Grand performers set for chess comp

THE Ballarat Botanical Gardens won’t be the only place to see an impressive display this Labour Day long weekend.

The 56th annual Begonia Open Chess Tournament will return to the Ballarat Tech School from Saturday, 12 to Monday, 14 March, welcoming a strong field of Australian and international players for the biggest comp the city’s ever seen.

Ballarat Chess Club secretary Anna Yates said 150 people are already registered for what’s shaping up to be a history-making weekend, with children under the age of 10 to those in their 80s ready to play.

“2022 is the International Chess Federation’s Year of Women in Chess,” she said.

“We have lots of women playing this year, and for the first time at our tournament, we’re hosting a WGM, or Woman Grandmaster, Julia Ryjanova.

“Women Grandmasters have traditionally had a lower ranking and less opportunities to play chess, but we’re offering the same incentives for both male and female Grandmasters.”

Tournament manager and Ballarat Chess Club treasurer Kevin Perrin said women in chess are thriving in regional Victoria.

“We’ve got one junior female player in our club, Om O’Carroll, who’s performing at an extremely high level, and one of the strongest female players we’ve ever had in Ballarat,” he said.

Grandmasters including Temur Kuybokarov, Zong Yuan-Zhao, Darryl Johansen, and Daniel Fernandez are expected to compete during the seven rounds of over-board action, which will contribute to both Australian and International Chess Federation ratings.

The Begonia Open is the second-longest continuously running tournament in Australia, and one of the oldest annual tournaments in the world, having run in 2020 just days before the initial COVID-19 lockdown, and last year.

Grandmaster Ian Rogers is set to provide live commentary, and Peter Tsai will be chief arbiter. Visit bit.ly/3MiFsis for more information.