The Gardiner Chess Centre
The Gardiner Chess Centre was built at the end of 2002 by Graeme & Wendy Gardiner, in bushland at Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast (Australia), to provide South-East Queensland, and beyond, with a positive chess learning environment for children and enjoyable chess for adults. Graeme is a former president of the Australian Chess Federation and was also the Development Officer of the nearby Somerset College for many years. Wendy worked at the University of Queensland - initially in department of parasitology and then in tropical health. During operation The Gardiner Chess Centre was one of a new breed of Modern Chess Centres. It contained coaching areas, a chess book and equipment shop, a cafe, internet facilities, a library, a spacious tournament hall equipped with monitors and technology for broadcasting live games online. The centre also contained an office from which a large chess in schools program was run. Assisted by guest coaches like Grand Master Ian Rogers, it gathered a highly positive reputation in the international chess community, and is widely considered as a benchmark in chess centre design. Sale and Closure The Gardiner Chess centre has now been sold. Gardiner Chess continues to operate, however, with tournaments being hosted