Joseph Gallagher

Joseph Gallagher

Joseph Gerald Gallagher (born 4 May 1964) is a British Chess Grandmaster and former British Champion, as well as a chess author.

Born to Irish parents Norah and Patrick, Gallagher was the eldest child (his sisters Catherine, Noreen, Pauline and Marie, and brother Stephen also played chess). His sister Marie also played chess to an international standard at age 11. He played for many years on the European chess circuit, before marrying and moving to Neuchâtel in Switzerland, taking Swiss nationality, being awarded the title of Grandmaster, and then winning the British Chess Championship in 2001 and the Swiss Chess Championship in 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2012.

He has represented his adopted country Switzerland regularly at the Chess Olympiad and at the European Team Chess Championship since 1997, his best result occurring at the 2006 Chess Olympiad, when he scored 6½/10.

Gallagher is a noted author on various aspects of chess opening theory, being an expert on the King's Indian Defence as Black and the King's Gambit as White. Gallagher was one of four writers of the popular volume Nunn's Chess Openings (Everyman Chess 1999).

Gallagher is also interested in poker.

He has a son, Geoff and a daughter, Donna.