Jonathan Rowson is a British author and chess Grandmaster best known for his three books: "The Seven Deadly Chess Sins", "Chess for Zebras" and "The Moves that Matter". He was born on April 18, 1977 in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Rowson's significant achievements in chess started early. At the age of 17, he won the World Under-17 Chess Championship in 1994. He became a grandmaster in 1999, making him Scotland's third grandmaster, after Paul Motwani and Colin McNab.
Rowson studied at Keble College, Oxford where he graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He further pursued his studies at Harvard University, gaining a Marshall Scholarship, where he finished a M.Ed degree. He also completed a PhD at the University of Bristol on Wisdom in Public Life - Thinking and Learning Beyond the Cognitive.
Rowson has represented Scotland in eight Chess Olympiads from 1996-2014. He was the British Chess Champion for three times; won the championships in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Since his early career as a chess grandmaster, Rowson also extended his expertise in the academic world. He was the director of the Social Brain Centre at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). He later co-founded Perspectiva, a research institute which explores systems, souls and society.
Jonathan Rowson co-founded the "Chess in Schools and Communities" initiative in 2009 which aims to improve the educational and social outcomes in the UK. He is also an active commentator on Twitter, taking on societal themes like sustainability, politics and education.