Stephen John Solomon (born 24 July 1963) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

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 dist ...

International Master (IM). He became a

FIDE 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 ...

(FM) in 1986, and an International Master (IM) in 1990. He won the Australian Junior Chess Championship in 1980 and 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 ...

in 2008.

Chess career

Solomon learnt to play chess when he was six years old from his parents, who were both chess players. His early successes included several Victorian Junior Championship victories, and winning the Australian Junior Championship in Canberra in 1980. His family moved to Queensland in 1985 and he has been based there since. Solomon has represented Australia in ten

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 an ...

s between 1984 and 2012, usually on board 3 (four times), or board 4 (four times), although he played top board in the 1998 Olympiad in Elista. He has won or jointly won the

Australian Masters The Australian Masters was an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia held in Victoria, Australia from 1979 to 2015. History In 1989 the International Management Group took control of the management of the tournament. Though the ...

international chess tournament seven times between since 1989, most recently in 2009 and 2010. He also won the 2004 Victorian Masters and 2004 Hardy's Classic. Solomon tied for first place with Darryl Johansen in the 1984 Australian Chess Championship but lost the play-off match. He won the

in 2008 however, since first-placed GM Dejan Antic was not eligible for the title. Solomon won the 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2012 Queensland championships and the 2009 Queensland Open. Solomon competed in the Oceania Zonal Chess Championships of 2005 (Auckland) and 2009 (Gold Coast), finishing =2nd with a score of 6.5/9 in the 2009 event. Solomon's consistent results in Australian weekenders have won him the Australian Grand Prix in 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2008 and 2011.Australian Grand Prix Winners
Australian Chess Federation, retrieved Dec 2012 He was also awarded the Steiner Medal for Australian Chess Player of the Year in 1997.

Notable games

Stephen Solomon vs Anthony Miles, Australian Championship (1991), Modern Defence: Accelerated Gurgenidze, (B07), 1-0

Stephen Solomon vs Gawain Jones, Australian Championship (2010), Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, (B70), 1-0

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Stephen Australian chess players Chess International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors Sportspeople from Melbourne 1963 births Living people