Ian Rogers (chess player)

Ian Rogers (born 24 June 1960, Hobart, Tasmania) is an Australian chess grandmaster (1985) and FIDE Senior Trainer (2005).

Rogers is regarded as the first Australian to become a chess grandmaster (Walter Browne achieved the title earlier, but grew up in the USA and represented Australia only from 1969-72). Rogers attained the Grandmaster title in 1985 after becoming an International Master in 1980. He was Australia's highest rated player for over twenty years, and represented Australia at fourteen Chess Olympiads (twelve of them on first board).

Ian Rogers won more than a hundred and twenty chess tournaments including fifteen round-robin grandmaster tournaments. He won the Australian Chess Championship four times - in 1980, 1986, 1998, and 2006, and holds the record for the most number of wins (either outright or on tie-break) at the traditional Doeberl Cup, with 12.

Among his career highlights are three consecutive victories from 1988 to 1990 in the grandmaster tournament in Groningen (outright by a clear point in 1988 and 1989, and jointly in 1990). He retired on medical advice in 2007.

Before turning professional, Rogers completed a BSc (Meteorology) from the University of Melbourne. He is married to Cathy Rogers, herself an International Arbiter, Woman FIDE Master, and a lawyer. 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 panelist for BBC television during their 1993 World Championship coverage and covered numerous major championships for news agency Reuters. Rogers has also worked as a public commentator at high level tournaments around the world.

He is a distant cousin of Australian cricketer Chris Rogers.

Rogers' peak international ranking was 50th in the world in 1999, and he was the highest ranked Australian player from 1984 until his retirement in 2007. His best single performance was at Groningen, 1989 where he scored 6.5/9, a point ahead of Viswanathan Anand.

• Ian Rogers (1981). Australian Chess - Into the Eighties. Sun Books. ISBN 0-72510-384-1. 
• Ian Rogers; Cathy Rogers (Photographer) (1996). Australia at the Yerevan Chess Olympiad. Australian Chess Enterprises. 

• Ian Rogers vs Viktor Korchnoi, Biel-A, CBM 01 1986, French Defense: Winawer, Retreat Variation General (C18), 1-0
• Ian Rogers vs Robert Huebner, Wellington, CBM 07 1988, Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack (B90), 1-0
• Ian Rogers vs Alexey Shirov, Groningen 1990, Sicilian Defense: Boleslavsky Variation (B59), 1-0
• Kiril D Georgiev vs Ian Rogers, Switzerland 1993, Benko Gambit: Accepted, Modern Variation (A57), 0-1
• Ian Rogers vs Peter Acs, Wijk aan Zee 2003, English Opening: King's English, Two Knights' Variation Smyslov System (A22), 1-0
• Ian Rogers vs Roland Berzinsh, 4NCL 2006-07 2007, Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical, Berlin Variation (E38), 1-0