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 Happy New Year to All

Some of you will know that the NZ Chess Championships are underway in Palmerston North and two club members are taking part.  Alan Winfield and Ross Jackson. Ross is playing in the NZ Open and Is seeded 30th  in a field of 38 players and Alan is seeded 12th  in a field of 44 players in the Major Open. Here’s how Ross and Alan went:

NZ Open Round 1 – Ross Jackson
Ross’ first match was against one of NZ senior players ‘Bob Smith” who with a rating of 2201 almost 200 pts higher than Ross, was going to be a challenge.  Ross rose to this extremely well and came away with a highly credible draw.

NZ Major Open Round 1– Alan Winfield
Being in the top half of the draw, Alan had a little easier pairing against John Lui a Junior at Auckland Chess Club.  Coming away with an expected victory was a good way to start the tournament. 

NZ Open Round 2 – Ross Jackson
The 2nd round for was again a tough one with him drawn against Belgian Fide Master   Johan Goormachtigh, Despite a solid game the Belgium took the game.  With a draw and  loss Ross stands at 27th place.   Flying the flag for our region, IMs Anthony Ker and Russell Dive are in a 3 way tie at the top.

NZ Major Open Round 2 – Alan Winfield
Round 2 saw Alan drawn White against Oliver Dai of Howick -Pakuranga .   Using his favourite London System Opening Oliver succumbed to king side pressure and blundered a piece after 17 moves.  The game carried on for a further 20 moves before Black finally resigned.