John Eric Littlewood (25 May 1931 – 16 September 2009) was for many years a leading British chess player and took the title of national senior champion in 2006.
Perhaps his most famous game was the one he lost against the world champion Mikhail Botvinnik at the Hastings International Chess Congress 1961/2.
After his good performance in York, he was invited to participate in the prestigious Hastings tournament and played his famous game against Mikhail Botvinnik, the World Champion at the time.
John Littlewood was the outright winner of the British Senior Chess Championship in 2006 and finished equal first in 2008, when the contest was held at Liverpool's St. George's Hall.
To be eligible to compete, participants must be sixty and above; he was seventy-seven on this second occasion and one of the oldest players taking part.
His brother Norman also played in two Olympiads, and his son Paul, an International Master, won the British Chess Championship in 1981.