Julian Ivan Peter Simpole (b.1941)
| Parents | Evelyn ‘Bebe‘ Crombet (17.05.1921-06.02.1995) | Harold Alfred Simpole (09.06.1907-06.02.1993) | ||
| Partners | ||||
Julian is a Commonwealth Chess Master, who has won the championships of both the Brighton Chess Club and Sussex County. For many years he was chess columnist for the Brighton & Hove Gazette, Julian also developed a successful career as Director of The London Chess Centre, and trainer of both Luke McShane and David Howell, two of the UK’s youngest Grandmasters. (David defeated elite GM John Nunn at the age of eight, while Luke won the World Under Ten Boys’ Championship, after Julian’s tutelage). Julian was top board for the Brighton team that won the 1969 British Lightning Team Championship, while in 2003 he was awarded the title of Official World Chess Federation Organiser, in recognition of his work in creating and running important international tournaments in the UK.
He was an art teacher and is a Trustee of the Brain Trust which styles itself as “…helping to unlock and deploy the vast capacity of the human brain”.
His Wikipedia entry says: Julian Simpole is a chess player, chess trainer, chess teacher, chess
author and a publisher of chess books., He (as Chairman) and Lord Hardinge of Penshurst together formed Hardinge Simpole Publishers, which has quickly become one of the leading publishers and distributors of chess books in the world.
He is Life Vice-President of the Commonwealth Chess Association, has devoted much of his life to organising chess events. These include seven Brighton Internationals, four Watson Farley
Williams GM tournaments in London and a GM tournament in Preston. There, Britain’s number one Michael Adams scored a crucial norm in his quest to become the UK’s youngest grandmaster at that time.
Julian is former Editor and Artistic Director of Synapsia magazine. He was an art prodigy from pre-teenage years when he attracted vast crowds with public demonstrations of his drawing
prowess, has had one man shows in Brighton and London. Having majored in Book Design, he went on to become a Guest Lecturer at the Brighton College of Art. His work in particular explores the themes of fantasy and the grotesque.
Unusually for an artist, Marcel Duchamp being the chief exception, Julian has attained Master strength in chess and can play in excess of 20 games at one and the same time with success against club class opposition. His publications include JUNIOR CHESS TRAINING and TRUE
DREAMS. Increasingly sought after as a book illustrator, Julian’s art is highly prized by connoisseurs and gaining incrementally in value in the international art marketplace.
His books are shown below.
