The NZCF Wellington Regional Chess Championship was held recently over three days.
Primary Division
The Primary Division attracted a record number of entries, increasing from 18 teams last year to 30 this year. To accommodate the 120 students playing simultaneously, the event was moved to the larger venue at Amesbury School.
Kapiti schools were well represented by Raumati Beach School and Paraparaumu Beach School, both of which finished strongly with 6 match points, placing 13th and 14th respectively out of the 30 teams.
There were several standout performances from Kapiti students. Jingwei Xu (Raumati Beach School), who shared the Board 1 prize last year—awarded to the highest-scoring player on board one—went one better this year, scoring a perfect 6 wins from 6 games to claim the prize outright.
There were also impressive performances from Arlo Ruigrok (Raumati Beach School), who scored 4.5 points, Gursifat Singh (Paraparaumu Beach School) with 5 points, and Ryan Ge (Paraparaumu Beach School), who scored a solid 3 points on Board 1, along with a number of other encouraging performances from Kapiti player.
The Division was won by last years champions, Amesbury School, who won all their 6 matches. Avalon came second with Kelson in third place. All three teams have booked their place in the National Final’s to be held in Auckland later this year.
Primary – Team Standings
Primary – Player Ranking
Primary – Photos
Intermediate Division
The Intermediate Division was held at HIBS and attracted 22 teams. Kapiti schools performed strongly, with Raumati Beach School finishing in an impressive 5th place, winning three matches, drawing two, and losing only one.
Paraparaumu Beach School entered two teams, which finished 9th and 11th respectively. This was an excellent result, particularly as it was the first major competition for many of the students.
Orlando Liu (Raumati Beach School) had an outstanding tournament, winning the Board 3 prize with a perfect score of 6 wins from 6 games.
There were also strong performances from a number of Kapiti players, including Eli Bell (Raumati Beach School) and Charlie Atmore (Paraparaumu Beach School) on Board 1; Aidan Robertson and Gryphon Corlett (both PBS) on Board 2; Casey Williams and Finn Little (both PBS) on Board 3; and Maxwell Zeng (PBS) on Board 4.
The division was won by Thorndon School, with Hutt Intermediate taking the silver medal after edging out Whitby Collegiate on tie-break for second place. It is expected that all three teams will go on to represent Wellington at the National Finals.
Intermediate – Team Standings
Intermediate – Player Ranking
Intermediate – Photos
Secondary Division
The Secondary Division was also held at HIBS and attracted 23 teams. Kapiti was represented by two teams from Paraparaumu College and a Kapiti Home School team.
Paraparaumu College had a solid tournament, finishing in 6th place after winning three matches, drawing one, and losing two. The Kapiti Home School team finished 11th but lost only one match throughout the tournament—a fine performance from a very young team.
Once again, there were some excellent individual performances. Isaiah Heta (Kapiti Home School) shared the Board 1 Prize after scoring 5.5 points from 6 games. Daniel Fay (Paraparaumu College) narrowly missed out on a prize but still recorded an impressive 4.5 points against strong opposition. On Board 2, James Patterson (PC) also scored 4.5 points. Alex Turchie (PC) scored a solid 4 points on Board 3, while Monty Parr (PC) matched that total on Board 4. Playing against older students, Ronan McGrath (Kapiti Home School) scored a very respectable 2.5 points.
The biggest upset of the tournament came in the final round. The reigning national champions, Wellington College A, who had won the title for the previous two years, needed only a draw to retain the championship. However, they were defeated by Wellington College B, who overtook them to claim the trophy and gold medal. Onslow College finished third and, together with Wellington College team, will also represent Wellington at the National Finals.
Secondary – Team Standings
Secondary – Player Ranking
Secondary – Photos
