TWIC is 31. First issue 17th September 1994.
Jonathan Hawkins (1983 - 2025)
Jonathan Hawkins 1983 - 2025
Mark Crowther - Wednesday 24th December 2025
Jonathan Hawkins. Photo: | https://www.englishchess.org.uk/british-chess-champion-jonathan-hawkins-rip/
British Chess Grandmaster Jonathan Hawkins has passed away at the far too young age of 42. Hawkins only developed into a strong player after leaving school and was self-taught. Hawkins earned the FM title in 2008, IM in 2010 and GM in 2014. He was British Champion in 2014 shared with David Howell and 2015 where he was the sole winner. In recent years Hawkins was a successful chess coach. His 2012 book "Amateur to IM" is rightly highly regarded.
Jonathan Hawkins (1 May 1983 to 22 December 2025)
Hawkins was born in Consett, County Durham, England. At aged 20 in 2003 he was still a club level player, by in 2007 he passed 200 ECF for the first time, indicating he'd moved on to master level and his improvement then accelerated as he earned FM, IM and GM titles in the following 7 years.
His lasting legacy is likely to be his 2012 book "Amateur to IM: Proven Ideas and Training Methods". In it he attributes his massive improvement in playing strength to deep study of the endgame. He believed that technical improvements in opening preparation and typical middlegames were also important, but that good material on how to approach endgames was harder to find. This book isn't an easy read, but neither is it beyond the reach of strong club players.
Hawkins over the board career was mostly in the UK with his tie for first in the 18th Vienna Open of 2013 being the exception. He started the 2014 British Championship with 6 wins before drawing his final 5 games, David Howell beat Mark Hebden in the final round to catch him and share the title whilst he drew against Richard Pert. The following year Hawkins went one better beating Keith Arkell (who was also fighting for the title) in the final round to finish clear first with 8.5/11 (final table). Hawkins also won a couple of British Rapidplay titles around this time in 2012 and 2014 but there were no more outstanding results. Hawkins continued to play UK events up until the break for Covid-19, but didn't return after that.
Hawkins had instead moved on to coaching chess along with his partner Angela Eyton Among his pupils was rising star WFM Bodhana Sivanandhan. Hawkins cancer progressed quickly, at first robbing him of the ability to work, and then taking his life, he married in hospital last week. There is a GoFundMe appeal for support for him and his family which was launched only recently by his friend Danny Gormally.
Jonathan-Hawkins-obituary by Peter Doggers
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