Like fellow Scandinavians Simen Agdestein and Magnus Carlsen, Jón in his youth was hailed as a potential world champion after a string of results.
Just a year later, playing in a telex match for Iceland against England, he drew as Black against Jonathan Mestel, an established master.
Also in 1977, at Cagnes-sur-Mer, he won the World Under-17 Championship (ahead of other distinguished young talents, including Garry Kasparov), before becoming Icelandic champion on the first of three occasions (1977, 1982 and 1988).
He defeated world championship contenders and super-grandmasters of the calibre of Short, Korchnoi, Shirov, Adams, Dreev, Vaganian and Larsen.
Jón Loftur Árnason has been less active since 1995, in order to concentrate on his other passion, business and finance.