Trophies - Premier Reserve

New Zealand Premier Reserve

The NZ Premier Reserve Championship was contested at Congress between the 52nd Congress in 1944/45 and the 103rd in 1995/96 inclusive. The Premier Reserve was introduced to supplement an elite twelve player round robin championship with a similar secondary tournament for those players who didn't qualify for the championship. In 1996 it was decided that the more flexible Swiss system Major Open was a sufficient supplement to the Championship.

The handsome Premier Reserve Trophy was dedicated to the memory of Lionel Goldsmith a New Zealand airman from RNZAF 115 squadron, who was killed in action, aged just 27, on 22nd September 1943 over Hanover during the air war against Germany. Hanover was an important railway junction that produced tyres for military vehicles and aircraft, guns and tracked vehicles, and batteries for submarines and torpedoes. It was a night raid. The New Zealanders' plane was intercepted and shot down, possibly one of six claimed by Lt. Heinz Grimm and crew of the Luftwaffe unit NJG. The crash site was in Neidersachesen. Six men died. In addition to Goldsmith they included  a decorated pilot 'Kiwi' P/O R. Fuggle (DFM). Two survived unhurt (presumably parachuted to safety) and were taken prisoner of war.

Lionel Goldsmith was from Wellington, the son of Joseph and Deborah Goldsmith. Both Lionel and his brother were keen Wellington players. There is more information on the Goldsmith family here.

Here is an interesting contemporary newspaper article on the trophy and the story behind it.

Many thanks to Michael Freeman and Ross Jackson who did the research for this section.

Premier Reserve Champions

The table below lists all New Zealand Premier Reserve champions, the row numbers are Congress numbers, the City column indicates where the player was living at the time.