John Saunders (chess player)

John Cameron Saunders (born 1953 in Loudwater, Buckinghamshire) is a British chess player, writer, editor and journalist.

John Saunders
Saunders in 2022
Full name	John Cameron Saunders
Country	Wales
Born	(1953-02-22) February 22, 1953 (age 72) Loudwater, Buckinghamshire
FIDE rating	2160 (February 2015)
Peak rating	2255 (January 1993)

Chess career

Saunders learned to play chess at age seven, beginning competitive play after attending Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe (1963–1970). He continued his education at Selwyn College, Cambridge, obtaining a degree in Law and Classics.

Saunders reached a peak Elo rating of 2255^[1] in January 1993 after winning several domestic open tournaments. He then played internationally for his home country Wales after being chosen first reserve board for the 1997 European Team Championship.^[2]

He became less active as a player and established a career in chess writing and journalism, first as editor of British Chess Magazine (1999 to July 2010), then editor of CHESS Magazine (from September 2010), as well as providing news coverage for BBC Ceefax. He has also authored instructive guides on chess covering a broad range of expertise, and is the founder and archivist of Britbase – a chess games database with objective to log the collected game scores of all major tournaments in British chess history.^[3]

Publications

• Saunders, John (2007). How To Play Winning Chess. Lorenz Books. ISBN 978-0-7548-1712-3.
• Saunders, John (2008). How To Play and Win at Chess. Southwater. ISBN 978-1-84476-537-9.
• Saunders, John (2009). Advanced Chess; Rules, Skills, Tactics and Strategic Play. Southwater. ISBN 978-1-84476-659-8.
• Saunders, John; Bird, David (2010). The Complete Step-By-Step Guide to Chess & Bridge. Anness. ISBN 978-0-75482-062-8.