Scientists Playing Chess.

Hello! Ekimi here : )

I have always admired scientists for their logical thinking, their creativity, and their passion for discovery. I have also noticed that many scientists and mathematicians are also avid chess players, and some of them are even grandmasters! 

Albert Einstein

Here is something I wrote about Einstein playing chess and his chess career:

Albert Einstein was a genius of physics, but he was also an good chess player.

He was most active in chess in the late 1920s and early 1930s, when he lived in Berlin and Zurich.

He even befriended the former world champion Emanuel Lasker, who was also a mathematician and philosopher!.

However, Einstein was not very enthusiastic about chess. He once said that "chess is a waste of time".

He also did not study chess theory or practice much, so his level of play was not very high.

His Elo rating is estimated to be around 1501.

One of the few recorded games of Einstein is from 1913, when he played against Robert Oppenheimer, another famous physicist who later worked on the atomic bomb. The game was played in the Spanish opening, one of the most popular chess openings.

This game shows that Einstein had some talent and creativity in chess, even if he did not pursue it seriously.

And here's that game:

Now, to the next chess playing mathematician : )

Hugh Alexander

Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander, also known as Hugh Alexander was an Irish-born British cryptanalyst, chess player, and chess writer. 

He was one of the strongest British chess players of his time, winning the British Chess Championship twice, in 1938 and 1956. He also represented England in four Chess Olympiads (1933, 1935, 1937 and 1954) and played in several international tournaments. He was awarded the title of International Master by FIDE in 1950.

Here is one of his nice games:

As he is an IM, so his elo would be 2300 to 2500.

Arpad Elo

Arpad Elo was a professor of mathematics and physics at Marquette University who created a mathematical rating system for chess called the ELO system.
He was a chess master and won the Wisconsin championship 9 times.

Here is one of his games:

John Nunn

John Nunn. Dr. Nunn received a PhD in mathematics at age 23 from Oxford in 1978.

His dissertation was on algebraic topology and finite H-Space.

He was a professional mathematician before turning full-time to chess.

He is a Grandmaster from England.

Here is one of his games:

I hope you enjoyed this blog : )

All of these scientists are very good players!

Have a great day! Thanks for viewing!