19 Facts About Malcolm Pein

Malcolm Pein has been an influential figure in British chess for over thirty years, in the roles of player, coach, journalist, publisher, organizer, fundraiser, and entrepreneur.

Malcolm Pein won his first tournament in 1965 and was British Junior Champion in 1977.

In 1997 Malcolm Pein was appointed as a consultant to IBM for the iconic Kasparov vs Deep Blue match.

Malcolm Pein was appointed Match Director for the Brains in Bahrain match between Vladimir Kramnik and the computer program Fritz in 2002.

Malcolm Pein was used as the 'voice' of the program in Version 5.32.

In 2010, Malcolm Pein founded Chess in Schools and Communities, a UK-registered charity whose aim is to improve children's educational outcomes and social development by introducing them to the game of chess.

Malcolm Pein has been the charity's CEO since inception, and by the end of 2020 the charity has taught the game to over 250,000 children.

Malcolm Pein devised the concept of an open air chess festival and put this into practice with ChessFest staged in London's Trafalgar Square.

Malcolm Pein started writing reports for The Daily Telegraph in 1987 before becoming their full-time correspondent in 1988.

Malcolm Pein has written a daily chess column every day for the past 33 years, over 11,000 columns in total.

Malcolm Pein is the owner and executive editor of CHESS magazine, a monthly publication with an international readership.

Malcolm Pein consulted and devised chess sequences for numerous television and film productions with a chess theme.

Malcolm Pein played a pivotal role in convincing the BBC to bring back chess after a break of 32 years with the Chess Masters series that will air in 2025.

Malcolm Pein advised Canal Plus and Vivendi in the production of a series of programmes on the Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz tournaments in Paris.

Malcolm Pein is the representative to FIDE for the English Chess Federation and in October 2015 was elected as ECF's International Director.

In 2018, Malcolm Pein stood for election as FIDE Deputy President on Georgios Makropoulos' ticket but was unsuccessful.

Malcolm Pein is a two-time recipient of the ECF's President's Award for Services to Chess having won in 2017 and again in 2024.

Malcolm Pein has been the captain of the England Open team since October 2015, with the team enjoying notable successes at the 2016 Olympiad in Baku against China and Azerbaijan.

Malcolm Pein captained England to a bronze medal finish at the 2019 European Team Chess Championships in Batumi, Georgia.