Narelle Kellner ( Jorgensen, 18 October 1934 – 20 December 1987) was an Australian

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player who held the title of

Woman International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

(WIM, 1977). She was a two-time winner of the Australian Women's Chess Championship (1972, 1974).

Biography

Narelle Kellner won the Women's Chess Championships of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

21 times. Also she two times won Australian Women's Chess Championship (1972, 1974). In 1977, she was awarded the FIDE

(WIM) title. Narelle Kellner two times participated in the Women's World Chess Championship Interzonal Tournaments: * In 1976, at Interzonal Tournament in

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ranked 11th place; * In 1979, at Interzonal Tournament in

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shared 17th-18th place. Narelle Kellner played for Australia in the

Women's Chess Olympiad The Women's Chess Olympiad is an event held by FIDE (the International Chess Federation) since 1957 (every two years since 1972), where national women's teams compete at chess for gold, silver and bronze medals. Since 1976 the Women's Chess Olympia ...

s: * In 1972, at first board in the 5th Chess Olympiad (women) in

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(+1, =3, -4), * In 1976, at second board in the 7th Chess Olympiad (women) in

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(+3, =4, -2), * In 1978, at second board in the 8th Chess Olympiad (women) in

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(+4, =3, -4), * In 1984, at second board in the 26th Chess Olympiad (women) in

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(+3, =3, -5). She worked as a primary school teacher. From 1961 she was married to Australian

correspondence chess Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. Today it is usually played through a correspondence chess server, a public internet chess forum, or email. Less commo ...

champion and Correspondence International Master John Vincent Kellner (1931–1987). In 1986, she co-authored ''Guide to Coaching Junior Chess Players'' with Kevin Harrison which was updated in 1993.

Murder-suicide

Kellner died by suicide in the early hours of 20 December 1987. Initially responding to reports of a house fire at Kellner's address in Hurstville at around 4am on 20 December, firefighters found the decomposing body of Kellner's husband John Kellner in a bedroom. Narelle Kellner was found still alive but with a self-inflicted bullet wound to her forehead in the loungeroom. Kellner died from her injuries on the way to hospital. It was believed she had deliberately set fire to the house. Police said they believed Kellner had murdered her seriously unwell husband about a week earlier and had been living in the house with his dead body. They indicated that they would be treating the deaths as a murder-suicide. Neighbours described the couple as reclusive. The president of the New South Wales Chess Association described the couple as an "odd pair who were suited to each other" and suggested the game of chess had become an obsession. Australian chess champion Ian Rogers claimed that John Kellner had previously suggested there had been conspiracies against him, which did not exist. On 24 December 1987, a statement was issued by the

Australian Chess Federation The Australian Chess Federation (ACF) is dedicated to promoting the game of chess in Australia, and is a member of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. The ACF administers its own chess rating system for tournaments in Australia, and runs the AC ...

in which they said they wished to record their deep regret at the deaths of both John Kellner and Narelle Kellner before detailing their respective achievements. Kellner was cremated at the Rookwood Crematorium on 5 January 1988.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kellner, Narelle 1934 births 1987 deaths Australian female chess players Chess Woman International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century Australian chess players 20th-century Australian sportswomen