Birthdate: 1977-04-18
Gender: male
Occupations: Chess Grandmaster
Director of the Social Brain Centre at the RSA
Director of Perspectiva
Organizations: International Chess Federation
Perspectiva
Short biography: Jonathan is co-founder and Director of Perspectiva. He was previously Director of the Social Brain Centre at the RSA where he authored a range of influential research reports on behaviour change, climate change and spirituality, and curated and chaired a range of related events. Jonathan is an applied philosopher with degrees from Oxford, Harvard and Bristol Universities. In a former life he was a chess Grandmaster and British Champion (2004–6) and views the game as a continuing source of insight and inspiration. His book, The Moves that Matter – A Grandmaster on the Game of Life was published by Bloomsbury in 2019. He lives in Putney, London, with his wife Siva, and their two sons, Kailash and Vishnu.

taken from Perspectiva site.
Nationality: Scotland
UK

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3 reviews

clif_hiker 94 reviews

Chess for Zebras: Thinking Differently about Black and White by Jonathan Rowson

I don't know about all the other chess geeks out there.. but it takes me a LONG time to read a book like this. I can manage a few pages at a time, I don't set up a board or computer program to play through the analyses, preferring to do as much as I can in my head. I'm obviously preparing myself for solitary isolation at some time in my life, whether it be prison or on a deserted island....

Anyway, I enjoyed this book, enjoyed Mr. Rowson's insights into our characters and psyche and his chess show more commentary is marvelous. Highly recommended for chess lovers.. just be prepared to spend some time digesting this book. show less

Apr 19, 2010

Mandarinate 53 reviews

The Moves That Matter: A Chess Grandmaster on the Game of Life by Jonathan Rowson

Biographical snippets and reflections on life lessons learned from chess. A few deep psychological and philosophical insights. A few chess games in the appendix.

Some lessons from chess:

Concentration is freedom.
Happiness is not the most important thing.
It’s the mattering that matters.

“What is important is not the result of the game, that’s true. But it’s not the whole truth. Taking part is ‘the important thing’, but that’s not the whole truth either, because we cannot really show more take part, we cannot fully feel what is to be felt, unless we act as if the result counts. What matters above all therefore is that we care….Our gentle but firm acceptance of competitive significance is a sacred duty of sorts, because it is this shared commitment to making things matter that gives meaning to life.” show less

Oct 19, 20251 other review

escaque 13 reviews

Las jugadas que importan by Jonathan Rowson

Jonathan's comment: "My most recent book, _The Moves that Matter_, is an attempt to make sense of what chess taught me about life in a way that might be useful for others. It's an accidental memoir and an unconventional self-help book, animated by dispatches from the chess world. I would like to think it's about chess in the same way that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is about motorcycle maintenance; chess informs the setting but is incidental to the plot."

Oct 5, 20221 other review