He's Self-Taught, Never Studies And Prefers Farming To Chess: Meet Grandmaster Julio Granda
So you're studying hard at chess, reading books and preparing diligently for games. You're doing what's needed to get that grandmaster title, right?
Wrong, if you're 58-year-old GM Julio Granda Zuniga, four-time champion of the Americas. He had a very different journey.
The Peruvian maverick is one of the most extraordinary characters in chess, one who challenges every assumption you have about the game.
In an interview published in the last 2025 edition of New In Chess magazine, Granda spoke at length about his life, chess and how he's giving up the game—or competing at least—to become a farmer and teach.
Granda spoke while he competed in two tournaments in Spain: the Prodigies & Legends in Madrid and the VIII Festival Salamanca. Both were strong events. Another South American, Argentina's 11-year-old IM Faustino Oro, eventually triumphed in the Madrid event. But they will likely be Granda's last outings.
"I have accepted that, after competing for so many years, it is time to lead a different life, still linked to chess, but in the field of teaching," he said.
Granda plans to build a sustainable house in Camana in Peru and also work on the land. He much prefers farming which, he says, gives him greater satisfaction than playing.
Granda grew up in the countryside close to nature. He was taught to play chess by his father and got hooked. From that point on, he blossomed. Had that not happened, Granda most certainly would have been a farmer.
But despite travelling the world as a chess player, Granda longs for the simple life again.
"Having that connection to the countryside makes for a special life, and I am grateful for it. I spent my childhood in the countryside and now I life there again because I wanted to return to my roots."
Speaking of his childhood, he added: "I had a humble life, but I wasn't poor. We lived in conditions that were far from comfortable, but they were good for us. There was no electricity and no lights, but there was plenty of food, or at least we never went without. That kind of poverty is even desirable."
Chess, however, changed Granda's life.
From the age of seven Granda started seeing privileges because of playing chess. "I was fed and dressed better," he said.
"By that time I was already competing and I had to travel to Arequipa, the main city in the area."
In 1980, Granda won the World Infant Cup in Mazatlàn, Mexico. In 1984, Granda won the Pan American Junior Chess Championship in Lima and by the age of 19, he had obtained the grandmaster title.
In an impressive career from a country with little chess history, Granda went on to play for Peru in the Chess Olympiads of 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2014.
Granda's peak rating hit 2699 FIDE in 2016. A year later he won the 50+ section of the World Senior Chess Championship in Acqui Terme, Italy.
But Granda's background or achievements aren't the most extraordinary thing about him: that is Granda's attitude to chess.
While other grandmasters and aspiring grandmasters are busy studying hard and preparing for games, Granda does none of that. He says he's only read one chess book—and that was because he was bored.
"They say I've only read one book, but strictly speaking, I haven't read any. Reading a book means studying it. I remember that, aged 19 in 1986, I already had the strength of a grandmaster. I was on the rise and had achieved a norm.
"I was going to play in the Capablanca Memorial tournament. While I was waiting, they took me to a picturesque little village in Villa Clara. They treated me very well, but I was bored because there wasn't much to do.
"Then I saw a bookshop with Chess Kaleidoscope by Karpov and Gik. I didn't even have a chessboard and read it in my head. It's the only I've ever read from cover to cover, because I was so bored."
Granda's interview in New In Chess is a fascinating glimpse into the life of a true one-off. You can read the full article in issue 2025#8 of New In Chess.