Junior Club News

  • Club Champs update

    From the juniors
     
    Round 4 saw tournament leader James put on a strong performance against Roy to take the full point, and on board 2 Daniel prevailed with the white pieces against Jingwei. The game of the round was Devin against Isaiah (photo). This game was a real to and fro encounter which either player could have won. With both players getting low on time, Devin missed a forced draw and Isaiah clinch the point. There were also wins for Maximus and Tal. With two rounds to go James has a 1 point lead over Daniel. In the Challenges section, Ronan maintained his unbeaten run with a win with the black pieces against Orlando. On board 2 Tautua maintained his challenge with a win on board 2 against Ryder. There were also good wins for Elia, Lachlan, Ella and Ana. Ronan leads with 4 points from 4 games followed by Tautua on 3½, Lachlan, Elia and Noah all on 3.
     
    From the seniors
     
    A crunch week this week as Round 5 saw some key match-ups in the leading group. Current leaders Gordon and David battled to a tight draw, while chaser Mikhael had  some potential chances in a competitive game with Ross, but Ross’s experience and skills showed in the endgame and he was able to nicely convert the game. With two rounds to go Gordon leads on 4½, with  David P, Ross and Guy still in contention 1 point behind on 3½. Current standings are here.
     
  • From the Juniors
    This week the juniors took a midway break from the Club Championship in order for 10 students to take their NZCF Level 2 Badge Test. Students who take this test have a good basic knowledge of chess fundamentals including the relative value of the pieces, basic checkmates, pawn promotion and an understanding of the special moves in chess, namely en passant and castling. Last term we ran Level 1 tests for 12 students, who were recently presented with their badges and certificates. The successful recipients were  Manahi, Noah, Jordan, Charlie, Ryan, Lachlan, Chester, Isaac, Jack, Alex, Benjamin and Tobias.
     


    From left to right: Manahi, Noah, Jordan, Charlie, Ryan, Lachlan, Chester, Isaac.

    From the Seniors
    Seniors also took a midway break in their Club Championship to play the third and final leg of the Blitz Cup. Gordon, along with visitor Brendan Reedy shared top honours on the night, both with 8 wins from 10. Next was Lars with 7, followed a chasing bunch of 4 players on 6. When the results from this leg are combined with the first two legs played earlier in the year, Lars and Gordon share first place and  share the Blitz Cup for 2024. Runner-up  was David P. Congratulations.
    Series 3 results are here, and combined final standings are here.
     


    Photo: Lars and Ernest

  • Club Champs heating up

    We are now mid-way through our Club Champs are things are starting to heat up.

    In round 3 of the Junior Club Championship there were wins across the board for the players playing black! James squeezed out a win against Brock on Board 1, to remain the only unbeaten player in the Open division. On board 2, Roy got the better of Isaiah, and there was also wins for Jingwei and Devin. At the halfway stage, James leads with a perfect score of 3 points, closely followed by Roy on 2.5, with Jingwei and Daniel on 2.

    In the Challengers section, Ronan maintained his perfect score with a win over Arol on board 1. Tautua miraculously held a draw in a losing endgame against Noah on board 2. There were also wins for Ryder, Orlando and Manahi, who are all in the mix. At the halfway stage Ronan heads the field with 3 points, followed by Tautua, Orlando and Ryder on 2.5.

    Meanwhile, another night of long hard fought games running past 11pm in round 4 of the Senior Club Champs. This included possibly one of the deciding matches with front-runners Ross and Gordon, who battled a closed tight position with Gordon finally prevailing after 53 moves. In another key match-up, Guy and Mikhael also battled late into the evening, eventually agreeing a draw in an opposite-coloured bishop and pawn ending. Meanwhile, in contrast to the long games, David S managed an nice 11 move checkmate against John, although the subsequent casual game proved to be significantly more competitive and closer. Currently Gordon leads on 4, with David P on 3, and Guy, Mikhael and Ross all within reach on 2½. Current standings here.

  • Club Champs underway

    Last night saw the commencement of the Junior Club Championship. The event is split into two divisions, the Open and the Challengers. In round one, the marquee game was Jingwei against James. James played a very controlled game, building up a dangerous kingside attach while limiting Jingwei’s counter play on the queenside. Ultimately James crashed through on the kingside and sealed the point against a dangerous opponent. In the Challenger’s section, Noah and Alex C played out a draw on top board, with the remaining matches going to form.

    Meanwhile, after two rounds of the Senior Club Championship, Gordon and Guy remain unbeaten on 2 points, with wins over Lars and David S respectively. Other top contenders, Ross and David P fought out a draw to sit just behind on 1½, along with Ernest who had a win over Robert. With six weeks to go however, it’s still early days yet. Results are here.