# Harriet Hunt > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Harriet_Hunt > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Harriet_Hunt.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Hunt > Source revision: 1351191498 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|English chess player (born 1978)}} {{About||the physician and women's rights activist |Harriot Kezia Hunt}} {{BLP sources|date=November 2016}} {{Use British English|date=September 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox chess player |name = Harriet Hunt |image = Hunt Harriet.jpg |caption = Harriet Hunt, Warsaw 2006 |birthname = Harriet Vaughan Hunt |country = England |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1978|2|4}} |birth_place = [Oxford](/source/Oxford), England |death_date = |death_place = |title = [International Master](/source/International_Master) (1999)
[Woman Grandmaster](/source/Woman_Grandmaster) (1997) |rating = |peakrating = 2463 (January 2009) |FideID = 403512 }} '''Harriet Vaughan Hunt''' (born 4 February 1978 in [Oxford](/source/Oxford)) is an English [chess player](/source/Chess) and five-time [British Women's Chess Champion](/source/British_Chess_Champion) (which she most recently won in October 2021, 22 years after her fourth win). Having trained as a plant scientist at [Cambridge University](/source/Cambridge_University), she is currently a researcher working at [Kew Gardens](/source/Kew_Gardens). ==Playing history== A high-profile player from an early age, Hunt won five British Junior Girls titles between 1989 and 1991. Even more significant was her (1991) share of the British Junior Under-14 title, when she became the first girl to compete victoriously in the Boys/Open section of the national championships.{{Cite web|title=John Saunders's Chess Pages: British Chess Champions, 1904 to present|url=https://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/britchamps.html#juniorchamps|access-date=2020-12-08|website=www.saund.co.uk}} At 16, she made her debut for the English Ladies Olympiad Team. Her result at the event included a [draw](/source/draw_(chess)) with future Ladies World Champion [Antoaneta Stefanova](/source/Antoaneta_Stefanova).{{Cite web|title=OlimpBase :: 31st Chess Olympiad (women), Moscow 1994, round 9|url=https://www.olimpbase.org/1994w/1994fa09.html#eng|access-date=2020-12-08|website=www.olimpbase.org}} Her performances at the [World Youth Chess Championship](/source/World_Youth_Chess_Championship)s included a bronze at Under-14 level ([Duisburg](/source/Duisburg), 1992) and silver from the Cala Galdana Under-18 event of 1996. Between 1995 and 1999 she was British Ladies Champion four times.{{Cite web|title=John Saunders's Chess Pages: British Chess Champions, 1904 to present|url=https://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/britchamps.html|access-date=2020-12-08|website=www.saund.co.uk}} She won this title again in 2021.{{Cite web|title=British OTB Chess Championship Results|url=https://chess-results.com/tnr581878.aspx?lan=1&art=4&flag=30}} Then in 1997, she won the [World Girls' (Under-20) Championship](/source/World_Junior_Chess_Championship) in [Żagań](/source/%C5%BBaga%C5%84),{{Cite web|title=The Week in Chess 142|url=https://theweekinchess.com/html/twic142.html#World|access-date=2020-12-08|website=theweekinchess.com}} at the end of a "year out" between school and her Plant Science studies at [Cambridge University](/source/Cambridge_University). In [Pula](/source/Pula) the same year and by then a [Woman International Master](/source/Woman_International_Master), she scored 5/7 on board 2 at the [European Team Chess Championship](/source/European_Team_Chess_Championship) and this contributed to the English Ladies Team's third-place finish and a team bronze medal. 1997 was also the year that Hunt was invited by chess organiser Johan Zwanepol to compete at the [Groningen](/source/Groningen_(city)) Open Grandmaster tournament. Zwanepol had been an arbiter at her Zagan victory and was keen to see further progress. Her result of 6/11 was probably as good as could be expected in such a strong competition (the entry included over 30 [grandmasters](/source/International_Grandmaster) headed by [Mikhail Gurevich](/source/Mikhail_Gurevich_(chess_player)), [Jaan Ehlvest](/source/Jaan_Ehlvest), [Tony Miles](/source/Tony_Miles), [Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu](/source/Liviu-Dieter_Nisipeanu), [Suat Atalık](/source/Suat_Atal%C4%B1k), [Sergei Tiviakov](/source/Sergei_Tiviakov) etc.). By 1999, Hunt had attained the title of [Woman Grandmaster](/source/Woman_Grandmaster) and at the [Batumi](/source/Batumi) European Team Championship played board 1, returning a 7/9 performance to win the individual gold medal. She was awarded the [International Master](/source/International_Master) title in 2000, the same year that she graduated with a B.A. from [St. John's College](/source/St._John's_College%2C_Cambridge). Pursuing an academic career, she commenced a PhD and research fellowship at Cambridge, specialising in [archaeogenetics](/source/archaeogenetics), a subject allied to her degree. In July of that year, her chess reached a new career high when an [Elo rating](/source/Elo_rating) of 2454 placed her at 16th in the World's top 100 women. In 2001, she led the English ladies once more to the European Team Championship (in [León, Spain](/source/Le%C3%B3n%2C_Spain)) and again returned with a team bronze medal. At the 2004 [Chess Olympiad](/source/Chess_Olympiad) in [Calvià](/source/Calvi%C3%A0), she narrowly missed out on a medal after scoring 9.5/13, for a rating performance of 2558, including a notable victory over [Humpy Koneru](/source/Humpy_Koneru). Good results were also forthcoming in individual competition, including international tournaments at London (Agency), [Cappelle-la-Grande](/source/Cappelle-la-Grande), Berlin (Summer Festival), [Stockholm](/source/Stockholm) (Rilton Cup) and [Hastings](/source/Hastings_International_Chess_Congress). She regularly matched the performances of male Grandmasters at these events and occasionally defeated them. Hunt has been a Cambridge team member at the annual Varsity (''Oxford vs Cambridge'') match – historically the world's longest running series of matches. At the millennium event, she contested an all-girl pair-up with former World Girls (Under-18) Champion, [Ruth Sheldon](/source/Ruth_Sheldon). The game was originally slotted as a board 2 encounter, but its elevation to top board brought the match increased publicity and a unique place in the history of the event. Their individual game finished a hard-fought draw, but Cambridge went on to win the match by the narrowest of margins. In regular University team competition she has represented ''[Jesus College](/source/Jesus_College%2C_Cambridge) Chess Society'' in the highest student league. The team shared first place in the 2005/06 season, losing only to [Emmanuel College](/source/Emmanuel_College%2C_Cambridge), and Hunt scored 100% on top board. At a national level, she plays in the [4NCL](/source/4NCL), representing ''[Betsson](/source/Betsson).com'' in the 2006/7 and 2007/08 seasons and more recently, ''Pride and Prejudice''. In Germany, she has played in the (Ladies) [Bundesliga](/source/Chess_Bundesliga). Having completed her doctorate, Harriet Hunt was employed by Cambridge University as a research associate at the McDonald Institute of Archaeological Research, and is now working at Kew Gardens. Less active as a chess player, she nevertheless manages to maintain a high rating, preserving her status as England's top woman player and holding a regular place in the world's top 50 women. In 2008, she participated at the Stockholm Ladies Open, held in [Täby](/source/T%C3%A4by), a northern municipality. The event was described by Hunt as one of the largest and best funded women's tournaments of all time and she performed well, finishing on 6½/9, a half-point behind overall winner [Anna Muzychuk](/source/Anna_Muzychuk), whom she defeated in their personal encounter in round 6.[British Chess Magazine](/source/British_Chess_Magazine), June 2008, pp. 321–325 == Family == Hunt had two younger brothers; [Adam](/source/Adam_Hunt_(chess_player)), also an International Master, a professional school chess coach and examinations officer who died in 2024, and Laurence, a cognitive neuroscientist. ==Sample games== *[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1316920 Koneru-Hunt, 0-1, Calvia Olympiad, 2004.] Black skilfully outmanoeuvres her highly rated opponent on the [queenside](/source/queenside), obtaining a lasting advantage and a winning [ending](/source/chess_endgame). *[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1424626 Cramling-Hunt, 0-1, Women's Chess Cup, Dresden, 2006.] Black's understanding of the positional requirements, combined with queenside pressure creates insurmountable problems for a player rated 100 Elo points higher. *[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1500215 Hunt-Muzychuk, 1-0, Stockholm Ladies Tournament, 2008.] White's provocative central and [kingside](/source/kingside) play exposes the Black [king](/source/king_(chess)), with lethal consequences. ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== *[http://www.olimpbase.org Olimpbase – Olympiads and other Team event information] *[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000308/ai_n14295313 Jon Speelman on Varsity Match] *English results around the world: [https://web.archive.org/web/20080827195906/http://www.englishchess.org.uk/organisation/fide/fide-honours.htm 1974–2006] ==External links== *{{FIDE}} *{{chessgames player|id=27794}} *[https://www.kew.org/science/our-science/people/harriet-hunt Personal academic page] {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Harriet}} Category:1978 births Category:English female chess players Category:English chess players Category:Chess International Masters Category:Chess Woman Grandmasters Category:World Junior Chess Champions Category:Sportspeople from Oxford Category:Living people Category:People educated at Oxford High School, England Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Category:Chess Olympiad competitors Category:21st-century British chess players Category:English expatriate sportspeople in Germany --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Harriet Hunt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Hunt) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Hunt?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.