The Swedish champion is a long time veteran of the game. He started competitive chess at age 10, after being introduced to chess a year earlier by his father. It was the time of the legendary match between Spassky and Fischer, and the young lad was mesmerized by GM Bent Larsen’s witty newspaper commentaries. He started getting coaching, and played in various scholastic events. Stellan was educated to be a civil engineer, but consciously chose chess as his full time profession, despite the financial insecurity that comes with it.

His progress in chess was gradual, and with the exclusion of the time he went from the rating of 1900 to 2200, there were no big swings up or down. His style is very solid and he avoids taking risks or wild complications. Brynell has served as captain of his national team, and have often played the role of commentator in big local events. In 2006 he played in a few Scandinavian closed and open events, and several Northern European leagues with moderate success. This is his first visit to Corus.