The New Zealand Chess Federation (NZCF) runs a badge scheme which takes students through the fundamentals of the game in level 1, through to advanced topics in level 4. Junior coaching at the Club is based on the NZCF curriculum, and since the junior Club was established, more than 100 certificates have been issued. In term two we had great pleasure in awarding further certificates which highlights the progress the members are making. Four students achieved NZCF Leve1 certificates and badges (Pawn), nine achieved Level 2 (Knight) and a further two achieved Level 3 (Bishop). Fantastic effort and great progress, congratulations to all.
Author: Gordon Lyall
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Junior members compete at NZCF Interschool championship
A number of junior members recently had the honour of representing their school at the recent NZCF Wellington Region Interschool Championship. The Kapiti Horowhenua region sent 9 teams to the event, and 14 of our junior members represented their school. Notable performances included 3rd place for Levin in the Intermediate division which was the most competitive section with 23 teams competing. Individually, Jingwei Xu representing Raumati Beach School, had a great tournament in the Primary division, where he shared the board 1 prize with 5 points from 6. Congratulations to all.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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As our year draws to a close, remember we have prizegiving coming up next Tuesday to celebrate the year gone by. Remember to bring a plate of food and invite all your family / friends to come along.
A new photo gallery has been put up with photos from 2018 club nights – click here to see it.
Also, here is a short video where Valera explains how he sacrificed much of his material to checkmate Rick Lowe:
See you all at the prizegiving!
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Another four rounds of the Freebird (10+5) championship were held, to finish series one. Hamish brought along his pal, Jay, who is visiting from overseas. After emerging undefeated, Wellington player Ross Jackson seized first place by half a point despite some late arrivals. Since there are no byes in the second and third series, other contenders have a strong chance of catching up, such as Alan Winfield and Alistair McGowan, each only half a point behind. Among the juniors, Mark Summers caught up to Valera to claim first equal. Next week play begins on the second series, where the competition will only get fiercer! As always, full results are here.
Further discussion was also held on our plans for the club championships – one compromise option could be to use a form of accelerated pairing. Club captain Lars Dobbertin-King will show the club what that would look like next week.
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A successful chess variants night was held, where many in the club enjoyed discovering new variations of our beloved game. Alan Winfield and Ross Jackson had an epic showdown to determine who was the best at Fischer random, with perennial tournament winner Alan Winfield taking the prestigious prize. Valera discovered a new passion for Stratego Chess, Hamish dared to play Lars in Kung Fu chess, and everyone had fun.
The first four rounds of the first series of our Freebird (10+5) tournament were held. This six-night, 24 round extravaganza is the longest tournament in the club in terms of number of rounds, but capturing an early lead is still a good advantage. Alan Winfield, Gordon Lyall and Ross Jackson top the standings, with Guy Burns and Lars Dobbertin-King chasing just half a point behind. Valera leads the juniors by a slim margin. Full results here. Play continues with the next four rounds scheduled for next week.
The committee discussed whether we want to hold a Swiss-format club championship or one with a round-robin among the top “A grade” players and something else for the rest of the club. This will be decided in a future committee meeting and many issues on both sides of the argument were discussed. Members with opinions on the topic are strongly encouraged to contact one of the committee members, either on a club night, or using the contact details on the governance page.
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Leo Eichholtz Tournament Concluded
The final rounds of the tournament had few surprises, with Gordon taking a bye assuring him of third place, and Alan having already won the tournament. Alistair McGowan pushed through some strong opposition to claim second. Mark Summers managed to win the juniors with a late victory in the fifth round.
Blitz Tournament Continues
Alan Winfield now leads the tournament outright, as David Paul drops to join Lars Dobbertin-King in second place. Both players are well ahead of Guy Burns, who played an excellent night of chess to get to third. Hamish Lester still leads the juniors, and Mark Summers made up for his previous poor performances in Blitz to achieve top junior performance of the night. He also checkmated Alan Winfield.
As always, full results available here.
Ratings List Updated
The latest ratings have been sent off to NZCF for their verification. They are based on the John Kingston and Leo Eichholtz tournaments.
Upper Hutt Open Played
Some of our club members traveled to Upper Hutt to compete in their open tournament. All of our club members played really well, particularly Alan Winfield, who scored 2.5 in the “A” grade, and Lars Dobbertin-King, who scored 3 in the “B” grade. Well done also to David Scott, Valera and Mark Summers for their performances in a difficult and highly competitive tournament. Eventually, the ratings from this tournament will be added on as well.
Next Week
Since we are about half-way through our year in chess, we’ll be playing a short Fischer Random tournament next week. We’ll also “have a go” at other chess variants like Suicide Chess, Transfer Chess, and this author’s favorite, Stratego Chess. It’ll be a blast!
Following that, we’re back to our action-packed tournaments, with our Freebird (15 minute) tournament poised to produce more exciting rapid chess action.
