Rodney Phillips

{{Short description|New Zealand chess player}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

James Rodney Phillips (1942 – 19 September 1969) was a New Zealand chess player, who in January 1957 at age 14 became the youngest player ever to win that country's national championship, a record that stands to this day.Peter Stuart, [http://www.poisonpawn.co.nz/chess/a-history-of-new-zealand-chess-championships/ The New Zealand Championships: A Brief History], poisonpawn.co.nz

He was coached by the Estonian-born master Ortvin Sarapu, who spotted his talent at the age of 10.Alan Aldridge,[http://newzealandchess.co.nz/nzchessmag/pdfs/2009-10.pdf History of Chess], New Zealand Chess magazine, p34-35, October 2009 He played in the World Junior Championship in The Hague in 1961. He finished fourth in his preliminary group, thereby missing out on a place in the final group of 12, however he won the reserve group to finish 13th overall.Kažić, B.M., International Championship Chess: A Complete Record of FIDE Events, Pitman Publishing, 1974, pp. 275-76. {{ISBN|0-273-07078-9}} Phillips competed in the 1967 British championship, won by Jonathan Penrose, where he finished in a tie for 10th place of the 36 competitors with a score of 6/11.John Saunders, [https://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/196708bcf-viewer.html 54th British chess championship], Britbase He was found drowned in Wellington Harbour on 19 September 1969, a suspected suicide.[https://natlib.govt.nz/items/37186580 Phillips, James Rodney, 1942-1969], New Zealand National Library