Thursday 24 January 2008

Where are they now?

The only Australian Junior I played in was the one held in Canberra in 1983. It was a much smaller affair the the version they have now, with 31 players in one tournament, and the Girls Championship held at a different venue. Of the players that took part some stuck with chess (eg IM Javier Gil and Paul Broekhyuse), while others dropped out. Of course those that "dropped" out went on to success in other areas (eg Andrew Tridgell).
Recently another name from that tournament popped up in the news. Tony Ayres, who I think finished mid field in 1983, is now more well known as a film director. His most recent film "Home Song Stories" earned him 2 AFI awards (Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay) and he has also won awards for previous films like "Walking on Water".
And while his chess career is long behind him, he still remembers it fondly, as shown in this quick interview in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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