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Hello, I'm Matthew Side, the presenter of Sideways from BBC Radio 4. You're hearing

me in the infinite monkey cage feed, because I'd like to introduce an episode from Sideways,

my podcast which explores the ideas that shape our lives, with stories of seeing the world

differently. This one is all about thinking you're past your peak. It's a story of a

child prodigy-turned chess champion called John Nunn, and I loved making it, because

it made me think about the connection between youth and innovation. And I have to say

that this connection surprised me, and I think it might surprise you too. I hope you enjoy

it, and if you'd like to hear more stories of seeing the world differently, then search

for Sideways on BBC Sounds.

I think my mother was against it, and my father was in favour of it, so I guess I got

the kind of casting vote there.

John Nunn's family are making an important decision, a decision made by families up and

down the country every year. John's bid offered a place at Oriol College at the University

of Oxford to study mathematics, and with his vote cast, he sets off to start the course.

I mean, I was nervous, of course, as I think many people are when they go to university

and move away from home for the first time.

But John is no ordinary first year.

After I'd been hurt to Oxford for about a month, somehow the information leaked out, and

I had reported some various newspapers banging on the door.

You see, in 1970, the year that he started at Oxford University, John Nunn was just 15.

He was the youngest person to attend the university since Cardinal Woolsey, and his brilliant

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