Concentration: The Australian Chess Championships are serious business.
ERIN PEARSON
SOME may call them nerds, even geeks, but international champions from across the globe prefer to be seen as highly intelligent.
The Geelong Chess Club is hosting the Australian Chess Championships for the first time, with many of the 120 competitors travelling from as far as Bulgaria, China and Canada to vie for the title.
âItâs like the Australian Tennis Open of chess,â club member Sam Sopovski said.
âItâs an opportunity for Geelong to be put on the map a bit as far as chess goes because weâre trying to get chess re-established in popularity here.
âItâs been going fantastically so far.â
The competitors, ranging in age from 12 to 50, battle across 11 rounds to determine a final winner.
Mr Sopovski said chess was a great way to stimulate the mind.
âItâs like youâre in a boxing ring, nobody else can help you, itâs you against them,â he said.
âA lot of us passionate chess people are getting on in years and want to leave something here for others to enjoy.
âWeâve enjoyed it so much over the years and want to give something back. Having the competition here is a massive deal for Geelong.â
Mr Sopovski said many matches took more than five hours to complete with no breaks permitted, adding to the tension and challenge of the game.
World junior chess champion Bobby Cheng of Geelong is on show as well as current and former Australian champions, he said.
Competitors will play off for thousands of dollars in prize money.
The competition culminates on Sunday at North Geelongâs Sphinx Hotel.
