Jon Arnason

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Jon Loftur Arnason (born November 13, 1960) is an Icelandic chess master, three times the national champion and a successful businessman.

Not unlike fellow Scandinavians, Simen Agdestein and Magnus Carlsen, Arnason was, in his youth, hailed as a potential world champion after a string of startling results. In 1976, while only 15, he tied first in an event for under-21s. The same year, he won an Icelandic open tournament with an outstanding score of 9.5/11. Just a year later, playing in an Iceland v England telex match, he drew with black against Jon Mestel, an established master. Also in 1977, at Cagnes-sur-Mer, he won the World Under-16 championship (ahead of other distinguished young talents, including Garry Kasparov), before becoming Icelandic champion on the first of three occasions. Shortly after, he accepted an invitation to join the Botvinnik chess school.

In international competition, he took first at Husavik 1985, Plovdiv 1986 and Helsinki 1986 (shared). 1986 was also the year that he was awarded the International Grandmaster title, having become an I.M. in 1979.

In individual encounters with some of the world's best players, Arnason showed that he was always a very dangerous opponent. He defeated world championship contenders and super-grandmasters of the calibre of Short, Korchnoi, Shirov, Adams, Dreev, Vaganian and Larsen. Playing against (former) world champions, he made draws with Petrosian, Smyslov, Tal, Karpov and Khalifman.

Representing the national Olympiad team between 1978 and 1994, he helped Iceland to very respectable 5th and 6th place finishes in 1986 and 1992 respectively. From 1982 onwards, he consistently turned in high scores in this arena.

Arnason ceased playing competitively around 1995, in order to concentrate on his other passion, business and finance. He obtained a Degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Iceland and embarked on a career that took him to Icelandic dot-com firm Oz Communications Inc., where he was appointed company Secretary and Treasurer. Perhaps due to Arnason's elevated position, the company showed an affinity with chess and in 2000, sponsored the prestigious rapid chess@iceland tournament, won by Kasparov ahead of Anand. Arnason took part, but was by then short of top class practice and finished in last place. Since then, he has continued to play only in a minor capacity, mainly in local team tournaments.