The first two rounds of the Club’s 25+5 rapid tournament for the Leo Eichholtz Board were played this week. A competitive and enjoyable spirit resulted in some great games, and a mix of interesting results. John Eccles prevailed over 9-time past winner of this tournament, David Paul, to lead with maximum points from the night, with a chasing pack of four close behind on 1½. David Scott was left to rue his chances after snatching a draw and a loss from winning positions. Current results here.  

Below: Junior Club seems to to be proving a popular addition to the Kāpiti Coast, with around a dozen kids along each week. The youngest just 4 years old!

The second term of our new Junior Club kicked off enthusiastically this week with 12 juniors along for lessons and games. Meanwhile for the seniors following, it was the final round of the Kingston Memorial. Final placings are: Gordon Lyall 7/8, Stewart Holdaway and John Eccles on 5½, and Guy Burns and Ross Jackson next on 5. Final results here.

Next week is Round 1 and 2 of the Leo Eichholtz Rapid tournament, played under a 25 m + 5 s time control.

Gordon Lyall takes out the Kingston Memorial trophy with a round to spare and gets to hang on to the distinctive clock trophy for another year.
Match of the night was Guy Burns and John Eccles. After a close match, with both in time trouble in a knight v bishop end game and pawns of both sides of the board, it was Guy whose flag fell first. They both now share second place with Stewart, who lost to Ross, who moves to third place half a point behind. With no fewer than five players in contention for second place, next week’s final round match-ups promise for a good night of chess.
All results and standings here.

Junior Club resumes next week after the school holidays, starting at 6:30.

It is getting down to the business end of the Club’s annual 55m +5s Kingston Memorial tournament – competition is heating up, and several players are still in contention with 2 rounds left to play.

Game of the night in-form Guy playing his usual Queen’s Gambit beat current frontrunner Stewart with an open and attacking game (here). Top seeds Gordon and Ross agreed a draw, while John Eccles prevailed in the battle of the John’s. After six rounds, Gordon leads on 5, with Guy and Stewart sharing second place, half a point behind.

Latest results and standings can be found here.

Round 5 this week in the 2021 Kingston Memorial. Both Stewart and Gordon had wins over Andy and Brandon respectively to extend their joint lead to 4½ from 5, David prevailed over Mike (game here), and Geoffrey over John Whibley (game here), while John Eccles and Ross agreed a draw, Ross having battled under his usual time handicap due to travel. With 3 rounds to go, current results and standings can be found here.

This week’s photo: 30 years ago this month in April 1991, the Club ran its first open Kāpiti Rapid tournament. You may recognise a couple of the faces in there, who, between them have won at least half of the 26 times the tournament has been held since then (see a history of  this annual tournament here). This year’s Kāpiti Rapid is coming up fast on the 29th May, and will be held again at the Club rooms in Paraparaumu. Last year, we had one of our highest turnouts, and this year promises to be even better. Check out the details and how to enter here. Hope to see you there!

It was fantastic to have a visit to the Club this week from GM Gawain Jones and his family. With a current FIDE rating of 2670, Gawain is amongst the top 70 current players in the World. He comes fresh from another picket fence performance on his current trip to New Zealand, taking out the North Island Championship last weekend in Wellington. Here he is seen with his wife, WIM Sue Maroroa, and Wellington Club President and Kāpiti member Ross Jackson – teaching baby Jones some essential early life skills.

In addition to Gawain, four Kāpiti Club members and some 87 other Chess players all congregated at the Naumi Hotel in Cuba Street, Wellington over Easter weekend for the North Island Championship. This was a huge turnout played over a single grade, with some 13 FIDE titled players, 5 current and past NZ champions, and a median tournament rating over 1800. It was great weekend, with the famous Cuba Street buzz  adding to the occasion. While not amongst any prizes, Kāpiti players (Stewart Holdaway, David Scott, Ross Jackson and Geoffrey Gunawan), still held their own against the competition. For a full report on the event, including links to games, see here and here. 

Photo: Geoffrey appears to provides his opponent with some amusement with his Round 5 opening choice. 1. e4 e5 2. Ke2.

Meanwhile, we took a break from serious chess this week, to try our first ever night of Fischer Random chess. Every board for each round started with the same randomised starting position, and it was fascinating to see how differently opening strategy and games diverged on each board. It was an interesting and fun night for most, as the strange starting positions threw memory of openings away and challenged players to rely more on first principles. For some, it did not always pay off, as the victim of this incredible four-way fork found out.

More photos can be found here.

This week saw Round 4 played in the Kingston Memorial. At the half-way stage, Gordon Lyall and Stewart Holdaway are neck and neck on 3.5, with Guy Burns following close behind 3, after snaffling a win against Mike O’Rorke. While Gordon had a good win over David Scott, John Eccles might consider himself a little unlucky to let a possible win slip away from him near the death against Stewart.  Latest results and standings here.

Meanwhile, the new Junior Club night continues to be going well with around a dozen keen juniors and parents along each week for lessons and games.

Next week, Fischer Random comes to town! The club takes a break from standard to play its first ever Fischer Random night. It should be fun. Here’s a good link to find out more about this fun variant.

Round 2 of the Kingston Memorial tournament this week. The Kingston family were involved for a long time with the Club. Rose Kingston served as Club Secretary continuously for 22 years from 1997 up to her death in 2018. After two rounds, Guy Burns leads outright on 2 points. Gordon Lyall and Stewart Holdaway battled a hard fought draw, and sit in second place, along with David Scott on 1.5. Current standings can be found here.

Meanwhile, the new Junior Club seems to be going well. There was a noticeable increase in the number of kids and parents along for this the second week of the Club, and quite a buzz of training and games.  The earlier time, and kid zone friendly environment seem to have hit a mark, suggesting a good level of interest in the community, and promising well for the the future.

The first ever meeting of the Kāpiti Junior Chess Club was held this week. Around a dozen kids and parents, from age 6 and up, came along, with games, and interactive lessons with the Club’s current best player and President, Gordon Lyall. From the response to this first night, there seems to be good interest in the community, and hopefully this promises well for the Club’s objective of growing junior chess in Kāpiti. The Junior Club runs Tuesdays during school terms, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, and is open to all primary and secondary school students. There’s a focus on fun games and events, coupled with structured opportunities to learn and improve from experts, and pathways to compete at higher levels for those that want to.  

What’s more, the first term for 2021 is free! Check out this poster for more details, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

For the main Club night, this week saw Round 1 of the annual Kingston Memorial tournament, played under a 55m+5s time format.  Most games went the way of the higher-rated player, except Guy Burns had a nice win over Ross Jackson, while David Scott and Brandon Holman played out a tight and even draw. See results here, and the Lyall v Eccles game here.

Check out more Club photos here, including some photos from the Junior Club night.

The Club held its Annual General Meeting this week. Gordon Lyall was re-elected as Club President, David Scott as Club Captain and Secretary, and Brandon Holman as Treasurer. Annual fees for 2021 were set (see here), including a reduction for adult members. The Club’s rules written back in 1990 were also given a nice 2020’s refresh. All reports from the AGM can be found here.

We are also excited and pleased to announce a new Junior Chess Club for Kāpiti. This initiative is aimed to encourage and grow junior chess in the Kāpiti region. The Junior Club will start earlier than the main Club and run during school terms, and is open to all primary and secondary school students. There’s a focus on fun games and events, coupled with structured opportunities to learn and improve from experts, and pathways to compete at higher levels for those that want to.  The new Club will start next week. Check out the poster for more details, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Finally, we will be back to over the board Chess next week (assuming we remain at Covid Alert Level 1 in this part of the country). We start Round 1 of our Kingston Memorial (played at 55m+5s). Members and visitors welcome.

Back to over the board this week with Rounds 5 to 8 of the popular Freebird tournament, played with a 10m + 5s time format. After 8 rounds, Gordon Lyall wins this first leg of the tournament on 7 points, followed by Geoffrey Gunawan on 6.5, and Stewart Holdaway on 6. The full cross table of results can be found here. The second and final leg of the Freebird will be played in June. Next week we will hold our AGM, and the week after that we will begin the also popular Kington Memorial tournament. Check here for the full calendar of events planned for the year. If you live locally, and are interested in playing, come and check us out. We cater to all levels.

Two Club members, Geoffrey Gunawan and David Scott, visited Napier last weekend for the 9th annual Hawke’s Bay Rapid. Also participating was recent newcomer to the Club, Stewart Holdaway. While none of us were amongst the final prizes, it was a very enjoyable and well-run day. Final winners can be found here, while full results for the Kāpiti contingent can be found here. Going into the final round, Geoffrey was in for a chance of first place in the B grade, but lost to eventual B grade winner Briene Membrere. However, one highlight of the day perhaps, was his very nice 8 move cameo from Round 4. 

With the change in Covid Alert Levels announced on 14 February, and in line with NZCF policy, the Club will not meet  over the board on Tuesday 16 February, but will instead meet online from 7:30 pm at lichess.org/team/kapiti-chess-club.  Even if you haven’t previously played with us online, it’s easy to participate, just click on the link and ask to join the group. If we (hopefully) return to Alert Level 1 this week, then we will resume over the board play on 23 February, with the second night of the Freebird Trophy, and with the AGM also pushed back one week to the 2 March.

It was great to see a number of new visitors to the Club again this week, where tournament play kicked off for the year with the first four rounds of the Freebird Trophy. This series runs over two weeks under a time control of 10 m + 5 s. At the half-way stage of this first leg of the tournament, newcomer Stewart Holdaway leads on 3.5, with Gordon Lyall and Geoffrey Gunawan next on 3, and David Paul next on 2.5. Current results can be found here.  The final four rounds of this first leg of the tournament will play next week. 

Below: Geoffrey Gunawan showing  good form with a Round 1 win over current Club Champ Gordon Lyall

Kāpiti Chess Club kicked off its year this week with a great night of social chess. It was great to see a bunch of new visitors as well as our returning members. An exciting calendar of events is planned for the coming year. Next week sees the start of the popular Freebird competition, with its lively 10 minute + 5 second time format. On the 23rd is our Annual General Meeting. Both members and visitors are welcome and encouraged to come along and contribute their views on key matters for the Club.

A reminder also that the Hawke’s Bay Chess Club is holding their annual Hawke’s Bay Rapid tournament on February 13. I’ve been going for a couple of years, and have found them thoroughly enjoyable and well-run. Entry form here.

The Kāpiti Chess Club starts back again for 2021 on February 2. All are welcome. We have a new calendar of events (here) that will appeal to both social and serious players, including a new Spring Cup with a 15 m + 5 s format, a Fischer-Random night, our traditional tournaments and heaps more.

If you are an existing member, welcome back! If you’ve never visited us before, and are interested in playing Chess, come and check us out. We play at the Salvation Army (rear) hall, 41 Bluegum Road, Paraparaumu Beach, every Tuesday night from 7:30pm. The first three nights are free! Feel free to contact us here if you have any questions. 

With a perfect night, and in the picturesque semi-rural setting of Club member Brandon’s home, Kāpiti Chess Club members with friends and family celebrated the end of the year with a memorable night of food, drink, prizegiving and social chess. 

The evening kicked off with end of year prizegiving. We were lucky to only have one of our trophies not able to be awarded this year due to Covid. Congratulations to all the winners and in particular to our Championship winners, Gordon Lyall in the A Grade, Geoffrey Gunawan in the B Grade, and Hamish Lester in the C Grade. Also to Geoffrey Gunawan for taking out the Grand Prix Glenys Mills Memorial Rook for best consistent performance over the year. 

With the formalities  out of the way, everyone then quickly settled into a great evening of eating, drinking and relaxed chess of various levels of quality, which went on well into the beautiful windless Kāpiti evening.

The full list of awards and winners for 2020 can be found here.
More photos of the night including all the trophy winners can be found here.

The Club has now finished for the year, and will resume again on 9 February 2021. Look forward to seeing you all then.

The Kāpiti Junior Chess Championship, played in Paraparaumu on Saturday 12th December, saw players representing 22 schools from Wellington to Levin, compete across 4 divisions. In the premier Open Division, top seed Ryan Winter (Wellington College) suffered a surprise defeat in round 1 to Josh Langford (Wellington College). Former Paraparaumu College student, Geoffrey Gunawan, held the joint lead at the halfway stage but was not able to carry his early momentum into the later rounds. Going into the 6th and final round, Henry Zaslow (Onslow College) had a clear half point lead but had to settle for third place, after losing a tough battle to Kayden Loke who took the title on tie-break, from Ryan Winter. Kayden was unbeaten throughout the tournament scoring 3 wins and 3 draws from his 6 games. Three games here: Loke v Winter, van der Hoorn v Loke, and Loke v Laslow. 

In the School event, Vincent Lou (HIBS) was an impressive winner in the Secondary grade, with 5 points from 6, ahead of Hamish Lester (Paraparaumu College) and Mia Vachon (Marsden Collegiate School). In the Intermediate section, Sravya Moparthi (Hutt Intermediate) had a perfect score going into the last round, and despite a loss playing Black against Youan Salt (Levin Intermediate), she held on to win the section on tie-break, from Youan in second and Ryan Goodall (Levin Intermediate) taking third place. The primary section had the largest field of all the grades and saw Lucas Qu (Churton Park) win the gold medal with silver going to Max Wang (Johnsonville School) and bronze to William Ding (Eastern Hutt School).

The Kāpiti Chess Club School Trophy, awarded to the top performing Kāpiti Horowhenua school, was comprehensively won by Levin Intermediate who had a strong tournament.

Final standings, 2020 Kāpiti Junior Chess Championship:

Full results from the day can be found here:
Kāpiti Junior Open 2020
Kāpiti Junior (School) Chess Championship (Individual results by age group)
Kāpiti Junior (School) Chess Championship (School results)

Below: Amy Knowles vs Lucas Qu Zachery He vs Mia Vachon	Below: Kāpiti Junior Chess Championship School Trophy winners, Levin Intermediate

More photos from the day can be found here.

Gordon Lyall makes it a threepeat and retains the Club Champion title and Tom Powell Trophy he won in 2018.  He secured the A grade title with a final round win this week against David Paul (See game here). Ross Jackson and Geoffrey Gunawan also had wins to retain second and third spots respectively (See Geoffrey’s game here). As the highest placed player rated under 1600, Geoffrey also takes out the B Grade champion title and keeps hold of the Ab Borren Trophy he won last year.  Hamish Lester takes the C Grade and Gufeld Trophy. Congratulations to all. See here for the full results and standings. 

A reminder that the Club is hosting the Kāpiti Junior Chess Championship this Saturday. This is the ideal chess event for all junior playing levels, with an Open section accommodating elite juniors, along with a Schools section with three grades. It’s not too late to enter, and promises to be a fun day. Details about the event and how to enter are here.

This was our last week of formal Club chess for the year. Next week is prizegiving, and a relaxed final night of social chess over some food and drink.

Following on from the successful Kāpiti Rapid last month, the club is hosting an open tournament for school kids and juniors, the Kāpiti Junior Chess Championships, on December 12. This is the ideal chess event for all junior playing levels, accommodating elite juniors in the Open section and three school grades. This should be a fun day. Details about the event and how to enter are here.

Meanwhile, things are really heating up with Round 6 of the Club Championships played this week.  Top seeds Gordon Lyall and Ross Jackson lead on 5 and 4½ respectively, with would-be contender Geoffrey Gunawan third on 4. Geoffrey wasn’t able to hammer home his great form to date, losing to John Eccles this week (see game here), while Ross and Gordon got the full point from their games (Gordon’s game here). However with one more round to go, all three have a chance of securing the title next week. Stay tuned! Full results so far can be found here.

The distinctive white knight of the Ab Borren Trophy for B grade champion, with the cup for most improved player behind. Geoffrey Gunawan won both last year, but has his eyes on the bigger prize this year. Can he do it?