Chess has been recorded as played in Australia since the middle of the nineteenth century, during which a chess club was established in Melbourne. [1]
The Australian Chess Federation consists of seven chess association members, corresponding to each of the six Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory. [2] [3] Regionally, it is associated with the Asian Chess Federation, and Australian chess players can compete in the Asian Chess Championship and Asian Junior Chess Championship, where the girls' championship has been held thrice in Adelaide.
The Australian Chess Championship is held every two years, and the Australian Women's Championship is held every year in which an open championship does not fall. The Australian Junior and Girls Championships are held every year by the ACF. [4] The Australian Open, described by its organizers as one of Australia's "premier chess events", is open to players around the world.
Australia is also home to the Southern Hemisphere's largest collection of chess literature at the State Library Victoria, the MV Anderson Chess Collection. The MV Anderson Chess Collection contains 13,000 volumes of chess-related literature, and is home to numerous pieces of chess history such as an excerpt from the mid fifteenth century informational book The Game and Playe of the Chesse . [5]
The Australian Defence is an unorthodox opening in the Queen's Pawn Game, defined by the moves:
It is recognized as somewhat dubious, but can transpose to the slightly more acceptable de Bruycker Defense in the Caro–Kann if the game continues 2. e4 c6. The Australian Defense has been played by American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura to draw a game with Chinese grandmaster Wang Yue in 2018, English grandmaster Tony Miles in 1996 to draw a game with Swedish grandmaster Ulf Andersson, [6] and American grandmaster Andrew Tang to defeat international master Craig Hilby in the Professional Rapid Online Chess League.
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE, is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. FIDE was founded in Paris, France, on July 20, 1924. Its motto is Gens una sumus, Latin for 'We are one Family'. In 1999, FIDE was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As of December 21, 2023, there are 201 member federations of FIDE.
Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally the title can be revoked for cheating.
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. Today it is usually played through a correspondence chess server, a public internet chess forum, or email. Less common methods that have been employed include fax, homing pigeon and phone. It is in contrast to over-the-board (OTB) chess, where the players sit at a physical chessboard at the same time; and most online chess, where the players play each other in real time over the internet. However, correspondence chess can also be played online.
A chess prodigy is a young child who possesses an aptitude for the game of chess that far exceeds what might be expected at their age. Their prodigious talent will often enable them to defeat experienced adult players and even titled chess masters. Some chess prodigies have progressed to become World Chess Champions.
The United States Chess Federation is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in The World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official national rating system, awards national titles, sanctions over twenty national championships annually, and publishes two magazines: Chess Life and Chess Life Kids. The USCF was founded and incorporated in Illinois in 1939, from the merger of two older chess organizations. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its membership as of 2020 as COVID hit was 97,000; as of 2024 the membership was 112,000.
Ulf Andersson is a leading Swedish chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1970 and the Grandmaster title in 1972.
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin is a Russian chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, having qualified for the title at the age of 12 years and 7 months.
The Commonwealth Chess Championship is a gathering of chess players from Commonwealth countries.
Vadim Milov is a Swiss chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in 1993.
Keith Charles Arkell is an English chess Grandmaster.
Below is a list of events in chess in 1996, as well as the top ten FIDE rated chess players of that year.
Events in chess in 1990;
A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most prestigious of which is Grandmaster; many national chess federations also grant titles such as "National Master". More broadly, the term "master" can refer to any highly skilled chess player.
The World Blitz Chess Championship is a chess tournament held to determine the world champion in chess played under blitz time controls. Since 2012, FIDE has held an annual joint rapid and blitz chess tournament and billed it as the World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships. The current world blitz champion is the Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen. Valentina Gunina from Russia is the current women's blitz world champion. Magnus Carlsen has won the event a record seven times.
Events in chess in 1974;
Robert Murray Jamieson is an Australian chess International Master.
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and norms. Once awarded, titles are held for life except in cases of fraud or cheating. Open titles may be earned by all players, while women's titles are restricted to female players. Many strong female players hold both open and women's titles. FIDE also awards titles for arbiters, organizers and trainers. Titles for correspondence chess, chess problem composition and chess problem solving are no longer administered by FIDE.
Richárd Rapport is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at the age of 13 years, 11 months, and six days, making him Hungary's youngest ever grandmaster. He was the Hungarian Chess Champion in 2017 and was the fifth-rated player in the world in May 2022.
Chess is one of the most popular sports in Azerbaijan, where it is governed by the Azerbaijan Chess Federation (ACF). On May 5, 2009 Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, who is also the chairman of the National Olympic Committee, signed an executive order initiating a state-supported chess development program, covering the years 2009–2014.
Bobby Cheng is a New Zealand-Australian chess player. Cheng was world champion in the under 12 category in 2009, the only Australian in history to win a world over-the-board title. Cheng won Australian Open championship in 2013 and Australian chess Championship in 2016. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2019.
