Kapiti Chess Club is saddened to hear of the passing of Setefano Mikaio and offers condolences to his family and friends. Setefano will be remembered for his passion, determination and proven skill in the game of chess. He impressed people with his warm, gentle and positive manner. His presence will be missed.   

David Paul continues his John Kingston Memorial Tournament lead, closely followed by a large field on 3 and 2.5 points. Next week is the AGM — 7 March — an important occasion where paid members elect the Committee, set fees for the year and discuss general business. A key point of discussion will be finances, as the Club made a loss last year of nearly $650—we have options of raising our fees, sponsorship or pulling out of the Chess Federation—if you have some good ideas, please let us know….

The Club is humming at the moment as 5 new players joust with members. Our 60-60 John Kingston Memorial Trophy is in full swing and current 60-60 trophy holder David Paul leads the pack on 3 points, closely followed by Alistair McGowan and Setafano Mikaio on 2.5, with a large pack on 2 points.

Kapiti Chess Club began the year’s play with a rapid 5 Minute Tournament. 18 players traded blows over the board, including 3 Junior visitors for the night. Setefano Mikaio and Paul Frost tied first with 5 points each, closely followed by a pack of players on 4 points. Johnny Hynes and visiting brothers Vinicius and Victor Faguundes were the top Juniors on 2 points.

Next week we start our 60-60 John Kingston Memorial Trophy, with a new timeframe of:  50 minutes on the clock and with each move, 10 seconds is added.

Kapiti Chess starts soon Wednesday 1 February. The Queenstown Chess Classic has just finished and FM Mike Steadman is now NZ Chess Champion.

For further results check out:  

 http://newzealandchess.co.nz/results.html
Former Kapiti Player Roy Seabrook played well, finishing with 4 points, ranking  89 out of 148 players.