norwood

David read history at Keeble College, Oxford before pursuing a successful business career (see below).

David became an International Master in 1985 and a Grandmaster in 1989 and his peak FIDE rating (Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2545 in July 1994 at the age of 26.

GM David Norwood
GM David Norwood

David has a score of +2 against Viswanathan Anand, +1 against Neil McDonald, +2 against Keith Arkell and +2 against Mark Hebden.

Preparing for David would have been fairly straightforward as he played almost the same opening with white and black playing 1.g3 (and less frequently, 1.d4) and the Modern Defence although his did flick the Modern Benoni into the mix every now and then.

As well as moving to Oxford for University he was =1 at the 1988 (fifth) NatWest Young Masters with 6/9 (along with Adams and Kudrin) securing a GM norm :

Crosstable for 1988 NatWest Young Masters
Crosstable for 1988 NatWest Young Masters
IM David Norwood at the 1988 NatWest Young Masters. Photo by Tom Elek
IM David Norwood at the 1988 NatWest Young Masters. Photo by Tom Elek

In 1990 David became the first Grandmaster to play in the annual Varsity match. This was the 108th such encounter and David played on board one against Jeremy P Sharp of Downing College, Cambridge. David first played in the 107th match in 1989 on board two below James Howell. David played one more time in 1991 scoring 2/3 from his three appearences.

IM David Norwood at 1991 Varsity Match. Henry Gerald Mutkin (organiser and sponsor) is seated.
IM David Norwood at 1991 Varsity Match. Henry Gerald Mutkin (organiser and sponsor) is seated.

According to FIDE David is registered with Andorra which appropriately (for DN) has Catalan as its national language. David has yet to win the Andorran Championship. He first played in the Andorran Open in 2011 and came close to winning in 2013 with 7/9. Since 2017 David has not played in a FIDE rated event.

A powerful Unisys personal computer being present to Bolton-born GM David Norwood by Alva Rodger (centre), general manager of Unisys banking district ad Dr Brian Bailey, managing director of Infolink, a credit referencing agency.
A powerful Unisys personal computer being present to Bolton-born GM David Norwood by Alva Rodger (centre), general manager of Unisys banking district ad Dr Brian Bailey, managing director of Infolink, a credit referencing agency.

David is an active director of Genomics Plc, and 4D Pharma Plc.

David Norwood
David Norwood

As a writer David wrote a chess column for The Daily Telegraph and has written :

The Usbourne Book of Chess Puzzles, David Norwood, 1992
The Usbourne Book of Chess Puzzles, David Norwood, 1992
Winning with the Modern, David Norwood, B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1994
Winning with the Modern, David Norwood, B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1994
Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur, Steve David and David Norwood, 1995
Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur, Steve David and David Norwood, 1995
The Usbourne Guide to Advanced Chess, David Norwood, 1995
The Usbourne Guide to Advanced Chess, David Norwood, 1995

From Wikipedia :

“David Robert Norwood (born 3 October 1968) is an English businessman who runs an investment fund that finances spin-off companies from Oxford University science departments. He is also a chess grandmaster, chess writer, former captain of the English chess team and now represents Andorra at chess.”

“The son of an electrician, Norwood graduated with a history degree from Keble College, Oxford University in 1988 before joining city investment bank Banker’s Trust in 1991.”

Peter Wells, Gary Lane, John Emms and David Norwood
Peter Wells, Gary Lane, John Emms and David Norwood

“Norwood cofounded Oxford Sciences Innovation, a £600m investment company dedicated to funding deep science from Oxford University, and was its CEO from 2015 to 2019. Formerly he was founder of IP Group plc, a fund that invested in spinoffs from Oxford University’s Chemistry department, in exchange for 50% of the revenues from the licensing of the department’s intellectual property.

In 2017, Norwood donated £1.9M to Keble College’s future hub for innovation at Oxford University.”

From The Times of London, November 20th, 2008 by Ian King, Business Editor :

“Entrepreneur David Norwood swaps City for sun, sea and writing

David Norwood resigned all his directorships yesterday and is heading to a tiny island in the Bahamas, where he will write the novel

One of the City’s best-known entrepreneurs resigned all his directorships yesterday – to move to a desert island, where he plans to become a writer.

IM David Norwood and IM Aldo Haik (France) taking a drink at the bar during Cappelle-Le-Grande, 1988. Photograph by Caroline Winkler
IM David Norwood and IM Aldo Haik (France) taking a drink at the bar during Cappelle-Le-Grande, 1988. Photograph by Caroline Winkler

David Norwood, a former chief executive of the stockbrokers Evolution and Beeson Gregory, resigned from the boards of a number of companies, including Oxford Advanced Surfaces, ORA Capital, Oxeco and Plus-listed Green Chemicals. He has also given up his role as special projects director at IP Group, the intellectual property commercialisation company, which he started eight years ago and floated on AIM in 2003. Shares of all five companies fell after the news was released.”

GM David Norwood
GM David Norwood