TOURINFO-YEREVAN- Arianne Caoili, a former Oceania women’s chess champion, Woman International Master, and an incredibly versatile human being, has died due to the consequences of a car crash. Caoili, the wife of Armenia’s number-one grandmaster Levon Aronian, was 33 years old.
Arianne Caoili got into a car accident on March 15 in Yerevan. Alone in her car, she reportedly lost control and crashed into a concrete pillar on the street. After the accident, Ariana underwent several operations. She was kept in an induced coma.
On the evening of Monday, March 31, Aronian shared the terrible news that Caoili had passed away.
Aronian posted on Twitter on 31 March 2020:
In 2018, Caoili cycled across Western Armenia for charity, and always utilized her professional background in public and private sector consulting for the betterment of her adopted home country.
Our sincere condolences and prayers to Levon Aronian, the couple’s families, and loved ones.
Caoili was born in Manila, the Philippines, on December 22, 1986, the younger of two sisters born to a Dutch mother and a Filipino father, who was a minister. The family moved to Australia in 1989.
She was an active chess player in her youth and won her first major title on her 14th birthday when she came first in the Asian girls’ under-16 championship in Bagac, the Philippines, in 2000.
Her most successful year as a chess player was 2009 when she won both the London Chess Classic Women’s Invitational tournament and the Oceania Women’s Zonal Championship.
Caoili changed federations in 2004 and began representing Australia, the country she represented in five Olympiads. Before that, she had played twice for the Philippines.
The wider Australian public knew her in 2006 when she participated in the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars. She did quite well, finishing in second place with her dance partner Carmelo Pizzino.
Caoili was not an active chess player herself anymore, but she was incredibly busy with a wide variety of projects and engagements. She visited Aronian occasionally at chess events to support him.
Caoili and Aronian were engaged in 2015 and married in September 2017 in Yerevan.
Caoili was multi-talented. By education, she was an economist with a Ph.D. in “Russian foreign policy, especially its economic and business relations with Armenia on a state and individual level.” She spoke several languages fluently and loved mountain climbing, cycling, and cooking. 
Caoili was also involved in several philanthropic initiatives in Armenia. In 2018, she made a 2,000-km bike tour through Turkey, Iran, and Armenia to raise funds for the Children of Armenia Fund, which, among other activities, builds schools where chess is now taught.
