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.
Author: Gordon Lyall
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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.
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The latest results have been added to the results page.
Some highlights include Club President Alan Winfield winning the tournament outright with a near-perfect score, and no less than 7 (yes, seven) players within half a point of second place. Mark Summers and Valera are tied among the juniors. It seems that the prizegiving will have plenty of shared prizes this year – we’ll need to print some extra certificates. The last two rounds will be crucial for many players who are still very close together. Every move will count!
Next weekend is the Upper Hutt Rapid tournament. We have a bunch of players entered so we’re looking forward to an entertaining series of games there, too.
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Play continued on the Leo Eichholtz Memorial competition, played at a 25+5 time control. Thanks to prospective new members Conor, Dylan, Luca and returning member Geoffrey, we had an excellent turnout tonight. Coupled with the beginning of a new series, this led to some very fun match-ups. Guy Burns, Alistair McGowan, Gordon Lyall and Alan Winfield all top the standings for the second series, with Alan retaining the overall lead and Gordon pulling ahead of the other contenders for second place. Three more club nights and six more games stand between these greats and final victory, with numerous other contenders still in striking distance. Among the juniors, Valera captured the lead tonight, and Hamish won his first regular competition game in the club with an impressive win over Rick. Full results here.
This play followed on from another successful ladder night, where Mark Summers retained his position at the top of the ladder. Both Lars Dobbertin-King and Gordon Lyall made significant moves up the ladder, however, and thus the current champion will have many threats in the weeks ahead. Full standings and rules here.
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This post details recent news from around the chess club; we’re hoping to go back to a more regular schedule of updates on the website from this week onwards.
Kapiti 2000 Results Available!
The Kapiti 2000 was held – a full breakdown of how everyone did is available here. Overall the event was a success, and the committee are already looking at how we can make the event even bigger and better in future years! Well done to all the winners, especially Jeremy Knowles from Upper Hutt who took out the top prize.
John Kingston Memorial 3-way tie
The John Kingston Memorial 55+5 tournament ended in a 3-way tie between Alistair McGowan, Alan Winfield and David Paul. Well done also to Ross Jackson, Gordon Lyall, and Guy Burns who were not far behind. This is the second time in the history of the tournament that the trophy will be won by three competitors, and the fourth time the winner will be shared – find more trivia in our hall of fame. This represents excellent and consistent performances by all three players throughout a long and toughly contested tournament – see full results here.
Blitz Tournament Continues
The second round of our 2+3 competition saw a number of changes on the table. David Paul has pulled up ahead, tying Alan Winfield for the top position, while Lars Dobbertin-King drops back to second place. Alistair McGowan showed an impressive improvement over his first round performance, tying Ross Jackson for third. Newcomer to the tournament Hamish Lester currently leads the juniors, although the best-performing junior on the night was Savannah Edwards, and Valera is still not too far behind. Full results here.
Leo Eichholtz Memorial 25+5 First Series Played
Our 25+5 tournament has begun with an exciting first series of 6 games, which will soon be followed by a second series to determine the overall winner. Over-achiever of the year Alan Winfield currently heads the pack with a series of impressive performances, but only by half a point. He is chased by a trio of wolves in David Paul, Gordon Lyall and David Scott, who each have won some very impressive games so far already. With six more rounds to play, plenty of contenders are still vying for the title, making it anyone’s game. Mark Summers and Valera currently share the lead among the juniors. Full results here.
Our next club night sees another round of play in our ladder tournament, which is a new 25+5 tournament we’re holding this year. Following that we will return to play the second series of the Leo Eichholtz Memorial 25+5.
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The final round of the John Kingston Memorial 55+5 competition is coming up this week, and the final round looks to be a clincher, with three very strong competitors sharing top position – Alistair McGowan, Alan Winfield, and David Paul. Assuming all three win their game, we might end up with a three-way tie for the top spot! Among the juniors, Valera holds a slim half-point advantage over his nearest rival, Mark. After this week’s final, we’ll have a week of Blitz 3+2 action, before beginning our 25+5 rapid tournament! There have been no ladder games played in this time. See full results here.
Don’t forget about our Kapiti 2000 tournament coming up soon!
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Kapiti 2000 Registrations Open!
Our new-format rapid tournament is almost here, and we’re ready to start taking registrations! Click here to find our more about this exciting new tournament and keep checking this site for updates.
