Ian Rogers (born 24 June 1960) is an Australian
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
player, trainer and writer. He was awarded the title
Grandmaster by
FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
in 1985.
Personal life
Before turning professional, Rogers completed a BSc (
Meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
) from the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
.
He is married to Cathy Rogers, herself an
International Arbiter {{No footnotes, date=April 2022
In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed.
International Arbiter
''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed ...
,
Woman FIDE Master
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
, and a lawyer.
He is a distant cousin of Australian
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
er
Chris Rogers.
Career
Rogers is the first Australian-raised chess grandmaster (
Walter Browne
Walter Shawn Browne (10 January 1949 – 24 June 2015) was an Australian-born American chess and poker player. Awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1970, he won the U.S. Chess Championship six times.
Early years
Browne was born to an Ame ...
achieved the title earlier but grew up in the US and represented Australia only from 1969–1972). Rogers attained the Grandmaster title in 1985 after becoming an
International Master
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...
in 1980. He was Australia's highest-rated player for over twenty years, and he represented Australia at fourteen
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...
s (twelve of them on first board).
Rogers has won more than 120 classical chess tournaments, including fifteen
round-robin grandmaster tournaments. He won the
Australian Chess Championship The Australian Chess Championship is a tournament organised by the Australian Chess Federation and held every two years. The tournament is largely restricted to Australian chess players, although it is common to allow a small number of strong overse ...
four times—in 1980, 1986, 1998, and 2006—and holds the record for the most wins (either outright or on tie-break) at the traditional
Doeberl Cup
The Doeberl Cup is an annual chess tournament held in Canberra, Australia. It has been held every year since 1963 (apart from 2020) and is the longest running weekend chess event in Australia. Since its inception the event has grown both larger and ...
, with 12.
Among his career highlights are three consecutive victories from 1988 to 1990 in the grandmaster tournament in
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
(outright by a clear point in 1988 and 1989, a point ahead of
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating of ...
, and jointly in 1990).
In 2005, he was awarded the title of
FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
Senior Trainer. Rogers retired from competitive chess on medical advice in 2007.
Throughout his competitive career and more so since his retirement from competitive chess in July 2007, Rogers has reported on many tournaments for various media outlets, with photographic assistance from Cathy Rogers. He was a panellist for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Rogers has also worked as a public commentator at high-level matches and tournaments around the world, including at World Championship and Candidates matches in London, and commentating on tournaments in
under the account gmianr.
Rogers' peak international ranking was 50th in the world in May–June 1999, and he was the highest-ranked Australian player from 1984 until his retirement in 2007. His best single performance was at the Belgrade Open in 1984.