Nigel Short packed an enormous amount into his career — child-prodigy records, a historic World Championship challenge, a world No. 3 ranking, and even an opening named after him. Below are the verified facts and trivia every fan should know about England’s greatest chess hope.
The essential facts
- Full name: Nigel David Short.
- Born: 1 June 1965 in Leigh, Lancashire, England.
- International Master: at age 14 — the youngest ever at the time, breaking a record held by Bobby Fischer.
- Grandmaster: 1984, at age 19.
- British Champion: three times — 1984, 1987, and 1998.
- Peak rating: 2712 (2004); career-high ranking of world No. 3 (1988–89).
- Honours: appointed MBE in 1999 for services to chess.
The records and firsts that define him
First English World Championship challenger. In 1993, Short became the first English player in history to contest a World Chess Championship match, earning the right to face Garry Kasparov. No English player had ever reached that stage before.
Beat Bobby Fischer’s youngest-IM record. When Short became an International Master at just 14, he was the youngest ever to do so, taking a record that had been set by the American legend Bobby Fischer.
World No. 3 in the Kasparov–Karpov era. From July 1988 to July 1989, Short was ranked the third-best player in the world — the only two above him being the two greatest players of the day. We tell the full story on his rating history page.
An opening named after him. The Short Variation of the Caro-Kann Advance — 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 — is named after Nigel Short, who popularised it in the early 1990s. It’s still played at every level today.
The road to the 1993 title match
Short’s World Championship run is the centrepiece of his career. To become challenger, he had to win a series of gruelling Candidates matches in the 1992–93 cycle. He beat Jonathan Speelman, then Boris Gelfand, and then pulled off the result of his life: he defeated former World Champion Anatoly Karpov — a giant of the game, still ranked among the world’s best. Commentators called it the end of an era. Short then beat Jan Timman in the Candidates final to seal his place opposite Kasparov.
The Kasparov match and the PCA split
The 1993 World Championship itself was as dramatic off the board as on it. Short and Kasparov broke away from FIDE, the game’s governing body, and staged their match under a new organisation they co-founded, the Professional Chess Association (PCA). The match, sponsored by The Times, was held in London from September to October 1993.
On the board, Kasparov was simply too strong, winning the match 12½–7½. But Short did claim one memorable win during the contest — a full point against the World Champion at the height of his powers, something most grandmasters never manage. You can read more about his opponent on Garry Kasparov’s profile.
The King Walk
Short’s most famous single game is his “King Walk” against Jan Timman at Tilburg in 1991. With his attack needing one more piece, Short marched his own king up the board — from its castled home all the way to g5 — to help deliver checkmate. The game was later voted one of the hundred greatest games of all time by a panel of expert authors and grandmasters. We describe it move by move, in plain English, in Short’s best games.
Life beyond the board
Short is one of chess’s great all-rounders off the board too:
- Prolific writer. He’s been a chess columnist for a long list of major publications and magazines over the decades, known for his sharp, witty, and often outspoken prose.
- Commentator and coach. He’s a popular broadcaster and commentator, and has coached several strong grandmasters over the years.
- Chess official. In 2018 he was elected a Vice-President of FIDE, taking a leading role in the administration of world chess.
Fun trivia
- As a boy of around 10, Short beat the fearsome grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi in a simultaneous exhibition — the only player in the room to defeat him.
- At 12 he became the youngest-ever participant in the British Championship at the time (1977).
- He finished second to a young Garry Kasparov at the 1980 World Junior Championship — years before their paths crossed again in a World Championship match.
- He was appointed MBE in 1999, a formal honour recognising his contribution to British chess.
- Famous for his wit, Short is as quotable in the commentary booth and in print as he ever was dangerous at the board.
FAQ
What is Nigel Short famous for? Being a child-prodigy grandmaster who became the first English player to challenge for the World Championship, facing Garry Kasparov in 1993. He’s also famous for his “King Walk” game against Timman and for the Caro-Kann variation named after him.
Did Nigel Short win the World Championship? No. He lost the 1993 match to Garry Kasparov, 12½–7½, but remains the first Englishman ever to reach a World Championship match.
Is there an opening named after Nigel Short? Yes — the Short Variation of the Caro-Kann Advance, a positional system he popularised in the early 1990s and which is still widely played.
How old was Nigel Short when he became a grandmaster? He earned the grandmaster title in 1984 at the age of 19, one of the youngest in the world at the time.
What does Nigel Short do now? As of July 2026 he remains active in chess as a grandmaster, writer, and commentator, and he has served as a Vice-President of FIDE since being elected in 2018.
Keep exploring
More Short: his best games · his playing style · his openings · his rating history · or the full Nigel Short profile.
Written and fact-checked by the Chess Lab Academy Editorial Team · Facts verified against Wikipedia, his FIDE profile, and Chess.com, as of July 2026 · Last verified 2026-07-10 · How we verify content.