New Zealand Major Open
From the 95th Congress in 1987/88 a Swiss system Major Open was introduced for the many competitive players who are below the elite NZ Championship level. This competition supplemented and in time completely replaced the Premier Reserve Championship. The original Major Open trophy was the Henry Hookham cup, donated to NZCF by ACI computer services. This trophy was thought lost in 2013, and was rediscovered in 2021. In the intervening years a replacement cup, pictured to the left, was used
Henry Hookham Cup
Henry Hookham Cup detail, showing the first winners.
Major Open Champions
The table below lists all Major Open champions, the row numbers are Congress numbers, the City column indicates where the player was living at the time. The information is from Wikipedia. At the time of writing the Wikipedia article omitted the inaugural Major Open championship, clearly visible in the detail photograph above.
| Location | Year | NZ Major Open Champion | City | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | North Shore | 1987/88 | Michael Steadman John Robinson |
Auckland Auckland |
| 96 | Dunedin | 1988/89 | Bruce Marsick | Hamilton |
| 97 | Wellington | 1989/90 | John Robinson Mark van der Hoorn |
Auckland Wellington |
| 98 | Auckland | 1990/91 | Matthew Barlow | Auckland |
| 99 | Dunedin | 1991/92 | Simon Grainger | Wellington |
| 100 | Wellington | 1992/93 | Prince Vetharaniam Mark van der Hoorn |
Wanganui Wellington |
| 101 | Invercargill | 1993/94 | Matthew Edmonds | Christchurch |
| 102 | Wanganui | 1994/95 | Benjamin Giles Kent Wong |
Maruia Wellington |
| 103 | Wellington | 1995/96 | Russell Metge | Auckland |
| 104 | North Shore | 1996/97 | Tim G. Hare | Auckland |
| 105 | Hamilton | 1997/98 | Chris J. Burns | Wanganui |
| 106 | Dunedin | 1998/99 | Matthew McNabb | Auckland |
| 107 | Auckland | 1999/00 | Paul K. Beach | Auckland |
| 108 | Waitakere City | 2000/01 | Benjamin Giles | Maruia |
| 109 | Christchurch | 2001/02 | Barry Martin-Buss | Auckland |
| 110 | Wanganui | 2002/03 | John McDonald | Wellington |
| 111 | Wellington | 2003/04 | Brendan Reedy | Wellington |
| 112 | Wanganui | 2004/05 | William (Bill) Forster | Wellington |
| 113 | Queenstown | 2006 | Maciej Wojnar | Wellington |
| 114 | Wanganui | 2007 | Neil Gunn | Auckland |
| 115 | Auckland | 2008 | Daniel Shen | Auckland |
| 116 | Queenstown | 2009 | Gavin Marner | Wellington |
| 117 | Auckland | 2010 | Alan Ansell | New Plymouth |
| 118 | Auckland | 2011 | Roy Seabrook | Auckland |
| 119 | Queenstown | 2012 | Nathan Goodhue | Auckland |
| 120 | Wellington | 2013 | Max Chew Lee | Australia |
| 121 | Auckland | 2014 | Paul Macdonald Sean Martin-Buss |
Auckland Auckland |
| 122 | Auckland | 2015 | Antonio Krstev Helen Milligan |
Auckland Auckland |
| 123 | Auckland | 2016 | Fuatai Fuatai Vinod Kumar |
Auckland Auckland |
| 124 | Wellington | 2017 | William (Bill) Forster Yogesh Kulkarni |
Wellington Wellington |
| 125 | Palmerston North | 2018 | Stanley Yee | Auckland |
| 126 | Auckland | 2019 | Robert E. Gibbons | Auckland |
| 127 | Tauranga | 2020 | Hao Tang | Auckland |
| 128 | Palmerston North | 2021 | Clinton Wells | Auckland |
| 129 | Christchurch | 2022 | Euan McDougall | Auckland |