User:Garybekker/James Morris (chess player)

James A. Morris (born April 22, 1994 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian chess International Master. He has won, or jointly won, the Australasian Masters international chess tournament twice.

Chess Career
Morris was awarded the FIDE Master (FM) title after scoring 5/9 in the 2007 Oceania Zonal Chess Championship in Nadi, Fiji. In 2009 he scored 6.5/9 in the Oceania Zonal Chess Championship on the Gold Coast, Queensland and finished equal second behind GM David Smerdon, to gain the International Master (IM) title.

In 2011 Morris won the Ballarat Begonia Open with a score of 6.5/7, and the Victorian Junior Championship with a perfect score of 9/9. Morris also won the 2011 Australasian Masters ahead of Bobby Cheng, scoring 7.5/9. He won an additional game in the tournament against IM Mirko Rujevic who later withdrew from the event. When this result is included, his performance rating was 2529.

In 2012 Morris repeated his feat of winning the Victorian Junior Championship with a perfect score of 9/9, came equal first in the Victorian Open with a score of 6/7, and won the Victorian Championship with a score of 9.5/11. Morris came equal first in the 2012 Australasian Masters with Bobby Cheng and Anton Smirnov, scoring 6/9.

In 2013, Morris again won the Ballarat Begonia Open, winning the event with a perfect score of 7/7 including a win against IM Stephen Solomon. During his return from the 2013 Doeberl Cup open in Canberra, where he had scored 5/9, Morris was seriously injured in a fatal car accident which resulted in the death of two fellow Melbourne Chess Club players. Morris made a speedy recovery and returned to tournament chess in late August 2013, playing in the Victorian Open Rapid Play Championship where he finished third. Morris score a career-best victory at the Australian Young Masters tournament in Adelaide in December 2013.