Junior Club News

The penultimate round of the Junior Club Champs delivered some mighty battles across the boards.

Champions Division:

On board one, Isaiah – playing Black against Stanley – resourcefully defended an inferior endgame and ultimately claimed the full point in a tense time scramble. On board two, James (White) faced George in another closely fought endgame, with James successfully converting his pawn advantage. There were also strong wins for Jingwei, Ronan, and Josh.

Heading into the final round, the race could not be tighter: Jingwei and Isaiah lead on 4.5/6, with James and Stanley close behind on 4/6.

Challengers Division:

Remarkably, every player with the Black pieces won their game this round! On the top boards, the leader Oscar M and Elia both secured important victories. Lachlan bounced back from last week’s loss with a solid win against the in-form Maxwell. There were also good wins for Noah and Ryder.

With one round to go, Oscar M and Elia share the lead on 5/6, each having lost only once. Lachlan keeps his title hopes alive, sitting just behind on 4.5/6. In the chasing pack, Maxwell, Charlie, Ryan, Noah, and Ryder are all on 3 points.

With everything still to play for, the final standings won’t be decided until the very last game is complete!

Top to bottom: Stanley v Isaiah, George v James

With five rounds now complete in the Junior Club Championship, everything is set for an exciting finish over the final two rounds.

Champions Division

The big surprise of the night came on board one, where Stanley was unable to convert his initiative against Jingwei. After defending accurately for much of the game, Jingwei reached a balanced endgame – but a rare slip from Stanley allowed him to seize the opposition and convert the position for the only Black win of the evening.

There were also impressive victories from Tal, Josh, and Orlando, the latter making a strong return in his first appearance since coming back from overseas.

After five rounds, Stanley still leads on 4/5, but he is now closely pursued by Jingwei, George, and Isaiah, all on 3.5/5.

Challengers Division

On the top board, Elia edged out tournament leader Lachlan in a tense encounter. Oscar M, Ryan, and Charlie also recorded important wins to tighten the standings even further.

With two rounds to go, the race could not be closer: Oscar M and Elia share the lead on 4/5, with Lachlan just behind on 3.5/5, and Maxwell, Charlie, and Ryan in the chasing pack on 3/5.

Both divisions are poised for a thrilling conclusion—everything is still to play for!

Stanley v Jinwei

The sixth running of the Kāpiti Junior Open and Schools Championship saw another great turnout, with 83 players along with parents and caregivers from all around the Kāpiti, Horowhenua and Wellington region filling the playing venue at Paraparaumu College. It was fantastic atmosphere as kids competed individually and as part of their school over four divisions, and for the best Kāpiti-Horowhenua school.

Congratulations to Thomas van der Hoorn and Luke Chang this year’s joint open Junior Championship winners. In the school age grade events, congratulations to Jack Gregory took out the Senior grade, Isaiah Heta the intermediate grade, and Miriyala Sreenikesh the Primary grade. This year’s School Trophy, awarded to the top performing Kāpiti or Horowhenua school, was won by Kāpiti College narrowly ahead of the Kāpiti home school team.

Full results and standings can be found by clicking on the vega links  on the tournament page here.   Photos from the day, including all prize-winners, can be found here.

The Kāpiti College team – 2025 Kāpiti junior championship school champions

In the Champions Division, Stanley had a strong showing, scoring 7 points from 8 games and dropping only one game to James in Round 4. The battle for the minor placings was extremely close, with three players finishing on 6 points. On tie-break, Jingwei claimed second place, while Isaiah secured third.

Oscar M delivered a tremendous performance in the Challengers Division, effectively wrapping up the tournament with two rounds to spare. He finished on 7 points, losing only his final game to Ryder. Elia impressed with 6 points and just one loss, taking second place. Ryder had a strong second-half surge, winning his last four games to claim third.

It’s clear the standard is improving across the board—everyone is competitive and scoring wins. We’re excited to see what unfolds at the Junior Club Championship in Term 4!

With two rounds remaining in the Champions division, Stanley and James share the lead on 5/6, closely followed by Jingwei and Isaiah on 4 points. It’s shaping up to be a tight finish.

In the Challengers division, Oscar M leads with a perfect 6/6 and a commanding two-point margin. Elia follows on 4 points, with Riki, Cassius, Oscar L, Ryder, Jordan, and Noah all on 3.5, battling for the minor placings.

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.

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.

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.