Zhao Zong-Yuan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Zhao Zong-Yuan |
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| Country | Australia |
| Born | 26 June 1986 Beijing, China |
| Title | Grandmaster (2008) |
| FIDE rating | 2524 (September 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2592 (March 2010) |
Zhao Zong-Yuan is an Australian chess Grandmaster. He was born on June 26, 1986. As of September 2019, he was one of Australia's top chess players.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Zhao Zong-Yuan was born in Beijing, China. He grew up in Coffs Harbour, Australia. He studied pharmacy at the University of Sydney. Later, he also completed a degree in medicine at the same university.
Becoming a Chess Star
Early Achievements
Zhao became an international master (IM) when he was just 14 years old. This made him the youngest Australian to achieve this title. He was also part of the NSW Junior Chess League.
In 1999, Zhao won the Queensland Under-18 Championship. He scored a perfect 8 out of 8 points. He then nearly won the Australian Chess Championship, finishing very close behind Darryl Johansen. In 2000, he placed second in the Oceania Zonal tournament. The next year, in 2001, he won the Australian Junior Championship. He also played in the 2001 British Championship.
Winning Tournaments
In 2004, Zhao won the Doeberl Cup tournament. He finished ahead of strong players like Ian Rogers and David Smerdon. In 2005, he won the Australian Junior Masters with a perfect score of 9 out of 9.
Zhao has represented Australia in three Olympiads. These are big team chess tournaments. In the 2006 Olympiad, he played on board three for his country.
Becoming a Grandmaster
In January 2007, Zhao won the Australian Open chess tournament. He scored 9.5 out of 11 points. In May 2007, he won the Oceania Zonal tournament in Fiji. This win allowed him to play in the Chess World Cup 2007 in Russia. There, he played against future World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the first round. In July 2007, he won the Australian National University Open. He won the Oceania Chess Championship again in 2011. This led him to the Chess World Cup 2011.
Zhao earned the title of Grandmaster (GM) in early 2008. To become a GM, a player needs to achieve three special "norms" and have a high rating.
- He earned his first GM norm in December 2007 in Budapest, Hungary.
- His second GM norm came in January 2008 in Spain. He won the GEMA tournament.
- He achieved his final GM norm in January 2008 at the Gibtelecom Chess Festival in Gibraltar.
With his rating also above 2500, he officially became a Grandmaster. Zhao is Australia's third Grandmaster, following Ian Rogers and Darryl Johansen.
Playing for Australia
After GM Rogers retired, Zhao became Australia's top player. He played on the top board for Australia in the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden. He had a great performance there. He also played top board for Australia in the 2010 Chess Olympiad in Russia.
