1965 - present

Irina Berezina was born in Kiev in 1965. She developed a love for chess at the early age of 4, whilst watching her older brother Victor being tutored in the game.

Irina was crowned Girls Champion of Ukraine at 12 years old and won that title again for three consecutive years.

Irina has had a long and distinguished career in chess and has excelled in the sport predominantly dominated by males. Irina has been crowned an International Chess Master (the second highest possible male ranking) and was Australia’s top ranked female chess player for over ten years. Irina has competed at 8 Chess Olympiads representing Australia and 10 Oceania Championships (winning 5 of them).

In 1992, Irina and her husband, Vladimir Feldman, who is also an International Chess Master, immigrated to the Eastern Suburbs.

In 1997, tragedy struck while Irina and Vladmir were representing Australia in the Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, Israel. During the opening ceremony the Maccabiah Bridge collapsed, sending the Australian contingent into the polluted water of the Yarkon River. Irina almost died in the fall and was hospitalized for months. Overall, there were 373 Australian representatives from various sports that year, who have endeavoured to overcome the memory of that horrendous accident.

Chess is very much a family pursuit for Irina. She is coached by her brother and her husband and loves to discuss the strategies of chess with both of them.

Irina and Vladimir are now Australia’s best chess coaches. They teach in schools across the Eastern suburbs and are passionate about sharing the gifts of chess with the younger generation. Irina loves that chess is enjoyed by many Australians and that its popularity is only growing. She particularly enjoys seeing people playing chess under the awnings of the Bondi Pavilion. Irina would love to see many more Australians aspiring to master the game and to compete in tournaments within their communities or nationally or even internationally.

Images courtesy Irina Berezina.