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.[1]
He was coached by the Estonian-born master Ortvin Sarapu, who spotted his talent at the age of 10.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] He was found drowned in Wellington Harbour on 19 September 1969, a suspected suicide.[5]