In the FIDE rating list of August 2015 he reached a rating of 2712 and thus joined the ranks of the 2700+ players for the first time. Howell represented England in the 42nd and 43rd Chess Olympiads, helping his team to 9th and 5th places, respectively. In 2019, Howell came close to qualifying for the Candidates tournament after a series of good results in the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament, before losing to Wang Hao, the eventual qualifier.