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NZ Chess Academy open for new registrations
After the successful launch of the academy in February this year,
there will be a 2nd intake of new students. The 2nd squad will meet on the
North Shore of Auckland on Tuesday evenings. There are 12 places available.
These places will be filled on a first-in first-served basis and based on the
1st intake, places will fill quickly! The training program on offer is a
year-long commitment and may not be suited for everyone. Registrations will
close Friday 24 May 2013. See
www.chesspower.co.nz/nzca.html
to register your interest online. |
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Oceania Seniors Championships in
Canterbury Thanks to the sponsors, Dancing Water Winery and Benson
Insurance Brokers, the international Oceania event went ahead in Christchurch
(with only one very small earthquake to distract the players). Pictured, left
to right: Paul Glissan, Helen Milligan (seated), Nigel Cooper, Roy Keeling,
Arie Nijman, Tony Booth (at the back), Viv Smith, David Lovejoy, and Bruce
Dellaca. The Oceania titles went to David Lovejoy (Open) and Helen Milligan
(Women's) but the biggest trophy was for NZ Seniors Champion, Arie
Nijman. See our Results page for more
details. |
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Chess champ wins inaugural Hawke's Bay
tournament Former New Zealand champion Bob Smith of Mount Maunganui took
top honours at the inaugural Hawke's Bay Rapid chess championship in Napier. He
also won a bottle of Vidals Reserve Syrah for the best game. Aucklander Tony
Carpinter and Mark Noble from Palmerston North shared second. Noble is a
Grandmaster at correspondence chess. Fourth prize was shared by New Zealand
Chess Federation president Paul Spiller from Auckland and Hamilton's Michael
Freeman, who is also a top correspondence player. See our
Results page for more details. |
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New Zealand Champion Scott Wastney The 120th
New Zealand Congress was held in Wellington, and sponsored by New Zealand Chess
Supplies. The winner, with the remarkable score of 10/11, was local FM Scott
Wastney. Equal second were FM Bob Smith and FM Ewen Green, with 7½. The
famous Silver Rook (pictured left) was unable to attend the prize-giving - it
is feeling its age, and will be kept safe in a custom-made perspex-fronted box,
in a suitable location (to be decided). The Major Open was won by young
Australian visitor Max Chew Lee - who also has NZ citizenship, and is therefore
eligible to take up his place in the Championship next year. See our
Results page for more details. |
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New Rapid Tournament in Hawke's Bay A new
Rapid tournament joins the Myer Tan Grand Prix series for 2013. The Hawke's Bay
Rapid will be staged in Napier on Saturday 2nd March as a Class One event. It
is being organised by the Hawke's Bay Chess Club Inc, a new entity which has
developed from the former Napier and Hastings Havelock North Chess Clubs. Since
Hawke's Bay is renowned for its fine wine production and Art Deco culture, the
prize-winners in both the Open and Under-1800 tournaments will each receive a
bottle of gold-medal-winning Hawke's Bay wine, organised Art Deco activities
for players' partners and families will be available, and there will be a spot
prize of another bottle of wine for the best Art Deco dress-up. See our
Calendar Page for more information. |
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NZ Chess Academy The NZ Chess Academy
is a specialised chess training centre targeted at talented junior chess
players rated between 800 and 1400 (usually aged 8-13). The academy is designed
to improve these players' ratings by at least 200 rating points in the
subsequent 12 months. The main centre for coaching will be Auckland, but there
is an online component so players around the country can take part. ChessPower
is currently inviting applications from juniors, to form squads of 12 of
similar strength. See www.chesspower.co.nz/nzca.html
for more information. |
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National Chess Centre for New Zealand? St
Paul's Church in Devonport may soon be utilised for chess events after a
last-minute offer by Grandmaster Murray Chandler to purchase the venue was
accepted by Northern Presbytery. The site additionally includes an adjacent
large hall and stage, as well as multiple smaller rooms which would be suitable
for chess training activities. The sale, conditional on approval from Ministry
of Health, is expected to settle in the first quarter of 2013. Local MP Maggie
Barry has described the sale as "a very good outcome" following a lengthy sales
process. http://www.maggiebarry.co.nz/ http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/8049707/Chess-champ-plans-to-buy-church |
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Chess Puzzles for Kids by GM Murray Chandler
Just published by Gambit Publications Ltd - a new puzzle book for kids by
kiwi GM Murray Chandler. To help with Olympiad fund-raising, Murray offered
some hard cash to the Women's team if they helped to test the puzzles. We are
not publishing the scores! Clockwise from top left, thinking hard: Helen
Milligan, Nicole Tsoi, Judy Gao and Natasha Fairley. |
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North Shore Open Surprise winner at the
North Shore Open, with a perfect score of 5/5, was 10th seed Thorben Koop of
Germany, currently resident in Otago. Definitely one to watch for the future!
He is taking part in the George Trundle Qualifiers event and also the South
Island Championship in October. Pictured: Thorben receiving his prize from the
North Shore CC President, Neil Gunn. Full results can be found on our
Results page and also on the
North Shore CC website. |
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Plethora of NZ titles in July July was a
good month for Open Olympiad team member Luke Li (pictured, top left and top
right). He shared the NZ Junior Rapid title with Hans Gao, then won the NZ
Junior Championship and the North Island Championship. Only the North Island
Rapid escaped him - it was shared by Ralph Hart, Hans Gao, and FM Bob Smith
(pictured, bottom row). Visiting Australian FM Chris Wallis (top, middle) got
half a point more than Luke in the North Island event, and took the first
prize. Full details on our Results Page, and lots of
photos on the NZCF Facebook page,
www.facebook.com/NZChessFederation.
See also
http://www.chessdom.com/new-zealand-junior-chess-championships/
and
http://www.susanpolgar.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/new-zealand-junior-chess-championships.html. |
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Women's Olympiad Team Meeting The members
of the Women's Olympiad team and the team captains had a meeting in Ponsonby to
discuss aspects of the day-to-day organisation for the event (missing was wim
Sue Maroroa, who has been working in London for the last couple of years). From
left to right: wfm Natasha Fairley, Judy Gao, team manager Hilton Bennett, team
captain Peter Hulshof, wfm Nicole Tsoi, and wfm Helen Milligan. See our
Olympiad Page for more information
and links. You can also follow the team on the NZCF Facebook page,
http://www.facebook.com/NZChessFederation. |
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Auckland Girls Chess Championship Olympiad
team member wfm Nicole Tsoi made it a clean sweep with 6/6 at the Auckland
Girls' Championships, organised by the Waitemata Chess Club. Bob and Viv Smith,
who ran the event, reported a record entry of over 150 girls. The press turned
out too - see
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10814429,
and also our Results page for full details. |
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Withdrawal from NZ Open Olympiad Team NZCF
has announced that it has received notice of the withdrawal of IM Puchen Wang
from the Olympiad Open team for Istanbul. Puchen has been accepted for a job at
the completion of his university studies in the U.S. which will unfortunately
prevent him from taking his place on board one in the NZ team. An announcement
will be made as soon as possible regarding his replacement.
Update: NZCF has confirmed that the Open Team
replacement for IM Puchen Wang will be IM Paul Garbett of Auckland. Paul will
bring significant previous Olympiad and international experience to the team.
The final board order for the revised team will be announced after NZCF has
received advice from selectors and it has been confirmed by NZCF
council. |
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Olympiad Teams announced Open team
(in board order): IM Puchen Wang, FM Nic Croad, IM Russell Dive, FM Mike
Steadman, Luke Li Captain and team manager: Hilton
Bennett Women's team (in board order): wim Sue Maroroa, wfm Helen
Milligan, Judy Gao, wfm Nicole Tsoi, wfm Natasha Fairley Captain:
Peter Hulshof For more details see our
Olympiad Page. |
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Istanbul Olympiad confirmed The Turkish
Chess Federation has put up an official Olympiad website at
http://istanbul2012.tsf.org.tr/en/.
NZCF will continue to offer updates and information at our
Olympiad Page. |
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2nd IM norm for Nic Croad Nic, currently
resident in the UK, picked up his second IM norm with a round to spare at the
e2e4 Chess Brighton International, 15-19 February. See the crosstable and full
details at e2e4.org.uk/brighton/Feb2012/mastersA.htm.
Incidentally, Nic also won the round-robin event, ahead of higher-rated players
such as GM Igor Rausis and IM Alexandre Vuilleumier. Left: Nic at the 2008
George Trundle Masters event. |
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Istanbul Olympiad 2012 The New Zealand
Chess Federation is now calling for formal applications from players for both
the Open and Women's teams for the Chess Olympiad which is scheduled to take
place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 27th August to 10th September 2012. All
applicants must sign the Player Agreement (including Code of Conduct)
which can be found here. Those
who have already expressed an interest will be emailed directly, but at this
stage we still welcome all applications. Applications for Team Captains are
also invited. For full details of the application procedure and links to
forms see our Olympiad
Page. Applications for Team Captains are also welcomed. There is
still no official logo so here is the inside of Hagia Sophia, which can be seen
in the previous Olympiad announcement below. |
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Queenstown Chess Classic Australian GM
Darryl Johansen followed up a fine victory in the Australian Championship with
a win on tiebreak at the Queenstown Chess Classic - and the Oceania Open
Championship to boot! FM Mike Steadman overtook early leaders to snatch the New
Zealand Championship and the famous Silver Rook. Full results can be found on
our Results page; see also the
QCC site for more photos and
links. Pictured: Mike and the Silver Rook negotiate Queenstown airport;
Darryl with his somewhat more portable trophy. See also this
New
Zealand Herald article. |
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Puchen Wang, Life Senior Master Puchen Wang
has been awarded the USCF title Life Senior Master, for which he needed norms
of over 2400 (USCF rating). This is the highest national title awarded by the
USCF. Pictured: Dr. Abby Kratz, UT Dallas associate provost, makes the
ceremonial first move for IM Puchen Wang at the 2010 Grandmaster Invitational.
See the original article
here. |
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Istanbul Olympiad 2012 The New Zealand
Chess Federation is calling for 'Expressions of Interest' from players and
captains for both the Open and Women's teams for the Chess Olympiad which is
scheduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 27th August to 10th September
2012. An Expression of Interest is not an application for selection, but will
ensure that those who are interested in selection will be informed directly
about news and developments related to the Olympiad. For the Open team, players
applying should be 2150+. For the Women's team, female players over 1400.
For more information and contact details see our
Olympiad Page. |
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Kiwi chess ebooks If you have an iPad,
iPhone, or iPod touch, then check out the new app e+Chess from kiwi
company ePlusBooks.com Ltd. Read chess
books anywhere, without a set. The app is free and comes with the classic
Chess Fundamentals (Capablanca). Other books can be purchased -
including the three-volume set The Art of Chess by NZ former national
coach, Lev Aptekar. The members of ePlusBooks.com are NZCF patron Jim Benson,
super-GM programmer Craig Anderson, Hilton Bennett, Helen Milligan, and
well-known American author IM Jeremy Silman. Pictured: a screenshot from the
iPad, of Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals. |
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Interschools Finals in Mt Maunganui College, 24-25
September Bob & Viv Smith and Mt Maunganui RSA Chess Club organised
a very successful Interschools Final event. Full details can be found on our
Results Page. Auckland Grammar won the
Secondary,dropping only a couple of points on the way. Takapuna Normal
won the Intermediate, with the same remarkable score. Pigeon Mountain
from Auckland won the Primary. Pictured l to r in front: Pigeon Mountain
Primary: Yiwei Qi, Eugene Ngoi, Jonathon Ngoi, Richard Jiang and Judd
Zhan. Back: Bob Smith, Carol Frear (team manager), Peter Moss (General
Manager of Mt Maunganui RSA), and Viv Smith. |
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Juniors to challenge Masters at Queenstown Chess
Classic Experienced players from 16 different nations - many of master
and grandmaster strength - have so far entered the Queenstown Chess Classic
(15th-23rd January 2012). Potentially this sets up some fascinating clashes
with the top New Zealand and Australian junior players who are also scheduled
to play. The latest Queenstown entrant is 18-year-old Australian super-talent
Max Illingworth, already with one GM-norm under his belt after a sensational
win at the recent First Saturday event in Budapest. Photo: Christin
Andersson, a women's international master from Sweden, is one of the confirmed
entries from Europe. See www.queenstownchess.com for full
tournament details. |
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Genesis Potini - RIP From Ross
Jackson: I'm extremely sad to advise the death of Genesis Potini. I'm
informed Genesis died of a heart attack, aged 46. Genesis founded the Eastern
Knights Chess Club, in Gisbourne, the story of which was powerfully presented
in the award-winning 2003 documentary "Dark Horse." Genesis' achievements in
promoting the educational benefits of chess, particularly for a poor community,
were phenomenal. Messages may be left at
http://www.amemorytree.co.nz/remembrance.php?personid=174782. There
is a Dark Horse clip on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc2ckdOLb0g&feature=colike. |
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NZ Junior and Junior Rapid Championships
Luke Li dominated the NZ Junior Championship, winning with a perfect 7/7.
William Li finished 2nd on 6, Alex Huang 3rd on 5½, and William Zhang
4th on 5. In Luke's absence, William Zhang also made it a perfect 100%, 6/6 in
the Rapidplay event. Full details of all the age awards can be found on our
Results page. Games available here (pgn file).
Thanks are due to the sponsors, Oasis Education, Kingsland Print,
Negotiation Plus and Quality Student Diaries, for making this such a successful
event. Pictured: William Zhang at the North Shore Interschools, August
11th. |
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George Trundle NZ Masters and Qualifiers 2011
Youth triumphed at the George Trundle event this year - Bobby Cheng, former
World under-12 Champion, won the Masters with a score of 6½/9 which
qualified him for an IM norm. In the Qualifiers, Luke Li swept all the
competition aside to win with 8½/9, setting him well on the way to a
high enough FIDE rating to compete in the Masters next year. Full results and
more photos can be found on our Results Page.
Pictured: Luke Li on the left and Bobby Cheng on the right. |
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Junior Grants for 2012 Queenstown Chess Classic
We can now announce the remaining three successful applicants for the
junior grants of $400 each, made available thanks to generous sponsorship from
The Friends of Chess and The Steel Trust. They are (in alphabetical
order): Edward Rains, Nicole Tsoi, and Winston
Yao. |
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Best Game Prize boosts Queenstown Prizefund
The forthcoming Queenstown Classic (15th-23rd January 2012) will now
feature a $700 Best Game prize, courtesy of generous sponsorship from former
New Zealand international Grant Kerr. To date the Queenstown field includes 12
confirmed Grandmaster entries, the two highest-ranked being GM Li Chao (China,
FIDE rating 2669) and GM Surya Ganguly (India, FIDE rating 2627). Also vying
for a share of the $30,000 overall prizefund will be top Australian Grandmaster
GM Zong-Yuan Zhao (pictured), winner of the 2011 Oceania Zonal tournament in
Rotorua. The Queenstown Chess Classic is open to all players, of any
nationality and playing strength - for details see
www.queenstownchess.com. |
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IM norm for Nic Croad Nic Croad scored the
requisite 7/9 at the Big Slick International for an IM norm. The event was an
all-play-all organised by the 'Ginger GM,' Englishman Simon Williams. The event
is notable also for being perhaps the only chess event to suffer a suspension
of play due to rain - see the Results Page for a
link to the official website, and blogs telling the whole story. Left: Nic
at the 2008 George Trundle Masters event. |
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34th Waitakere Licensing Trust Open The
A-grade was won by Leonard Mclaren (pictured right) with 5/6. Full results and
photos can be found on the Results Page. During
the event, the NZCF announced its new Junior Development Squad. Six top
juniors, all of whom were playing here, were invited to take part in a training
session with GM Darryl Johansen, later in the year. On the left: Judy Gao, Alan
Ansell, Luke Li and Hans Gao. The other two in the initial A-Squad are Daniel
Shen and Alex Huang. |
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Junior Grants for 2012 Queenstown Chess Classic
We can now announce the first four successful applicants for the
junior grants of $400 each, made available thanks to generous sponsorship from
The Friends of Chess and The Steel Trust. They are (in alphabetical
order): Alan Ansell, Hans Gao, Luke Li and Daniel
Shen. The remaining three grants will be awarded after the completion
of the New Zealand Junior and South Island Championships in late July. |
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THINK BIG New Zealand Chess Grand Prix The
New Zealand Chess Federation is pleased to announce the appointment of a new
Grand Prix sponsorship partner for the 2011 season. The THINK BIG horse-racing
stud located in New South Wales, Australia and owned by Malaysian businessman
and chess enthusiast Dato' Tan Chin Nam (pictured left) will become the new
sponsor partnering with NZCF to support this series of events. Effective
immediately the New Zealand Chess Grand Prix will become known as the THINK
BIG New Zealand Chess Grand Prix. |
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Kiwis abroad Several kiwi players made the
annual trip to the Doeberl Cup in Canberra and the Sydney International Open in
Parramatta. The best performer was FM Mike Steadman, with 5½/9 in
Canberra and an impressive second equal with 6½/9 at the SIO (sadly,
just short of an IM norm, on a technicality). Juniors Alan Ansell and Luke Li
showed great promise for the future, with 5/9 apiece at the SIO. Links to full
results can be found on our Results Page. Photo:
Alan Ansell (left) and Luke Li in Parramatta. |
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Graham Haase - RIP Graham Haase was a
former NZ chess champion (1961/62), South Island chess champion and many times
Otago chess champion. He held the title of New Zealand chess master and was a
former Otago chess club president, New Zealand Chess Association councillor and
held roles as patron of the New Zealand Chess Friends Trust and vice-patron of
the New Zealand Chess Federation. Graham was much admired for his sportsmanship
and leadership over many years. He will be sadly missed by his chess friends
throughout New Zealand. |
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George Trundle - RIP George Trundle sadly
passed away on the evening of March 29th. George was a vice-patron of the New
Zealand Chess Federation and a dedicated chess enthusiast. George had a passion
for chess, financially supporting many chess events over the years including
the annual "George Trundle Masters" held during July in Auckland. George first
learnt chess as a POW during the Second World War and continued to play
throughout the rest of his life. He was a true gentleman and will be sadly
missed by all those who knew him. |
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Junior Grants for 2012 Queenstown Chess Classic
The New Zealand Chess Federation has $2800 in grants available to
assist junior players to participate in next January's prestigious Queenstown
Chess Classic. Thanks to generous sponsorship from The Friends of Chess and The
Steel Trust, there are seven grants available of $400 each. Any New Zealand
junior player under 18 on the date Queenstown begins (15th January 2012) is
eligible to apply. Please e-mail your name, rating and a brief supporting
paragraph to the NZCF Secretary Helen Milligan,
heligan@newzealandchess.co.nz.
Initial applications will close on May 15th 2011. In June the selectors will
announce the first four successful applicants, and the remaining three grants
will be awarded following the NZ National Junior Championships in July
2011. |
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WGM wins Hamilton under-1700 event WGM Lara
Stock (Croatia, 2346) won the Hamilton Rookies Shield on 20th February with 7
points, ahead of her father Michael Stock (Germany, 2275) with 6. Presumably
some kind of trans-oceanic misunderstanding led them to enter the event as
Carmen Lempert and Matteus Wagner (both unrated, Switzerland). Good joke folks
- now please donate your prizes to the Christchurch Earthquake appeal. Full
results - see the Hamilton CC website (http://hamiltonchess.net/events/rookies-shield/round-1-results/) Pictured:
back row Benjamin Symon, Christopher Symon, Richard Dare, Michael Stock; front
row Alphaeus Ang, Daniel Gong, Lara Stock, David Chen. See also:
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7051 http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/father-and-daughter-play-and-win-rookies-tournament-under-false-names/ |
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