David Smerdon

David Craig Smerdon (born 17 September 1984) is an Australian chess grandmaster from Brisbane, Australia. He is currently the second highest ranked player in Australia and one of only five active Australian Grandmasters.

He was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School and the University of Melbourne, where he was a resident student at Trinity College.

To qualify for the title of Grandmaster, a player must achieve three Grandmaster norm performances, and a FIDE Elo rating over 2500. Late in 2007, Smerdon achieved his third and final Grandmaster norm. In the July 2009 FIDE rating list his rating passed 2500, so he qualified for the title of Grandmaster. He is the fourth Australian to become a Grandmaster, after Ian Rogers, Darryl Johansen and Zhao Zong-Yuan.

In 2009, he won the Queenstown Chess Classic tournament and the 2009 Oceania Chess Championship with a score of 7½/9. He took part in the Chess World Cup 2009 and was knocked out by Leinier Domínguez in the first round.

Smerdon played for the Australian team in the Chess Olympiads of 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 and has also been selected to play board 1 for Australia in 2016.

Smerdon is the recipient of a 2011 John Monash Scholarship, awarded by the General Sir John Monash Foundation.

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