2009 Oceania Zonal, Gold Coast, Australia

The tournament to select the Oceania representative at the 2009 World Chess Championship began today at the Twin Towns Resort at Tweed Heads. More than 80 players from around the region are competing in separate Open and Women’s sections and the two winners will go on to play the World Cup events later in the year.

Australian Grandmasters Zhao Zong Yuan and David Smerdon are the top two seeds in the Open event while International Master Irina Berezina and Dancing With the Stars contestant, Women’s International Master Ariane Caoili are the top two seeds in the Women’s event.

24-year-old Queenslander David Smerdon became Australia’s 4th ever Grandmaster less than 2 weeks ago. Like Zhao, Smerdon gained the International Master title and played his first Chess Olympics for Australia as a teenager. Both players have fulfilled the promise they showed as child prodigies and these two close friends and fierce rivals should dominate the field this week.

In the women’s event Sydney’s Irina Berezina is the clear favourite having won the previous three zonal tournaments. However, former Somerset College student and now ANU student, Arianne Caoili will be hoping to take the top prize this time. 22 year-old Caoili is well known outside chess circles as the runner-up on the 2007 edition of Dancing With the Stars. Caoili has played three Chess Olympics for Australia and participates frequently at international tournaments, sometimes accompanied by her boyfriend, world number 4 Grandmaster Levon Aronian, who turned up at the venue today.

FIDE Secretary-General Ignatius Leong also arrived today, and will participate in the Zonal meeting on Tuesday.
The first round of the Zonal Chess began at 12 noon today and the tournament continues until Friday. Tuesday 23rd is a rest day. The games are played at the Visions Conference Room of the Outrigger Twin Towns Resort at Tweed Heads.

The webpage for the tournament which includes lots of live chess, live analysis and live blogging is

http://www.gardinerchess.com/oceaniazonal/oceaniazonal2009.htm