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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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

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!

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. 

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!

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.