David Robert Norwood (born 3 October 1968) is an English entrepreneur and philanthropist who is also a chess player - grandmaster, chess writer, former captain of the English chess team and has represented England and Andorra at chess.
The son of an electrician, Norwood graduated with a history degree from Keble College, Oxford in 1988 before joining city investment bank Banker's Trust in 1991.
Norwood cofounded Oxford Sciences Innovation, a ã1.2bn investment firm creating science companies from Oxford University, and was its CEO from 2015 to 2019. Formerly he was founder of IP Group plc, a fund that invested in spinoffs from Oxford University's Chemistry department, in exchange for 50% of the revenues from the licensing of the department's intellectual property.
In 2017, Norwood donated ã1.9M to Keble College's future hub for innovation at Oxford University.
FIDE awarded Norwood the International Master title in 1985 and the International Grandmaster title in 1989. He is less active as an over-the-board player these days, but maintains a strong interest in chess as a member of the Internet Chess Club. He has on a number of occasions captained, managed, or sponsored the England squad in major team events such as the Chess Olympiad.
Norwood has written several books including Winning with the Modern (the Modern Defence being a favorite opening of his) and Steve Davis plays Chess (co-authored with Steve Davis). He has also written many articles on chess for The Daily Telegraph.
He also made a large donation in 2001 to the British Chess Federation to assist with the development of junior chess.
In the following game, Norwood's hypermodern opening leads to an old-fashioned king hunt:
Norwood-Marsh, Walsall 1992
1. g3 d5<br /> 2. Nf3 Nf6<br /> 3. Bg2 e6<br /> 4. O-O Be7<br /> 5. d3 c5<br /> 6. Nbd2 Nc6<br /> 7. e4 b6<br /> 8. e5 Nd7<br /> 9. Re1 Qc7<br /> 10. Qe2 Bb7<br /> 11. h4 O-O-O<br /> 12. a3 h6<br /> 13. h5 Rdg8<br /> 14. c4 d4<br /> 15. b4 g6<br /> 16. bxc5 bxc5<br /> 17. hxg6 Rxg6<br /> 18. Rb1 h5<br /> 19. Ne4 h4<br /> 20. Bg5 Bf8<br /> 21. Nxh4 Rgg8<br /> 22. Nf3 Rh7<br /> 23. Nd6+ Bxd6<br /> 24. exd6 Qxd6<br /> 25. Bf4 Qe7<br /> 26. Rxb7 Kxb7<br /> 27. Qe4 f5 (diagram below)<br /> 28. Qxc6+!! Kxc6<br /> 29. Nxd4+ Kb6<br /> 30. Rb1+ Ka6<br /> 31. Bb7+ Ka5<br /> 32. Bd2+ Ka4<br /> 33. Bc6+ Kxa3<br /> 34. Bc1+ Ka2<br /> 35. Rb2+ Ka1<br /> 36. Nc2# 1-0