New Zealand Chess

2022 North Island Rapid has Red Bull among sponsors

Red Bull seems like a fitting sponsor for rapid chess. In addition to the winner's name being engraved on the NI Rapid Trophy, the first prize is $400 and 3 months supply of Red Bull. Second prize - $250 and 2 months supply, third prize - $150 and 1 month supply of the drink. Other sponsors are also listed on the tournament poster provided by the organisers, Auckland CBD's club, ACCC.

2022 Peter Stuart Memorial won by FM Alphaeus Ang

Peter Stuart Memorial has found a long weekend to call home. The traditionally two-day, five-game event is now a three-day, six-game one, run over Matariki holiday. This year's Open section had 25 players and Reserve had 56. FM Alphaeus Ang won convincingly with 6.0/6 in the Open section, two points ahead of second place finishers. Henry Vital won the Reserve. Please find all details in the Results section, including a link to many photos by NZChessNews (Helen Milligan) and PGN files.

Ratings period 2022-2 closing soon

The current NZCF ratings period, 2022-2, ends on June 30th. If you have tournament results to submit for this rating period, please send them to the Ratings Officer Rowan Wood (rowan.wood@rikstoto.no) by July 1st. We hope to have a new rapid rating list available for the Summit Rapid on July 3rd. Thanks!

ACC trialling a new team-based initiative; Peter Stuart Memorial now runs during Matariki

On the weekend of June 18-19, Auckland Chess Centre will be trialling a new type of OTB classical chess tournaments called Auckland Teams Arena. The tournaments are six-round Swiss with a slightly faster time control of 60+30, so the games fit in two days, which is easier to plan for busy people. An added dimension is the team competition, as players can group themselves or be grouped by organisers into teams for a final season standing (there'll be five events of this year). Teammates will not be paired against each other, and top 4 results of each team will be summed up as the team's result, similar to how it's done in Lichess team battles. Register for the June event on the event page and get more classical games under your belt.

The long-running Peter Stuart Memorial tournament, previously known as North Shore Open, has found a long weekend to call home, the new Matariki holiday on June 24-26, to run as a 3-day, six-round Swiss tournament. There are two grades, called Open and Reserve this year, and the prize fund has been increased. Register on the event website.

44th Trusts Open won by Ollie Archer and FM Bob Smith

Ollie Archer (2022 NZ Junior Champ) and FM Bob Smith are winners of the 44th Trusts Open A-grade. Harry Redwood won the B-grade, Charles Zhang won the C-grade and Buthsara Hettiarachchi won the Junior grade. The best game prize has gone to FM Bob Smith for his round 5 win over Chris Burns. An honourable mention: Justin Wang's first-round win over Karl Holdo. More on the Results page.

The teams for the 2022 Olympiad are selected

The NZCF selection committee has selected the NZ team for the 44th Olympiad in Chennai, India (July 28 - Aug 10). They are:

Open team
1. Gong, Daniel Hanwen
2. Croad, Nicolas
3. Xie, Felix
4. Lukey, Stephen
5. Duneas, John
Reserve: Thornton, Giovanni

Women's team
1. Zhang, Jasmine Haomo
2. Punsalan, Vyanla Mariam
3. Ning, Yixuan (Isabelle)
4. Yu, Weiyang (Cadence)
5. Thurner, Anya Doris Wu
Reserve: Gan, Emily

The Reserves are non-travelling.

Olympiad Appeal

An Olympiad Appeal had also been made by NZCF President, Nigel Metge. More on the Olympiad 2022 page.

"Greetings Fellow Chess players!

I am delighted we will have two teams representing New Zealand at the Olympiad, Chennai India 28th July-10th August. We have appointed IM Herman van Reimsdijk as Captain for our Women’s Team and GM Dejan Bojkov as Captain for our Open Team. These two are familiar with New Zealand chess and experienced in coaching and helping our players achieve best results.

New Zealand is assessed as a ‘level 2 chess development’ country by FIDE and therefore not entitled to an automatic travel subsidy. However, by personal negotiation NZCF has obtained one-off FIDE support for approximately half of our expected teams’ travel costs.

We now appeal to the whole NZ Chess Community for donations to help our players especially promising juniors to get to Chennai!

The Federation itself starts the Appeal with $1,000.

Donations should be made directly to NZCF bank account with notation ‘Olympiad’:

Account Name: New Zealand Chess Federation Inc.
Account Number: 01 0535 0073257 00
SWIFT: ANZBNZ22

Please also notify NZCF Treasurer (richiechristie73@gmail.com) who will promptly acknowledge receipt and issue a formal receipt.

NZCF is a Registered Charity and donations to NZCF are tax deductible, see the following link to IRD.

Any concerns or special donations you wish to discuss, please contact me directly."

Nigel Metge
President NZCF
Nigel.Metge@gmail.com
021 0925 08869

Donations received so far:
NZCF - $1,000
Anton Reid - $200
Barry Hooton - $200
Ben Hague - $200
Nigel Cooper - $200
Nigel Metge - $200
Timothy Ha - $200
Tony Dowden - $200
---
Total - $2400

Auckland Interschools events starting in June

Interschools tournaments for 2022 are starting again in June. Please check the dedicated page Interschools and register your teams.

Auckland ANZAC Weekender is won by CM Felix Xie

Auckland Chess Centre reopened on April 23-25, 2022 for the traditional ANZAC Weekender. A tournament of more than 30 players was won by CM Felix Xie on 5.5/6. Three players finishing a point behind on 4.5 were Hao Tang, Hunter Po'e-Tofaeono and Philli Park-Tamati. Full standings are on Vega. The full list of prize winners is on the Results page.

Facebook photos: album 1 by NZChessNews, album 2 by AKLChess. There was also a Lichess broadcast of top 5 boards each round.

Vyanla Punsalan is the 2022 NZ Women's Champion

WFM Vyanla Punsalan claimed the title with a perfect score of 7.0/7 in the 7-round tournament which was held from April 17 to April 20. WCM Isabelle Ning and Weiyang Yu shared the second place on 5.0/7. The full list of prize winners is on the Results page.

The Vega link has the pairings and games, and there are many Facebook photos, too.

Congratulations to the organisers Vivian and Bob Smith, sponsors (which included Helen Courtney’s family and friends), IA Bruce Pollard and of course all the winners and players, who have all made this such a successful tournament.

Wellington Open 2022

The Wellington Open has been won by FM Nic Croad, with many juniors performing really well, including Ollie Archer, who shared second with IM Russell Dive, and Josh Langford who beat IM Anthony Ker and narrowly missed out on beating Russell, too. There were no DGT boards to broadcast games online, but Ian Sellen and Bill Forster worked hard behind the scene to both run the tournament and enter ALL the games into PGN and Lichess study format after each round, so competitors could review and prepare effectively, and friends and colleagues could follow and enjoy. Thanks to Andrew Brockway, Ian Sellen and Bill Forster for organising this event!

Here is a set of links:
Vega pairings and results
Tournament games in PGN
Lichess studies: round 1, round 2, round 3, round 4, round 5, round 6
Facebook photo album - many people in masks
Bill Forster's editorial - Wellington Open Impressions

NZCF & FIDE Friendship Online Junior Chess Camp no.2

Following the success of the first Online Camp in March, and because of the high level of demand, the New Zealand Chess Federation, with support from the FIDE Planning and Development Commission (PDC), will be rerunning the Essential Chess Knowledge camp on the weekend of the 29th / 30th April and 1st May.

This will give those who missed out the first time an opportunity to participate in this course. The weekend online camp, Essential Chess Knowledge, will be conducted by GM Dejan Bojkov (Bulgaria) and GM Ian Rogers (Australia). The theme of the training sessions will be the essential knowledge that young players must have as a foundation for chess development, and how to fill in gaps in that knowledge to progress to Candidate Master level.

More details on the registration form

Ratings updated for the 2022-1 period

Ratings Officer Rowan Wood has updated the NZCF ratings in time for the OTB tournaments in April. Please find your names on the Ratings page. Tournament directors and arbiters can now download the updated Vega files.

OTB is back in April!

Four OTB tournaments are coming up in Auckland and Wellington this April. Summit Rapid on April 10, Wellington Open on April 15-17, New Zealand Women's Championship on April 17-20, and Chess Power Junior Masters on April 26-30. More details in the Calendar.

2022 Chess Olympiad to be held in Chennai, India

"The FIDE Council has approved today the bid presented by the All India Chess Federation (AICF) to host the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai, the capital of the Tamil Nadu state. The exact schedule is still being discussed and will be announced in the coming days, but the event will take place between the end of July and the beginning of August, not very far off from the dates originally planned." More in the FIDE announcement.

NZCF will post team selection info on the Olympiad 2022 page.

NZCF & FIDE Friendship Online Junior Chess Camp no.1

The New Zealand Chess Federation, with support from the FIDE Planning and Development Commission (PDC), would like to invite applications for an online junior training camp to be held from the 25th to 27th March 2022. The weekend online camp, Essential Chess Knowledge, will be conducted by GM Dejan Bojkov (Bulgaria) and GM Ian Rogers (Australia). The theme of the training sessions will be the essential knowledge that young players must have as a foundation for chess development, and how to fill in gaps in that knowledge to progress to Candidate Master level.

The camp will consist of 8 hours of lectures over the 3 days, self-tests to assess your own level of knowledge, homework and exercises, and summary information on key concepts. Places are limited and will be allocated to try to ensure that there is fair male and female representation from across New Zealand. Because of the financial support from NZCF and PDC we are able to offer participation in the weekend camp at $65 per student for those accepted. The timetable of lectures will be (with 15-minute breaks).

• Friday 25/03, 6pm to 8:15pm: Essential Positional Knowledge (GM Rogers & GM Bojkov)
• Saturday 26/03, 9am to 10:45am: Essential Endgame Knowledge Part 1 (GM Rogers)
• Saturday 26/03, 6:30pm to 8:15pm: Decision Making Essentials Part 1 (GM Bojkov)
• Sunday 27/03 9am to 10:45am: Essential Endgame Knowledge Part 2 (GM Rogers)
• Sunday 27/03 6:30pm to 8:15pm: Decision Making Essentials Part 2 (GM Bojkov)

If you require further information please contact Hilton Bennett, email: hiltonpbennett@gmail.com

President's March 2022 update

NZCF President Nigel Metge updates on results of the first Council meeting of the year.

Covid-19 update

(More details to follow) NZCF will accept club games played under CVC compliant conditions at 'traffic light' Red for NZCF & FIDE rating.

2022 Online Asian Nations Cup, U14

U14 Online Asian Nations Cup is open for registration, with a deadline for expression of interest on Monday, March 14, 5 PM. Please don't contact NZCF via email, but use the Google Form. Thanks!

More details in the brochure.

2022 Chess Olympiad

FIDE has advised NZCF that the Olympiads scheduled for Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk July-Aug 2022 are withdrawn from Russia. New locations and times will be advised and at that time NZCF will call for expressions of interest for Open and Women’s teams.

FIDE Year of the Woman in Chess

We've created a section of news items and tournament notifications dedicated to the FIDE Year of the Woman in Chess. Please note there's a seminar coming this weekend, 27 February 2022 - Queens’ Festival Workshop: Increase Your Inner Strength (see the registration form at the link).

Sports, big and small, under Covid Red limits

Sports venues from large to small suffering under Covid limits - from RNZ Checkpoint on 18 February 2022

"Eden Park says its financial viability is at risk as it stares down the barrel of a third straight year of disruptions due to Covid-19 settings. Meanwhile, uncertainty over just how long the country will remain at red is causing major headaches for school and club sport around the country. And as Nick Truebridge and cameraman Nick Monro report, it's not just our biggest sports and venues bracing for more Covid chaos."

The RNZ team also visited Auckland Chess Centre in Mt Eden (capacity 80-100 compared to Eden Park 50000-60000) and interviewed FM Ewen Green.

Don't forget to like and subscribe to the NZCF YouTube channel for more videos.

Ratings period 2022-1 closing soon

The current NZCF ratings period, 2022-1, ends on February 28th. It will include the recent January Congress. If you have other tournament results to submit for this rating period, please send them to the Ratings Officer Rowan Wood (rowan.wood@rikstoto.no) by March 3rd. Thanks!

January Bulletin 2022

The January issue of the NZCF online chess bulletin, edited by Bill Forster, started with a single game highlight from Congress, but there are now more Congress games. Josh Langford wrote an entertaining Lichess blog post on his NZ Championship games. The games editor has transcribed the article to the NZCF format (with Josh's permission) and it is now available in this Bulletin too. Philip Hair's adventures into the most obscure openings possible continues. It would be great if some others followed his lead and sent the editor some PGNs with their thoughts and experiences in our wonderful game. You don't have to be a GM (or IM or FM or ...), amateur chess has a charm all of its own!

Also recently added is an appreciation of the recently deceased Bill Ramsay.

Games, Games, Games

The Peter Stuart Games Database has been updated, and includes Congress. Additionally, all of the chess content of the New Zealand Chess magazine in the last 11 years of its run has been gathered together and published on this site in interactive form for the first time. There are now over 1300 games available for playthrough on this site. As well as this most recent addition, there are some fully interactive magazines, bulletins, and interactive Listener columns from the years when Murray Chandler wrote a regular high quality column for that magazine.

Ratings

In other news, the Ratings Page has been updated with the 2021-3 NZCF ratings and January 21st 2022 FIDE ratings.

Chess is a Sport

NZCF President Nigel Metge took time out from playing at Congress to chat to Radio NZ's Emile Donovan about the resurgence of chess in New Zealand.

NZCF AGM

NZCF President Nigel Metge delivers his final newsletter of the year on the Notices Page. Included in the newsletter are detailed discussion and remit documentation for the AGM at Congress.

Good News - South Island Champs and Congress get Green Light

Craig Hall reports
With the recent NZCF Council decision to approve play of NZCF tournaments in locations at Green and Orange, we are delighted to confirm that the South Island Championship and South Island Rapid Championship will both take place on 8-11 December (Championship) and 12 December (Rapid). Because of the short notice, NZCF Council has approved changing the prize funds from the previously guaranteed $800 and $400 respectively to entries less costs in the event of low entries (which seems likely given the timeline).

Please see the updated entry forms (on the Calendar Page) to reflect this and also a number of additional Covid-related competition rules. Of particular note is that all NZCF tournaments, including these ones, will be run under CVC compliance i.e. vaccine passes are required for all attendees including players, spectators, arbiters and officials unless a legal exemption applies (under 12 years 3 months of age, or approved exemption from the Ministry of Health).

Congress will also go ahead as scheduled – the updated entry forms will be sent out once the additional Covid competition rules have been added and late entry fees have been adjusted (late entry fees will only apply to entries received and paid on or after 20 December).

Covid Policy Update

The purple Covid notice above has been updated, please see NZCF President Nigel Metge's 4th December newsletter on the Notices Page for all the details.

Summit Rapid and NZ Seniors stay alive by going online

Amongst the Covid carnage on the NZCF Calendar it's nice to see that two tournaments originally planned as OTB (over the board) are going to run in online form. It's not a perfect solution, but sometimes perfect is the enemy of good. Note: Entries for the Open Seniors Online now close on Tuesday 23rd November 2021..

2021 New Zealand Interschool Chess Finals Cancelled

NZCF Council has made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s national interschool finals.
The finals were due to be held in Auckland in late December, after the covid pandemic forced their postponement from September.
However holding the competition has become virtually impossible in view of the continuing uncertainty about Auckland’s covid level status and the rules regarding gatherings of vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
My apologies; for the sake of thousands of keen young chess players around the country I can only hope that we can return to some normality next year.

Bob Smith
NZCF National Interschool Co-ordinator

Covid Policy Update

NZCF has announced an updated Covid policy which affects local chess clubs. Please see the Notices Page for full details.

Asian Youth Online Championships, 22-31 October 2021

While this individuals tournament is in progress I will endeavour to provide some links for following progress of NZL players. This is work in progress, apologies for not providing anything more comprehensive at the moment.
Here is a link to the chess-results website (Girls).
Schedule for Girls tournaments: Fri,Sat,Sun (22nd-24th Oct); 3 rounds per day (9 total) at 7pm, 8:30pm, 10pm
Schedule for Open tournaments: Fri,Sat,Sun (29th-31st Oct); 3 rounds per day (9 total) at 7pm, 8:30pm, 10pm
Tournament Regulations: here.
Here is a link to the Girls' tournament, with games and results/standings, on Tornelo.
Here is a link to the Open tournament, with games and results/standings, on Tornelo.

President’s Newsletter - COVID Update

NZCF Council met by Zoom last Sunday 3rd October. We discussed the latest Covid update and the implications for over-the-board (OTB) play. It is obviously distressing to all of us that tournaments are being cancelled or postponed. We cannot predict if, and when we will reach ‘Level 1’.

For the moment NZCF advice is unchanged – there will be no official NZCF tournaments and no games NZCF or FIDE rated at Level 2 or above. But we are watching closely Government updates and what other associations of ‘mind sports’ like bridge are doing. There is another Council meeting 31st Oct and I will provide a further update immediately after that.

Nigel Metge, 5th October 2021

Asian Amateur Online Championships, 12-18 November 2021

CLOSING DATE SUNDAY 10TH OCTOBER MIDNIGHT
NZCF invites entries into this tournament organized by Oman Chess Committee on behalf of Asian Chess Federation.
Open to all amateur players with a FIDE rating 2100 or below in Open and Women categories.

All players must have FIDE ID and Tornelo registration.
NZCF must submit all entries and payment on Tuesday 12th October.

Entry fee is US$25 per player but note that NZCF will invoice entrants for entry fee + bank charges + NZ$10 administration fee.
Tournament Regulations: here.
All entrants must enter through this Google docs link.
Queries to:
Online Technical Director Timothy Ha email: timothyha@gmail.com.

Covid takes a toll

Sadly over the board chess in New Zealand has ground to a halt as the NZCF level 1 only policy means play throughout the country has been suspended for weeks, with no end in sight. The scheduling carnage can clearly be seen in the Calendar. We can at least play online, including in two NZCF events each week (Monday and Friday). These events are invariably good fun and are capably organised by Timothy Ha.

Asian Youth Online Championships, 21-31 October 2021

CLOSING DATE THURSDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER MIDNIGHT
NZCF invites entries into this tournament organized by All India Chess Federation under the authority of the Asian Chess Federation.
As usual two groups Open & Girls in age categories U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18.
All players must have FIDE ID and Tornelo registration.
All entrants must enter through this Google docs link.
Note that there is an entry fee of US$50.
NZCF must officially submit all entries and payment on Friday 1st October.
NZCF will invoice parents for cost of entry fee + banking charges.
Tournament Regulations: here.
Queries to:
Online Technical Director Timothy Ha email: timothyha@gmail.com.

Eastern Asia Youth Chess Online Championship

The NZCF web administrator apologises for the following late notice;
All junior players (aged 18 or younger, i.e. born in 2003 or later) are eligible to play in the Eastern Asia Youth Chess Online Championship but please note that the deadline for entries is Friday 17th September.

There are two divisions Open (October 1st-3rd) and Girls (September 24th-26th). Additionally there are U8, U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 age group sections within each section.

Please note that NZCF is not selecting a representative team, this is an individual tournament open to all players of qualifying age. NZCF will forward all entries received and will handle the administrative task of paying the entry fees on behalf of players to the Thailand Chess Federation, BUT this will be charged back to parents.

The entry fee is US$25 per player. Further details are available in the FIDE Calendar and in the tournament regulations and in the entry form.

Please email the completed entry form directly to:
Nigel Metge nigel.metge@gmail.com.
Please include the phone number of the parent responsible for paying the entry fee.

Update Entries have Closed!
We have a record 48 entrants of whom 16 or 33% are Girls.
We had to work to a tight deadline to get entry fees paid to Thailand Chess Association on time.
Your President and others have been working all yesterday and today to make it happen.
We are sorry for any Juniors that missed out.
We often get short notice of tournaments ourselves and always try to alert everyone in good time.
We are working with Thailand Chess Association to update the entries from New Zealand.
The current list of entries processed is shown on this chess-results.com link but more will be visible tomorrow.

National Interschools Finals now moved to 18th and 19th of December

Please see the NZCF Notices Page for full details of changes to the timing of the National Interschools Finals.

President's Newsletter

On the Notices page NZCF President Nigel Metge has shared some thoughts on the year to date. This promises to become a regular President's Newsletter feature.

FIDE Online Olympiad

Coverage of NZL participation in the FIDE Online Olympiad has been moved to the Results Page.

Snippets

The last two home page stories enjoyed some confluence as Ewen Green joined the fray at the NZCF Friday night online Swiss and despite unfamiliarity with Lichess, came close to winning the tournament. Remember the NZCF online tournaments will keep running through lockdown and beyond, thanks again Timothy Ha. Meanwhile the first stage of the FIDE online cadets tournament has come to an end, see the results page. There has been some local mainstream media attention. Finally the ratings page has had another upgrade, and you can now see your NZCF and FIDE ratings and codes on one handy page.

Friday Night Online Swiss

Once again we have reverted to online only local chess (see the Covid information panel above). Hopefully not for too long. Many thanks to Timothy Ha who keeps a regular series of NZCF online events ticking over, ready for everyone to jump back in at times like this.

The next event is this Swiss tournament, on Friday, Aug 20, at 7:30 pm. A Swiss tournament should make a nice change from the usual online Arenas, note that Lichess still allows you late join, pause and exit flexibility (if you feel you must).

NZ Games Database Updated

The Peter Stuart Games Database has just been updated. This database, established and maintained by the late Peter Stuart, is now under NZCF stewardship and we endeavour to keep it consistent and up to date. The database aims to gather games from the most important competitions within NZ and also NZ games in international competition. Club and tournament administrators can help by submitting PGN files to the NZCF web administrator for possible inclusion.

43rd Trusts Chess Open

An impressive 152 players crowded into the Te Pai Centre. Australian IM Brodie McClymont enjoyed the bubble more than most this weekend, taking out New Zealand’s premier standard chess weekender with an impressive A Grade score of 6/6, 1.5 points clear of second place. Results and details are now on the Results page.

Bob Wade Memorial Results and Photos...

... are of course on the Results Page. Both the inaugural tournament and the special dinner were a great success. GM Stuart Conquest provides some nice background information in this article.

Asian U14 Online Teams

New Zealand teams are competing in this competition for three evenings in a row on March 27th, 28th and 29th starting at 7pm New Zealand time. The official results will be posted on Chess-Results; Open and Girls.

Following online has proven problematic on these chess.com events in the past. For now at least the following links are the best hope we can provide for following live play Open and Girls. Update: Timothy has provided this link for viewing and advises "Refresh the page when games start as players are visible on this page only when they're online and playing". Update 2: Final results are now on the Results page.

Timothy Ha is captaining the teams and doing a fantastic job of organising the information and marshalling the teams. Don't forget that Nic Croad (below) is also playing four three more official Hybrid Zonal classical online games on the same weekend.

Nic Croad Competing in the Oceania Zone Hybrid

A new and interesting chess format is being trialled in New Zealand and around the Oceania region over the weekends of March 20-21 and March 27-28. Hybrid chess is an attempt to marry traditional chess and online chess, with a view to eventually allowing official rated competition between geographically distributed competitors. Instead of playing at home, the players compete from "hubs" under the control and supervision of qualified arbiters. Our own Paul Spiller, president of FIDE's Zone 3.6 describes the competition Nic Croad is competing in here. Basically it's a round robin classical tournament, two rounds a day, featuring two Australian GMs amongst others (Nic plays both GMs on Saturday 20th). At stake is decent prize money, and a qualifying spot for the world cup. Rounds are at 1pm and 7pm NZ time, and a link will be put up here in time for you to follow the action. Update: The promised link has not yet been delivered by the organisers, but it should appear on this page before start of play. Update 2: Hopefully this is the actual link. Update 3: Final results are now on the Results page.

NZCF Ratings Updated

Rowan Wood, our longstanding and dedicated ratings officer reports that 2021 period 1 ratings are now available. You can still see them on the Resources Page, but now for the first time there is a dedicated Ratings Page which has active ratings information inline so you can quickly check your NZ rating without downloading a document.

Asian Nations Online Under 14 Team Championship

NZCF seeks applications from eligible players (players under 14 on Jan 1 2021) for selection in New Zealand teams to play in the Asian Nations Online Under 14 Team Championship on 27th-29th March. Players should check they are available on all three nights from 7pm to 11:30pm before applying. Please email your applications to the NZCF secretary Winsome Stretch at secretary@newzealandchess.co.nz by Friday 12th March 5pm (sorry for the short notice). Please indicate whether you are applying for a position in the Open or Girls team (or either). Include your chess.com account name, and your NZCF and FIDE ratings. Successful applicants will be required to submit a passport sized photo. There is a fee to play in this tournament, but NZCF will bear the cost (of no more than one open team and one girls team).

Update 16/03/2021: The NZCF team selections are;
OPEN TEAM:
Oscar Qin
Baraa Zara
Emily Gan
Sai Somaraju
Kendrick Zhang

FEMALE TEAM:
Isabelle Ning
Anya Thurner
Yolanda Chang
Sophia Feng
Ritika Joseph
The team captain is Timothy Ha.

NZCF Online Team Battle

Another Covid hiccup, another online tournament organised by Timothy Ha. This time it's a Monday night team battle. With the whole country at alert level 2 or higher for at least a week, keep a lookout for these tournaments, we might be having more of them!

On Sailing, Chess and Covid

America's Cup Organisers and Teams spend millions on lawyers and insanely elaborate rules, yet they can't quite figure out whether their rules allow competition at the moment. Or not. Perhaps they should have hired NZCF as (very reasonably priced) legal consultants, our rules are crystal clear. Chess is on at Level One, suspended at Level Two and above. Sadly this means that in Auckland chess clubs remain closed for at least a little while longer. But never fear the indefatigable Timothy Ha has organised another Friday night online tournament so chess addicts in Auckland and nationwide can still get their fix.

NZCF Online Tournament, plus a Covid Reminder

Sadly the NZCF Covid Policy (see purple box above) has been activated again. The entire country is currently above level 1 for three days (at least). The NZCF online tournaments have understandably been quiet for a while, but maybe this Monday night tournament is a good opportunity to commiserate with the local chess community about this hopefully very temporary setback. Thanks to Timothy Ha for keeping the tournaments going, and for hastily organising and promoting this one.

NZCF Press Release February 5th, 2021 World Cup

FIDE have granted NZCF the right to select a player to participate in the prestigious World Cup knockout event this year. This is a rare opportunity, normally a NZL player faces a difficult path to qualification. All the details are on The Press Release. Use this application document to apply for selection! Applications close on April 15th 2021.

Tournaments, Tournaments, Tournaments

After missing out on so many tournaments in 2020, we are now bathing in an abundance of regular and new events. Please check out the Calendar Page and enjoy your options. We have already had a successful Congress. Auckland Chess Centre has put on an Anniversary Weekender and is following up in short order with a Waitangi Weekender and an ANZAC Weekender a bit further down the track. Howick Pakuranga's Latvian Rapid is now the single biggest weekend rapid in the country. The Summit Chess Club is running its full program of junior events. The Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay Rapids are coming up soon in reliably gorgeous parts of New Zealand. The North Island Champs are on over Easter Weekend in Wellington. A bit later on you must pencil in the 43rd Trusts Open. (Late in the year the NZ Women's Championship has been revised).

A special mention is due to a special new event, the Bob Wade memorial on Bob's 100th anniversary, April 10th 2021. Thanks to Paul Spiller for conceiving of this event and making it a reality. The atmospheric photos below are courtesy of britishchessnews.com which was founded in 2016 by John Upham who takes and supplies chess photographs world-wide. The same website offers this detailed compendium of interesting information about Bob. Also consider checking out Bob's obituary in our own NZ Chess magazine, January 2009 issue, page 18.

   

   

Kasparov Chess Foundation University Cup

The Kasparov Chess Foundation is a substantial supporter and sponsor of chess in New Zealand, particularly our annual Congresses. On February 6th-7th they are running a free online event for university teams. It would be marvellous if one or more New Zealand university teams could compete. All the details are on the event website here. If you are tempted to enter please send an email to NZCF Vice President Paul Spiller or NZCF web administrator Bill Forster (email addresses on the Contact Page) to let us know.
Update: A Victoria University of Wellington team (Ryan Winter, Michael Sole, Nicholas Heyworth, Ben Bryant) competed despite a very hostile time zone and posted a solid mid table performance, 64th from 125, see the results page here. NZ Games PGN here.

Thank You Murray

New NZCF President Nigel Metge can be seen handing out the prizes in the congress photos below and on the Results Page (he also picked up a grade prize in the Blitz:). For those who haven't realised it yet, this does indeed mean that GM Murray Chandler has handed over the baton. Hopefully Murray will quietly continue to contribute to the NZ chess scene in an unofficial capacity. The maintainer of this website would like to take the opportunity to post a personal thank you to Murray for his wise counsel and steadfast support for a shared vision of a steadily improving, focussed, local, tasteful, coherent and comprehensive website for the New Zealand chess community.

Older Items....

An archive of all NZCF website front page stories since 2007 is available here.