He did manage to dispose of a number of International Masters during his career. Grand Masters were rather tougher, although he did gain some creditable results.
Had he dedicated his life more to chess than to politics - it is reasonable to assume that he would have achieved Grand Master status but that could never happen when there are other distractions.
In full competition for White Rose, he did beat a Grand Master last month and yesterday, in the EU Parliament in Brussels,
beat a former Women's World Chess Champion whilst playing black - but that was devalued a little as the match was part of a 'simultaneous' on her part.
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| Jonathan beating former Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron, on TV in just 37 seconds. |
As the former captain of Yorkshire, he has played little chess in recent years but is trying to get back up to some kind of decent level for when his term in the EU Parliament comes to an end in 14 months time.
He has also turned his hand to chess-boxing to raise money for a charity.
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