RaymondKeene OBE
MA Trinity College Cambridge; Officer of British Empire, awarded by HM The Queen in person . Britain’s senior International chess Grandmaster, former British chess champion and Gold medallist in European Championship, writes every day in The Times. Ray has also written the world record 199 books (translated into 13 languages) on Chess, Mind Sports, Genius, Mental World Records, Art and Thinking, and has won numerous first prizes in international chess tournaments across five continents.
Ray also writes regularly for The Sunday Times, The Spectator, The Daily Yomiuri Tokyo, The Australian and The Gulf News. Ray studied German at Trinity where Ray shared lodgings with H R H Prince Charles. In 1981 Ray was awarded Gold Medal of Chinese Olympic Association; before 1975 was chess tutor to The Imperial Court of Iran. Raised £1.4m for 3 Mind Sports Olympiads 1997, 1998, 1999 – organised 1st ever Man vs Computer World Championship in any thinking sport -World Draughts Championship London 1992. Ray was appointed head of Mind Sports Faculty for 1994-2000 and 2013/2014 Leadership Academies of Prince Philipp of Liechtenstein and President of Mexico, Vicente Fox, in Leon. Twice winner of Global Chess Oscar as world’s best chess writer.
Ray co-founded and organised World Memory Championship 23 times since 1991 with the most recent one hosted, December 2014, in Hainan Province China. Personal bests in chess displays challenging multiple opponents at the same time,107 simultaneous opponents at Oxford 1973 where he won 101, drew 5 and lost one, and Leon Mexico 2013, defeating 17 opponents simultaneously without sight of the boards or pieces. Translator of Goethe’s Faust into English. Freeman of the City of London and granted right to Arms by the Royal College of Arms. In 2014, Ray was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of the White Swan conferred by Prince Marek Kasperski and Chevalier of the Order of Champagne.
Ray very recently got elected the Chair of Outside IN pathways. More information of this project can be found at:
http://www.outsideinpathways.org.uk
Ray has also become President of the Governing Council of the institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at London’s Imperial College as well as Chair/ President of the Mother and Child Foundation Charity.