Guy West

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Guy West (born September 07, 1958) in Babinda in the far north of Australia is best known for being one of Australia's leading chessplayers over several decades.

Moving to Melbourne at age 12 he first represented Australia at the 1978 World Student Olympiad held in Mexico City, followed by the 1978 World Junior Chess Championship in Graz, Austria.

In 1982 he became Australian Lightning Chess Champion.

West then won the 1984/85 Australian Open Chess Championship held in Ballarat. Top seed Grandmaster Pal Benko finished 4th.

West won three consecutive Victorian Chess Championships in 1987, 1988 and 1989 and has held the Victorian title 6 times in total.

In 1991 West won the Parkway International Masters in Singapore and was shortly thereafter awarded the title of International Master by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).

West won the 1995/96 Australian Chess Championship held in Sydney. Grandmaster Darryl Johansen was top seed in that event.

Other highlights in West's chess career include representing Australia at 9 World Chess Olympiads, consisting of Valetta 1980 (1 game), Lucerne 1982, Thessaloniki 1984, Dubai 1986, Novi Sad 1990, Manila 1992, Moscow 1994, Elista 1998 and Istanbul 2000.

West served terms as Victorian Chess Association President and Australian Chess Federation President and coached for a number of years at Melbourne's Methodist Ladies College.

For most of the 1980s until the mid 1990s West was a professional sharemarket speculator and in 1991 he won Telecom Australia's nationwide 'Moneywatch Investment Challenge', turning a hypothetical $1 million into $136 million in one month of simulated trading on the ASX.

He is currently Managing Director of OZmium Pty Ltd, an internet company that provides subscription information to serious or professional sports bettors via the website www.smartgambler.com.au.

West is a regular entrant in Championship Texas Holdem Poker events at Melbourne's Crown Casino.