The chess veteran still going strong aged 93
John Eddershaw, a 93-year-old chess enthusiast from Sheffield, continues to compete regularly despite his advanced age, recently returning from the British Chess Championships in Coventry. He first learned the game from his father, a vicar who died when Eddershaw was young, and chess has remained a lifelong constant through his subsequent Army service, career representing Great Britain in race walking, and work as a steel tool manufacturer. His story highlights how a simple hobby can provide lasting purpose and community across a lifetime.
Rather than facing Grand Masters in formal tournament settings, Eddershaw usually plays in the pubs and working men's clubs of South Yorkshire, describing himself modestly as "just an average player". At the British Championships, where he was the oldest competitor, he held an intermediate ranking of 1,450 against top players ranked above 2,500, winning two games and drawing two despite forfeiting one for arriving late. Fellow player Colin Reid praised his enduring enthusiasm, and Eddershaw himself credits the discipline instilled by his Army service, including in the Suez Campaign, for his perseverance both at the chessboard and in long-distance race walking.
- 93-year-old Sheffield man still competes in chess tournaments nationally.
- Learned chess aged eight from his father, a vicar.
- Recently won two, drew two games at British Championships in Coventry.
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John Eddershaw is 93 and lives in Sheffield, where he has just come back from the British Chess Championships in Coventry. He picked up chess as a boy from his father, a vicar who died when Eddershaw was still young, and the game has stayed with him ever since, through Army service, a career as a competitive race walker for Great Britain, and decades working in steel tool manufacturing.
Unlike most competitors at national championships, Eddershaw usually plays casual games in pubs and working men's clubs across South Yorkshire rather than in formal tournaments, and he describes himself as "just an average player" despite his long experience. Chess rankings work on a numerical scale, with higher numbers indicating stronger players; Eddershaw's ranking is well below those of the top players he faced in Coventry.
His story matters less for his results on the board than for what it says about how a lifelong hobby can provide structure, community and a sense of purpose across nearly a century of life, spanning military service, sporting achievement and working life.