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FM Nic Croad Simul goes deep!
The first—and possibly only—simultaneous exhibition by a titled player at the Kapiti Chess Club took place on Tuesday 29 September, when FIDE Master (FM) Nic Croad took on seventeen Kapiti Chess Club members simultaneously.
Nic, a six-time New Zealand Champion, was pushed hard across all seventeen boards. Despite the sharp 7:30 pm start, the final game did not conclude until midnight!
After several epic battles, Nic managed to hold off the opposition, finishing with 13 wins and 4 draws.
Congratulations to Nic on an outstanding performance, and to all the Club members who participated in what was a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable evening.
Results
Board No. Player Score 1 Gordon Lyall 1/2 2 Brendan Reedy 0 3 Ross Jackson 1/2 4 David Paul 1/2 5 Chase Truong 0 6 Stanley Fitton 0 7 Guy Burns 0 8 Brandon Holman 1/2 9 Duncan Turnbull 0 10 Daniel Fay 0 11 Jingwei Xu 0 12 Matthieu Poulain 0 13 Oliver Robinson 0 14 Tim Sharpe 0 15 Devin Direen 0 16 Thomas McGregor 0 17 John Whibley 0 -
Capital Chess Classic
The Capital Chess Classic is a 6-round FIDE-rated Swiss tournament played using a classical time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move.
Dates: Saturday 24 – Monday 26 October 2026 (Labour weekend)
Venue: Amesbury School, 48 Amesbury Drive, Churton Park, Wellington
Entry Fee: $70
(Free entry for FMs, IMs, GMs, WFMs, WIMs and WGMs.)Entry Form link
Payment:
Payment should be made to:Wellington Chess Club
Account: 06-0582-0096726-00Please include your name under particulars and “CC Classic” as the reference.
Schedule:
Saturday 24 October
- Check-in: 8:30–9:00 am
- Players’ Meeting: 9:00 am
- Round 1: 9:30 am
- Round 2: 2:30 pm
Sunday 25 October
- Round 3: 9:30 am
- Round 4: 2:30 pm
Monday 26 October
- Round 5: 9:30 am
- Round 6: 2:30pm
Prizegiving: Following Round 6
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T3 Prizegiving
The latest T3 Junior Rapid provided another exciting day of competitive chess for our Junior Club players, with strong performances across both the Champions and Challengers Divisions.
Champions Division
In the Champions Division, Isaiah produced a perfect performance, winning all eight of his games to take the gold medal.
Stanley finished two points behind in second place, while George claimed the bronze medal on tie-break.
Challengers Division
The Challengers Division attracted 26 players, with Baxter taking the gold medal after an excellent performance of seven wins from his eight games.
Rori claimed the silver medal, while Orland took the bronze medal on tie-break.
NZCF Badge Awards
The event also provided an opportunity to recognise progress through the NZCF Badge Scheme.
Nine players were awarded NZCF Level 1 (Pawn) Badges and certificates, while a further three players achieved Level 2 (Knight) Badges and certificates.
Congratulations to all the competitors on their efforts and achievements. It was great to see so many Juniors putting their skills into practice, competing hard and continuing their development through both tournament play and the NZCF Badge Scheme.
Well done to everyone who took part!
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Zonal Prep – Towards a Master Title
Presented by FIDE Trainer CM Tony Dowden
With the Oceania Zonal taking place in Christchurch in January 2027, this course provides an opportunity to strengthen your chess and, importantly, learn how to train effectively and plan your own ongoing improvement.
The course is suitable for players who do not currently have a coach, as well as those who already receive coaching and want to complement their existing training.
Course Details
- 5 Saturdays: 10 October – 7 November 2026
- Time: 10:45–11:45 am NZT
- Online: Zoom
- Cost: $50 per student
- Recommended rating: 1200–1800
Course Content
Across the five sessions, Tony will focus on:- Prepare Yourself
- Better Pieces
- Better Planning
- Better Technique
- Plan Your Campaign
The focus throughout is on developing practical training habits and helping players understand what they need to work on to become stronger chess players.
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FM Nic Croad to Give Simultaneous Exhibition at Kapiti Chess Club
FM Nic Croad will give a simultaneous exhibition at Kapiti Chess Club on Tuesday 29 September.
The event is open to Kapiti Senior Club Members and Juniors in the Champions Grade. To register, please email Gordon@crazyhorsechess.co.nz.
FM Nic Croad is one of New Zealand’s strongest and most experienced chess players. A six-time New Zealand Champion and FIDE Master, Nic has represented New Zealand internationally, including at the 2024 Chess Olympiad. He has also enjoyed success in rapid chess, including winning the New Zealand Rapid Championship and the 2025 North Island Rapid Championship.
Based in Wellington, Nic remains an active tournament player and regularly competes at the highest level of New Zealand chess.
Kapiti Chess Club looks forward to welcoming Nic to the Club.
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Stanley wins at Windy City Blitz
🏆 Stanley Fitton Wins B Grade at Windy City Blitz!
Congratulations to Stanley Fitton, who shared first place in the B Grade (1200–1600) at the inaugural Windy City Blitz, scoring an excellent 9/16.
Stanley’s performance was particularly impressive, with two outstanding wins against much higher-rated opposition: Thomas van der Hoorn (2015) and Ryan Winter (2097).
With Stanley rated 1600, these were victories against players rated 415 and 497 points higher respectively — a fantastic achievement in a 16-round blitz tournament!
👏 Also representing Kāpiti Chess Club was Brendan Reedy, who likewise finished on an excellent 9/16, demonstrating the strength of Kāpiti players in a very competitive field.
There was some outstanding chess throughout the tournament, with 40 players competing across three grades:
♟️ A Grade (1600+)
🥇 Matthew Keith — 15/16
🥈= Thomas van der Hoorn / Cohen Young — 12/16♟️ B Grade (1200–1600)
🥇= Stanley Fitton / Rafael Olmedo — 9/16♟️ C Grade (Under 1200)
🥇 Finn Thompson — 9/16
🥈 Xavier Goggin — 8/16Congratulations to all the grade winners and to everyone who took part.
The Windy City Blitz was a great success, and we look forward to making it an annual event, with further Blitz tournaments to come.
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Kāpiti Homeschoolers Shine
🏆 Kāpiti Homeschoolers Shine at 2026 Kāpiti Junior Chess Championship!
The 2026 Kāpiti Junior Chess Championship was held on 29 August at Paraparaumu College, bringing together some of the region’s strongest junior players from across Kāpiti, Horowhenua and the wider Wellington region.
It was a particularly successful day for Kāpiti players, with excellent results across several divisions — and a fantastic team performance from Kāpiti Home School, who took out the Kāpiti Schools Cup, finishing ahead of Kāpiti College. 🏆👏
♟️ Strong Results for Kāpiti Players
⭐ Millar Wakefield — 3rd= in the Open Division, scoring 4/6
⭐ Isaiah Heta — 2nd in the Senior Division, scoring 4/6 and missing out on the title on tiebreak
⭐ Ronan McGrath — 3rd in the Junior Division, scoring an excellent 4.5/6
These were outstanding performances in a competitive tournament, with Kāpiti players featuring prominently across the divisions.
🏆 Overall Division Results
Open Division
🥇 Toby Shanon — 6/6
🥈 Luke Chang — 5/6
🥉= Nathan Grace, Ian Chen & Millar Wakefield — 4/6Senior Division – 13 years & over
🥇 Vishwanath Muthu — 4/6 (tiebreak)
🥈 Isaiah Heta — 4/6
🥉 George Moore — 3/6 (tiebreak)Intermediate Division – 11–12 years
🥇 Shashank Gavini — 5/6 (tiebreak)
🥈 Jason Lam — 5/6
🥉 Julian Estrada — 4.5/6 (tiebreak)Junior Division – 10 years & under
🥇 Levon Benson — 6/6
🥈 Novak McPhee — 5/6
🥉 Ronan McGrath — 4.5/6 (tiebreak)🏆 Kāpiti Schools Cup
🥇 Kāpiti Home School
🥈 Kāpiti CollegeA huge congratulations to Kāpiti Home School on winning the Schools Cup, and to all the Kāpiti players for their excellent performances.
👏 Well played everyone! ♟️🏆
📊 Full Results
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South Island Chess Champs 2026
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♟️ South Island Rapid Chess Championship
4 October📍 Rutherford Hotel, Nelson
🏆 Guaranteed prize fund of $1,500 across both tournaments.Useful links:
Events information
Registrations -
Kapiti Players Shine at Upper Hutt Rapid
Several Kapiti players travelled to Hutt International Boys’ School recently to compete in the Upper Hutt Rapid, joining a strong field from across the Wellington region.
Our juniors produced some excellent performances, gaining valuable tournament experience and continuing to improve against quality opposition. Isaiah Heta and Stanley Fitton both scored 4 wins from 6 games in the A-grade, only losing to much higher rated players.
A special congratulations to Carter Harris, who won outright the B grade in his first Junior Tournament. He was presented with a chess board painted by a local artist.
The A-grade was won by CM Thomas van der Hoorn on 5.5/6, ahead of IM Anthony Ker, Fiso Kainen, and Kayden Loke all on 5/6.
It’s fantastic to see so many Kapiti juniors competing regularly in tournaments and developing their chess skills. We look forward to seeing many of them in action again at the Kapiti Junior Chess Championship on 29 August at Paraparaumu College.
Well done to all our players! ♟️
Links to results, games (Chess.com) and photographs:
Results
Games
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Kapiti Junior Chess Championship – Entries Now Open!
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.
