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We meet Tuesdays at the Salvation Army rear hall, 41 Bluegum Road, Paraparaumu Beach.  The Junior Club runs from 6:30pm to 7:30pm, except during school holidays, and the Senior Club runs from 7:45 pm. Find out more about us here.

“Chess is the art which expresses the science of logic” — Mikhail Botvinnik

Leo Eichholtz decided and hand and brain

Series 2 of our annual  Leo Eichholtz tournament wrapped up recently. Congratulations to Gordon who takes out the distinctive chess board trophy for the fourth time in seven years. However, it took until the penultimate round  (round 11 of 12 over the combined two series) before the result was decided in the key match up between the top 2, Gordon and David P. A close battle only getting decided with some nice endgame play in the time scramble. Guy also played solidly throughout both series joining David P for a share of second place. Final standings here.

This week we enjoyed a  fun variant night of hand and brain – and a nice change to play as a pair rather than solo. Congrats to Stanley and David who managed to go undefeated, however not without some trouble in Round 3 as hand Stanley took brain David out of his book on move 1 with 1. e4! Results here.

2025 Kāpiti Rapid Open

The 2025 Kāpiti Rapid Open was held last weekend at Paraparaumu College. The tournament drew a field of 64 players, the largest in its 31-year history. The honours were shared between former NZ champion Anthony Ker – who played in the first running of this tournament back in 1991, and who wins it for the sixth time, and up and coming former NZ junior champion Ollie Archer. Final results were:

Open
1st = IM Anthony Ker (5½/6)
1st = FM Ollie Archer (5½/6)
 
Under 1700
1st= Lucas Qu (4/6)
1st= Afique Nazeer (4/6)
1st= Raghava Kumar (4/6)
 
Under 1300
1st= Stanley Fitton (4/6)
1st= Finn O’Brien (4/6)
1st= Ian Shannon (4/6)
 
 Junior Grade Over 14 years
1st  Ollie Archer (5½/6)
2nd Luke Chang (5/6)
 
 Junior Grade 12 – 14 years
1st  Lucas Qu (4/6)
2nd= Aadhav Dhamodharan (3/6)
2nd= Jin Tan (3/6)
2nd= Zachary He (3/6)
 
Junior Grade Under 12
1st  William Sun (3/6)
2nd= Sreenikesh Miriyala (2½/6)
2nd= Sahayne Vithanalage (2½/6)
 
 Flora Paul Memorial Trophy (for leading Kāpiti player)
1st= Stanley Fitton (4/6)
1st= David Paul (4/6)
1st= Ross Jackson (4/6)

Full standings and results from each round can be found here.
Games from the top 8 boards can be found here.
And photos from the day can be found here.

Interclub Match with Upper Hutt (6/5/25)

This week we hosted the Upper Hutt Club in a friendly interclub match. This is the third year of these interclub friendlies, which are proving to be a real hit with members. This year we had a record field, with 24 players doing battle. As per the format last year, players from each team played two rounds of 25m+5s games against the same opposing club player, one as white, one as black, with a mid-match break for some pizza and socialising. It was a great night of friendly competition, played in great spirit. We warmly thank Tony and the Upper Hutt Club team for  helping make the night a success.  Thanks also to Gordon who set things up so we could play the top 8 pairs on NZCF electronic boards. These games can be found here. For the record, Kāpiti took out the honours winning 15½ to 8½.  Results can be found here.   Some photos from the night are here.

The week before saw the conclusion of the first leg of the Leo Eichholtz tournament. It was a battle between the top guns, Gordon, Ross, David P, and Lars in the final rounds, and once the dust settled, it was Gordon, Ross, David P who ended on the same points for an equal share of first place.  Congrats.  Results here.

Leo Eichholtz Rapid gets underway (15/04/25)

There was a great turnout for the first two rounds of the Leo Eichholtz rapid with 16 players paired in round 1. Numbers were boosted with some new faces and three juniors stepped up. This event is ideal preparation for the Kapiti Rapid, the Club’s blue ribbon event, which will be held on 24th May at Paraparaumu College. Round 1 saw two of the juniors take points from higher rated opponents. Stanley overpowered David P with an aggressive opening and eventually took the whole point, while Isaiah, recent winner of the Club’s junior T1 Rapid, held Brandon to a draw with the black pieces. There were no upsets in round 2, with wins going to the higher rated players. After 2 round there are four players on full points, Gordon, Brett, Ross and Lars. Current standings here.

End of Term Prizegiving (08/04/25)

In the final junior club meeting of term 1, medals were presented to the winners of both the Open & Challengers division of the T1 Rapid event. In the Open division, James and Stanley both scored  4.5/6, however James edged Stanley on tie-break to take the silver medal, with Stanley collecting bronze. Isaiah with an unbeaten performance of 5.5/6 deservedly took the gold. This was an excellent individual performance and Isaiah only dropped a 1/2 point when he received a bye in round 6.

In the Challengers Division, Oscar M and Charlotte won tough matches in the final round to put them on 4 points and elevate them to a share of third place and the bronze medal, while Orlando won an impressive 5 games to take silver. Gold went to Alex T who had a great tournament and was unbeaten on 5.5/6 to the take the top spot by a slim 1/2 point margin.

There was also a fun blitz team event, and after 3 rounds of frantic chess, the team of James, Josh, Elia, Ryan & Juneau took home the prizes.

 

Freebird Series 1 Results (08/04/25)

Heading into the final 4 games of series 1, Ross and Gordon held the lead with 3.5 from 4. In the pivotal match in round 6, Gordon managed to grab the full point against Ross. David S got the better of David P in R5 to stay in touch with the leader but his challenge faltered with a loss to Chris in R6. Gordon held off Chris’s challenge in R7 and secured Series 1 of the Freebird Trophy with a round to spare. Stanley had a strong showing grabbing points from higher rated players to make a tie for fourth with Mikhael, Chris and Ross. David S was third and David P had a solid event finishing second with six points.  Final standings here.

Ross clinches first trophy of 2025

Despite starting every game with a time deficit, Ross managed to hold his nerve to claim the Kingston Memorial Trophy with 5 points from 6. He edged out Gordon in second with 4.5, and Lars in third place with 4. However, things could have been different when in the last round David S resigned a position against Ross which potentially had some practical drawing chances, although the path to an endgame was complicated. Congratulations Ross.

Leader stumbles in penultimate round of Kingston Memorial (18/03/25)

On top board both Mikhael and Ross played a precise game, but Ross ultimately lost on time in an even position. On board two Gordon had a space advantage early but failed to lock down the queenside which enabled Chris to free his knight and create counter play which ultimately won him the exchange. However, on move 31 Chris playing black offered a draw which was accepted. Despite black having a material advantage, white had a strong bishop pair and Stockfish assessed the position as equal. Lars had a good win to stay in touch with the leaders. With one round to go Ross leads on 4, with Gordon on 3.5 and Lars on 3. Full results and standings here.

Isaiah remains only unbeaten player (18/03/25)

Isaiah remains the only player on full points after four rounds with his win with the white pieces against the ever improving Tautua. There were also good wins for James and Stanley who remain a point behind the leader with two rounds to go. In the Challengers Division, Alex T took down the tournament leader Orlando on top board. There were good wins for Riki, Ryan, Lachlan and Oscar M. With two rounds to go Alex T leads by a half point from William, Orlando and Riki.

Photo: James v Devin

Junior T1 Rapid reaches halfway mark (04/03/25)

The junior T1 Rapid competition reached the halfway mark with 3 rounds completed. In the Open Division, Isaiah continued his winning form with a good win with the black pieces on board 1. Tautua and Devin, on board 2, were unable to create any imbalance and a draw was a fair result. There were good wins for James, Stanley, Josh and Maximus. Isaiah remains the only player on maximum points but there are 6 players in the chasing pack only one point behind.

In the Challengers Division, Orlando had a good win on top board, and he remains the only unbeaten player with 3 points. He is closely followed by Alex T and William, who are only 1/2 point behind, with a further 6 players on 2 points. There is still lots to play for!

Strong turnout for Blitz night (04/03/25)

There was a great turnout for Series 1 of the blitz competition, with 18 players registered. The numbers were bolstered by 5 juniors who competed admirably. The higher numbers enabled 10 rounds of exciting play. At the end of a long night the lead was shared on 8 points between Lars, Brendan & Gordon, with David P  one point further back. 

First junior tournament of the year gets underway

The first tournament for the juniors got underway last Tuesday. The event is a 6 round Swiss format with two divisions, the Open section with 15 registered players and the Challengers division with 20 registered players. Both divisions have a 10+5 time format. In the Open section, Junior Club champ  James squandered a good position against Isaiah who scrambled well under time pressure. Devin with the white pieces had a good win against Jingwei, and there were wins for new members Stanley and Lachie.  In the Challengers section, there were good wins for Charlotte, Alex C, Alex T and Orlando. It’s early days so still everything to play for!

Juniors take on Club Champion

The second night of junior chess was a fun night with the highlight, a simultaneous match with 11 juniors playing the current senior Club Champion (Gordon). Despite some challenging and complex games, Gordon managed to hold his own against all players. There were some strong performances by Tautua, James, Stanley, Isaiah and Tal who held out the longest.

Final night of the year

The final night of Junior Chess was a fun night which started with a chess themed quiz. The quiz was tough but the En Croissant team of James, Alex T, Charlie, Devin, Oscar M, William and Oscar L, took home the prizes after a tense tie breaker! The highlight of the evening was the prize giving. NZCF Badges and Certificates were awarded to James, Lucian, Maxilus, Tal and Josh. The presentation to the new junior Club champions followed. In the Challengers division, Manahi received the bronze, Tautua the Silver, and Ronan received the gold medal and the Challengers Cup. In the Open division, Roy took the bronze and Isaiah the silver. James took gold and received the Junior Club Championship trophy for 2024. The Most Improved Player was awarded to Oscar M, who showed a big improvement in his results from the beginning of the year. He finished the year strongly with an impressive 5th place in the Challengers Championship. The Player of the Year award was a tough decision, which could have gone to several players. Ultimately it was awarded to Isaiah, who was on the podium in all 3 internal competitions this year, and who won the Intermediate section at the Chess Power Horowhenua regionals earlier in the year. Congratulations to all. However, no one went home empty handed as all members received Christmas goodie bags… happy holidays.

Photo: Congrats to James, the Kāpiti Junior Club Champion for 2024. More photos of the evening quiz and prizegiving for both juniors can be found here.

In the seniors we also held our annual prizegiving for the year – Ten trophies for events played over the year were awarded. Congrats to Gordon who took out the Club Champion trophy, and to Ross who takes out the Glenys Mills Grand Prix trophy for best overall performance over the year. All the winners and runners-up can be can be found here.  After prizegiving everyone adjourned to a nearby local for some very enjoyable drinks and pizza (photo).  More photos can be found here.

That’s it for the 2024 year. It’s been an enjoyable,  active and successful year. Thanks to everyone who supported the Club during the year. See you in 2025. 

Club Champs decided

Junior Club
 
In the final round of the Junior Club Championship, Devin and Josh played an interesting game, in which Josh won with a clever mating trap. On board 2, title challenger Isaiah fought off an aggressive early attack by Jingwei to take the full point. However this was not enough to catch tournament leader James, who won with the white pieces, despite a valiant effort by his opponent Lucian. By the narrowest margin, James held on to be the Junior Club Champion for 2024, edging out Isaiah by only 1/2 a point, with Roy picking up third place.
 
In the Challengers Division, things came to a head in the last round with the two front runners meeting on board 1. Tautua playing black needed a win while Ronan, playing white, needed only a draw to secure the title. Ronan who has been in great form throughout this tournament, maintained his high level of play and held off a strong challenge from Tautua to win the Challengers Division. Tautua held on for second place, while Manahi took a deserved third place. There were also good performances from Orlando, Oscar M and Alex T, all on 4 points from 6, just outside the medals.
 
There was also NZCF Level 2 awards for William, Tautua, Oscar M, Milo, Riki, Elia, Alex T & Lachlan (photo).

Senior Club

It was an exciting finish to the Senior Club Champs this week. Most games were long and close fought battles – despite the difference in ratings between some of the players. David S pushed Gordon hard and even had a good advantage in the endgame, but unable to see a way to make progress, and offered the draw which was enough for Gordon to secure first place outright and get his name of the Tom Powell Cup for Club Champion for the sixth time. Congrats. David P was also made to work hard for his win against Brandon, where again much of the game was fairly even.  He finishes runner-up. Other chasers, Guy and Ross fought out another close game, again with both halving the point., but enough for Ross to finish third. In the B-grade (for players under a 1600 NZCF rating),  our newest member, Mikhael faced our longest-serving member John in another close contest,  eventually prevailing to secure the Ab Borren trophy for the B grade champion. Congrats. Final results and standings here.

Nest week is our final night of the year, quiz and prizegiving for the Juniors, and prizegiving and social night for the seniors. See you there.

Club news 27-11-2024

In the Junior Club
 
The penultimate round in the junior club championship saw an upset on board 1, when tournament leader James lost an exiting game to Isaiah (photo). Isaiah playing white entered a winning endgame but had only 47 seconds on the clock, while James had 8 minutes. Despite the pressure of the clock, Isaiah held his nerve and converted the win. There were also good wins for Roy, Jingwei and Tal. With one round to go the standings have narrowed at the top. James is still the front runner with 4 points, closely followed by Isaiah and Roy, both on 3.5. 
In the Challengers Division, tournament leader Ronan maintained his good form with a win over Noah. Tautua on board 2 keeps up the challenge with a win with the white pieces against Elia. There were also good wins for Manahi, Ryder, Oscar M, Alex T, Ana and Chester, while Orlando and Arlo agreed a draw on board 4. Heading into the last round, its a two horse race with Ronan on 5 points, half a point ahead of Tautua. The race for bronze is tight with Manahi and Ryder leading the chasing pack. It’s set up for a nail-biting finale to the season in both junior divisions.
 
In the Senior Club
 
Round 6, the penultimate round of the Club Champs saw no upsets, with the stronger rated player in each match-up coming away with the win. Gordon (on 5½ from 6), David P and Ross (both on 4½) had wins over Mikhael, Guy, and Lars respectively, and now emerge as the only remaining contenders for the title with one round to play.  Stay tuned to see if Gordon can secure his fifth title, or if a last round loss sees the other two catch him for a three-way share of the Tom Powell trophy. Results and standings here.
 
 

Club Champs update

From the juniors
 
Round 4 saw tournament leader James put on a strong performance against Roy to take the full point, and on board 2 Daniel prevailed with the white pieces against Jingwei. The game of the round was Devin against Isaiah (photo). This game was a real to and fro encounter which either player could have won. With both players getting low on time, Devin missed a forced draw and Isaiah clinch the point. There were also wins for Maximus and Tal. With two rounds to go James has a 1 point lead over Daniel. In the Challenges section, Ronan maintained his unbeaten run with a win with the black pieces against Orlando. On board 2 Tautua maintained his challenge with a win on board 2 against Ryder. There were also good wins for Elia, Lachlan, Ella and Ana. Ronan leads with 4 points from 4 games followed by Tautua on 3½, Lachlan, Elia and Noah all on 3.
 
From the seniors
 
A crunch week this week as Round 5 saw some key match-ups in the leading group. Current leaders Gordon and David battled to a tight draw, while chaser Mikhael had  some potential chances in a competitive game with Ross, but Ross’s experience and skills showed in the endgame and he was able to nicely convert the game. With two rounds to go Gordon leads on 4½, with  David P, Ross and Guy still in contention 1 point behind on 3½. Current standings are here.
 
From the Juniors
This week the juniors took a midway break from the Club Championship in order for 10 students to take their NZCF Level 2 Badge Test. Students who take this test have a good basic knowledge of chess fundamentals including the relative value of the pieces, basic checkmates, pawn promotion and an understanding of the special moves in chess, namely en passant and castling. Last term we ran Level 1 tests for 12 students, who were recently presented with their badges and certificates. The successful recipients were  Manahi, Noah, Jordan, Charlie, Ryan, Lachlan, Chester, Isaac, Jack, Alex, Benjamin and Tobias.
 


From left to right: Manahi, Noah, Jordan, Charlie, Ryan, Lachlan, Chester, Isaac.

From the Seniors
Seniors also took a midway break in their Club Championship to play the third and final leg of the Blitz Cup. Gordon, along with visitor Brendan Reedy shared top honours on the night, both with 8 wins from 10. Next was Lars with 7, followed a chasing bunch of 4 players on 6. When the results from this leg are combined with the first two legs played earlier in the year, Lars and Gordon share first place and  share the Blitz Cup for 2024. Runner-up  was David P. Congratulations.
Series 3 results are here, and combined final standings are here.
 


Photo: Lars and Ernest

Club Champs heating up

We are now mid-way through our Club Champs are things are starting to heat up.

In round 3 of the Junior Club Championship there were wins across the board for the players playing black! James squeezed out a win against Brock on Board 1, to remain the only unbeaten player in the Open division. On board 2, Roy got the better of Isaiah, and there was also wins for Jingwei and Devin. At the halfway stage, James leads with a perfect score of 3 points, closely followed by Roy on 2.5, with Jingwei and Daniel on 2.

In the Challengers section, Ronan maintained his perfect score with a win over Arol on board 1. Tautua miraculously held a draw in a losing endgame against Noah on board 2. There were also wins for Ryder, Orlando and Manahi, who are all in the mix. At the halfway stage Ronan heads the field with 3 points, followed by Tautua, Orlando and Ryder on 2.5.

Meanwhile, another night of long hard fought games running past 11pm in round 4 of the Senior Club Champs. This included possibly one of the deciding matches with front-runners Ross and Gordon, who battled a closed tight position with Gordon finally prevailing after 53 moves. In another key match-up, Guy and Mikhael also battled late into the evening, eventually agreeing a draw in an opposite-coloured bishop and pawn ending. Meanwhile, in contrast to the long games, David S managed an nice 11 move checkmate against John, although the subsequent casual game proved to be significantly more competitive and closer. Currently Gordon leads on 4, with David P on 3, and Guy, Mikhael and Ross all within reach on 2½. Current standings here.

Club Champs underway

Last night saw the commencement of the Junior Club Championship. The event is split into two divisions, the Open and the Challengers. In round one, the marquee game was Jingwei against James. James played a very controlled game, building up a dangerous kingside attach while limiting Jingwei’s counter play on the queenside. Ultimately James crashed through on the kingside and sealed the point against a dangerous opponent. In the Challenger’s section, Noah and Alex C played out a draw on top board, with the remaining matches going to form.

Meanwhile, after two rounds of the Senior Club Championship, Gordon and Guy remain unbeaten on 2 points, with wins over Lars and David S respectively. Other top contenders, Ross and David P fought out a draw to sit just behind on 1½, along with Ernest who had a win over Robert. With six weeks to go however, it’s still early days yet. Results are here.