At 58, Peru's Julio Granda Zuniga, a self-taught grandmaster who reached a peak rating of 2699 without studying, has announced his retirement from competition. In a recent interview, he revealed plans to focus on farming and teaching chess in his native Camaná, Peru. Granda's unconventional approach has long set him apart in the chess world.
Julio Granda Zuniga, a four-time champion of the Americas, has captivated the chess community with his natural talent and disdain for traditional preparation. Born in rural Peru, Granda learned chess from his father as a child and quickly excelled without formal study. "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 told New In Chess magazine in its 2025#8 issue.
Granda's recent appearances at the Prodigies & Legends tournament in Madrid and the VIII Festival Salamanca in Spain marked what he expects to be his final competitive outings. In Madrid, 11-year-old Argentine international master Faustino Oro claimed victory. These events followed a career highlighted by early triumphs: winning the World Infant Cup in Mazatlán, Mexico, in 1980, and the Pan American Junior Chess Championship in Lima in 1984. By 19, he earned the grandmaster title and represented Peru in 11 Chess Olympiads from 1986 to 2014. His peak FIDE rating of 2699 came in 2016, and in 2017, he won the 50+ section of the World Senior Chess Championship in Acqui Terme, Italy.
Raised in the countryside near Camaná, Granda describes a humble upbringing without electricity but with ample food. "I had a humble life, but I wasn't poor... That kind of poverty is even desirable," he reflected. Chess brought privileges from age seven, including better clothing and travel to Arequipa. Yet, Granda prefers farming's simplicity. He plans to build a sustainable home in Camaná and reconnect with his roots. Notably, he claims to have read only one chess book—Anatoly Karpov's Chess Kaleidoscope in 1986—out of boredom in Cuba before the Capablanca Memorial. "They say I've only read one book, but strictly speaking, I haven't read any. Reading a book means studying it," he clarified.
Granda's story challenges chess norms, emphasizing innate talent over rigorous preparation. His shift to teaching and agriculture underscores a return to the life he might have led without the game.
