Hamilton Chess Club

THe club welcomes Reuben Sharko as its newest members. Reuben has come along to the last couple of blitz nights, and enters the club ratings board on 1513. Welcome Reuben.

The Hamilton Chess Club is pleased to announce that the Waikato Open will now be a Poison Pawn Grand Prix Event. To reflect the added prestige, prize money has been increased as listed below, and the tournament divisions have been altered to an Open Division and an under 1800 division. The revised flyer is here. The registration page is here. Be  Quick only NINE days to go

Open Tournament: 1st $325, 2nd $200, 3rd $150

Grade Prizes: cash and chess book prizes to the value of $175

Under 1800 Tournament: 1st $175, 2nd $125, 3rd $75

Grade Prizes: cash and chess book prizes to the value of $175

We had the fourth and final round of the club blitz champs last night. Richard came away with six points, and has 22 points for the entire event so is Club Blitz Champ 2015. Sivaram and Hilton were second equal on 16.5. In the junior division Joel (13), Jeff (11)and Suriya (10.5)are first second and third respectively. Last nights crosstable is found on this page, and the cummulative points table is below.

The calendar has been altered.  Instead of the openings tournament we will have a graded double round robin event in August. Groups of four players based on club rankings will play 2 games per night across three nights in a double round robin style event. There will be A, B, and C and D divisions. The D division will run as an six round Swiss. Time control will be  25 + 0 in the first three divisions.  D divisions players will play one or more games in their allotted 25 minutes alternating colours, with the point going to the player winning the most games.  Get along to the club next week to polish up your rating if you want to get into a higher division. We will need players to commit to turning up on all three nights.

Twenty four players for round 3 of the Blitz tournament last night. Richard high scored on 5.5 with Daniel and Sivaram on 4.5 each tied second equal. Last nights cross table is below, and the cumulative points table with three of the four rounds completed is here. Richard has a clear lead, but there is a close race for minor placings between Hilton Bennett, Saied, Sivaram  and Ian. The fourth and final round is next week, so don’t miss out.

Only three weeks to this years Waikato Open. There will be an Open and an under 1700 tournament, each a six round Swiss with a time control of all moves in 90 minutes plus an increment of 30 seconds per move. The Open tournament will be a FIDE rated event. Both tournaments are nationally rated and are therefore open only to NZCF registered players (or overseas players registered with their national federation). Players under 1700 NZCF rating may enter the Open tournament, but the organisers reserve the right to move players between events if they feel that it is appropriate. The event will be subject to the “Rules of the Waikato Chess Open”. The tournament flyer is here, and the registration page is here.

The Waikato Open for this year is only a few weeks away and will be held 7/8/9 of August. A flyer will full details will be posted soon

THe club is in recess for the school holidays. We will resume with a night of blitz on 21 July and blitz again on 28 July. The blitz nights are fast paced with six quick games on the night. They are a great place for prospective members to come along for a look. Guests very welcome !!!!

Following the Winter Cup Richard has managed to secure a new club rating record with a personal best of 1681, and has clearly set his sites on 1700. His win rate is 0.8, and after 168 games he has a score of +148=15-23.

The final crosstables of the Winter Cup are posted here. Stefan and Richard tied for first place in the Open on 8 points each with William third on 6. In the Junior division Sean and Adam were first equal, both on 6, with a three way tie for third between Suriya Nithin and Dhushar. Club nights will resume with six rounds of blitz on 21 July. Guests welcome.

Open

Junior