Category: Whats Happening

16-Round FIDE Rated Swiss (3+2) 

Venue
Wellington Bridge Club

17 Tinakori Road, Thorndon, Wellington

Minimum $500 prize fund

Entry Fee $40

Free Entry for FMs, IMs, GMs, WFMs, WIMs, WGMs

Entry Form

Entrant List

The 33rd South Island Chess Championship will be held in Nelson from 30 September to 4 October 2026.

♟️ South Island Chess Championship (Classical)
30 September – 3 October

More info

♟️ South Island Rapid Chess Championship
4 October

More info

📍 Rutherford Hotel, Nelson
🏆 Guaranteed prize fund of $1,500 across both tournaments.

Useful links:
Events information
Registrations

Entries are now open for the 2026 Kapiti Junior Chess Championship, to be held at Paraparaumu College on 29th August.

The tournament features Open, Senior, Intermediate, and Junior individual divisions, along with the Kapiti Schools Team Cup. Players will compete in a 6-round Swiss tournament with a time control of 15 minutes plus 5 seconds per move.

The Open will be Nationally and FIDE rated, and the top 8 boards will be broadcast on Chess.com.

The Championship is open to junior players of all abilities and provides an excellent opportunity to experience tournament chess in a friendly environment.

Enter via the online Entry Form,

or contact Gordon at gordon@crazyhorsechess.co.nz for further information.

List of registered players here.

The annual match against Upper Hutt is scheduled for 8 June at the Upper Hutt clubrooms at HIBS College in Trentham. While Kapiti claimed the bragging rights last year, Upper Hutt prevailed the previous year when they had home advantage.

The number of boards has yet to be confirmed, but last year’s event saw each team field 12 players.

This is a fantastic event and definitely one of the highlights of the calendar.

Series 2 of the Leo Eichholtz Trophy gets underway on Tuesday 12th May. Ross went unbeaten in Series 1 and leads with 5.5/6, with Gordon close behind on 5/6.

Full results are available on the “Senior Club Events & Results” page.

The Kapiti Chess Club’s blue-ribbon event, the Kapiti Rapid, will be held on 23rd May 2026 at Paraparaumu College. The tournament features a 6-round Swiss format with a time control of 25 minutes plus 5 seconds per move, and will be FIDE rated.

Open to players of all levels, the event offers a range of prize categories including Open/A Grade, B Grade, C Grade, Juniors, and Top Kapiti Player. Entry is $60, with free entry for titled players and Kapiti Chess Club Members.

Players can register online here.

Registered players: vega

Format
6-Round FIDE and NZCF Rated Swiss (25+5)

Date
23 May 2026

Venue
Paraparaumu College
151 Mazengarb Road, Paraparaumu 5032

Entry Fee $60
Free entry for GMs, IMs, FMs, WGMs, WIMs, WFMs
Prize fund $1,500

Payment to Kapiti Chess Club, a/c # 06 0730 0064954 00. Include your “name” & “Rapid” as reference.  

Prize Categories
– Open / A Grade
– B Grade
– C Grade
– Junior 12+
– Junior u12
– Top Kāpiti Player (Flora Paul Memorial Trophy)

Contact
If you require additional information or clarification, please contact:

Gordon Lyall
gordon@crazyhorsechess.co.nz
ph: 029 905 8045

The Oceania Youth Chess Championships is the premier junior chess event for the region, bringing together the strongest young players from countries including New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and other Pacific nations.

This year the Championships will be held in Christchurch, New Zealand from the 9th to the 13th of April 2026.

Open to age groups U8–U18 (Open & Girls), this premier event offers international experience, FIDE-rated games, and a pathway toward the FIDE World Youth Chess Championships.

If you’re aiming to take your chess to the next level — this is the tournament to target.

Further information is avaiable from NZCF here.

With a major prize fund, sure to attract top national players, and excellent playing conditions, this promises to be a standout event on the 2026 NZ chess calendar.

♟️ $9,775 Prize Fund
6-Round FIDE & NZCF Rated Swiss (90+30)

📅 Easter Weekend: April 3, 4 & 6 (No play Sunday)
⏰ Rounds at 9:30am & 2:30pm
📍 Wellington Bridge Club, Thorndon

• Single Open Tournament
• Entry $60 | Juniors $40
• Free entry for titled players (GM, IM, FM, WGM, WIM, WFM)
• Open to all players

Enter using the online Entry Form.

Kapiti Chess Club members receive 50% discounted on the entry fee.

Coaching Camp – 29 March 2026 (1:30–5:00pm, Zoom, 3.5 hours)

Cost: $30 per player

Designed especially for NZ players preparing for Oceania, this intensive 3.5-hour online training camp (via Zoom) is tailored for 1500–2000 rated competitors seeking to elevate their calculation strength and visualization accuracy.

Participants will work through targeted drills to:

• recognise tactical triggers
• apply the CCTP method effectively
• visualise complex lines with precision
• accurately assess resulting positions

The camp builds disciplined calculation habits, reduces common analytical errors, and strengthens overall competitive decision-making — with a strong emphasis on efficient time management under pressure.

The Wellington Freestyle Chess Championship is a new event on the Wellington chess calendar, and the only freestyle chess event outside of Auckland.

Freestyle Chess, also known as Fischer Random Chess and Chess960, is a variant of chess created by former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer. The starting position of the pieces on the back rank is randomized, with a few restrictions to ensure a balanced and interesting game. The idea of Chess960 is to reduce the advantage of memorized opening theory and encourage creative and strategic play.

The event is 6 rounds of unrated Freestyle chess (25+5), and will be held at the Wellington Bridge Club on Saturday 21st March 2026. There will be a $960 Prize Fund!

Entry Fees:

Adult – $30
Junior (Born in 2006 or later) – $20

Kapiti Chess Club members receive a 50% discount.

Enter using the online Entry Form.

The first tournament of the new year, the Kingston Memorial is now underway.

Follow the results here.

A new free online course for Club members starts Friday February 13th. The course is based on one of the most influential strategy books, “How to Reassess Your Chess” by Jeremy Silman.

The course will focus on the concept of imbalances and practical decision-making in middlegames, and is suited for players 1200 elo and above. i.e. all Juniors in the Champions grade and all senior players. 

Strategy tells you what you want to do; calculation tells you whether you can do it. Check out this new online Course from NZCF at the following link:

https://newzealandchess.co.nz/nzcf-online-chess-school/