John Cox (chess player)
Encyclopedia
John J Cox is a British chess
player who holds the title of International Master which he earned in 2005. His peak Elo rating of 2423 was achieved in January 2006.
Cox was among the strong juniors in the 1970s and 1980s and finished tied for first in a British U18 championship. The need to earn a living made Cox leave the chess scene for several years. During this time he also played bridge. He eventually returned to chess after the hiatus.
yearbooks.
Four of his books were published by Everyman Chess
, three of them introductory level books in the Starting Out series. His 2004 book on the Alekhine's Defence
, Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence was credited by Watson as his main source on the Alekhine, and Carsten Hansen's review for the Chess Cafe credited the book for readability, an easy-going tone, and excellent annotations. Since the book was written, Cox has largely abandoned the Alekhine because of perceived trouble for Black in the Four Pawns Attack variation. Cox has since taken up 1.e4 e5.
A manual for Black on Queen's Pawn Game
sidelines such as the Colle System
and Trompowsky Attack was published in 2005 under the title Dealing with 1 d4 deviations. The idea of this book was proposed by Cox who believed there was a niche for a book on how to deal with these openings which are common at the club level.
The 2006 White opening repertoire book Starting Out: 1 d4! also received high marks in reviews by Hansen and Watson, despite some skepticism of Cox's opening selections which included highly theoretical and complex variations. Cox recommended playing to use mainline openings and to avoid deliberately playing inferior sidelines. Watson also remarked the recommendation of such difficult lines for an amateur audience, but Cox notes that the complex mainlines may well appeal to players of club level strength.
The 2007 book Starting Out: Sicilian Sveshnikov also received top marks from Hansen, who praised Cox's communication of the difficult lines which are a feature of the Sveshnikov line.
Cox's book for Quality Chess
, The Berlin Wall which is about the solid Berlin Variation of the Ruy Lopez
got top marks for its writing and thoroughness.
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...
player who holds the title of International Master which he earned in 2005. His peak Elo rating of 2423 was achieved in January 2006.
Cox was among the strong juniors in the 1970s and 1980s and finished tied for first in a British U18 championship. The need to earn a living made Cox leave the chess scene for several years. During this time he also played bridge. He eventually returned to chess after the hiatus.
Books
Cox has written a number of well-received chess books, and he has contributed to the New in ChessNew In Chess
New In Chess is a chess magazine that appears eight times a year with chief editors International Grandmaster Jan Timman and Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam. It contains notes by top players and chess prodigies on their own games...
yearbooks.
Four of his books were published by Everyman Chess
Everyman Chess
Everyman Chess is a major publisher of books and CDs about chess. The company was formerly called Cadogan Chess. "Everyman" is a registered trademark of Random House and the company headquarters is in London. Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov is their chief advisor and John Emms is the...
, three of them introductory level books in the Starting Out series. His 2004 book on the Alekhine's Defence
Alekhine's Defence
Alekhine's Defence is a hypermodern chess opening that begins with the moves:Black tempts White's pawns forward to form a broad pawn centre, with plans to undermine and attack the White structure later in the spirit of hypermodern defence. White's imposing mass of pawns in the centre often includes...
, Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence was credited by Watson as his main source on the Alekhine, and Carsten Hansen's review for the Chess Cafe credited the book for readability, an easy-going tone, and excellent annotations. Since the book was written, Cox has largely abandoned the Alekhine because of perceived trouble for Black in the Four Pawns Attack variation. Cox has since taken up 1.e4 e5.
A manual for Black on Queen's Pawn Game
Queen's Pawn Game
In the most general sense the term Queen's Pawn Game can refer to any chess opening which starts with the move:It is the second most popular opening move. The name is now usually used to describe openings beginning with the moves 1.d4 d5 where White does not follow through with an early pawn...
sidelines such as the Colle System
Colle System
The Colle System is a chess opening strategy for White introduced by Belgian Edgard Colle in the 1920s. Also known as the Colle–Koltanowski system, played frequently and further developed by George Koltanowski, this variation of the Queen's Pawn Game is characterised by a systematic if modest...
and Trompowsky Attack was published in 2005 under the title Dealing with 1 d4 deviations. The idea of this book was proposed by Cox who believed there was a niche for a book on how to deal with these openings which are common at the club level.
The 2006 White opening repertoire book Starting Out: 1 d4! also received high marks in reviews by Hansen and Watson, despite some skepticism of Cox's opening selections which included highly theoretical and complex variations. Cox recommended playing to use mainline openings and to avoid deliberately playing inferior sidelines. Watson also remarked the recommendation of such difficult lines for an amateur audience, but Cox notes that the complex mainlines may well appeal to players of club level strength.
The 2007 book Starting Out: Sicilian Sveshnikov also received top marks from Hansen, who praised Cox's communication of the difficult lines which are a feature of the Sveshnikov line.
Cox's book for Quality Chess
Quality Chess
Quality Chess is a chess publishing company, founded in 2004 by three chess players: IM Ari Ziegler, GM Jacob Aagaard and GM John Shaw. The company is based in Glasgow....
, The Berlin Wall which is about the solid Berlin Variation of the Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
got top marks for its writing and thoroughness.
External links
- FIDE Rating card and rating progress for John J Cox