Hamilton Chess Club

The club welcomes Maureen as its newest member, and looks forward to her participation in the club champs

At the last AGM we agreed to look into FIDE rating for the club champs. Hilton has investigated this, and for several reasons it is not feasible. 1. All players would need to be NZCF registered involving additional costs to members. 2. A non playing certified National Arbiter would be needed, locking Hilton out of the tournament. 3. We would need to allow for a longer time control, with games potentially running to 3 hours.

Tomorrow night is the second half of the Summer Cup, and the following week  our premier event, the club champs, will kick off on Tuesday 05 March.

Time control will be the same as last year at 60 minutes + 10 seconds per move from move 1.

One game per night over 6 weeks.

The format will be start time 7.15pm (7.30 on week 1), 1 game per night, open to financial members (or financial members temporarily in arrears) only. You can check when your sub is due by going to the website – About > Who We Are. Online payments preferred, see the website for details. If you are not currently a member but want to take part then you can join on the first night.

(Adult: $40 per year, or $25 for 6 months. Juniors $20 per year)

A single division Swiss Style Tournament. The overall winner will be awarded the title Club Champion 2017 and receive all the accolades that are associated with the title. The highest rated junior  will be awarded the title Club Junior Champion 2017.

The draw will be based on Current club ratings. New players without a club rating will be assigned 1500 points for the purposes of the  draw.

No late entries allowed – so if you can’t make it on the first night let me know and you will be awarded a bye. Also if you want to play but might be a little late on the first night let me know and I will include you in the draw. Please don’t turn up after 7:15. Entries will not be accepted in week two or beyond.

Games start at 7.15pm – a 30 minute late time applies (your game is lost if you are 30 minutes late). Clocks will be started at 7:15 even if neither player is present.

Usual FIDE laws apply with  the exception of the Hamilton Chess Club Special Rules found on the website. Disputes committee will be club executive (Hilton Ian and Richard). If one or two of the disputes committee is/are party to a dispute, the remaining member(s) will constitute the disputes committee.

Please bring a pen if you wish to record your games. Recording is not mandatory, but if you don’t record your game you will not be allowed to claim a draw for the 50 move rule or 3 fold repetition unless agreed by your opponent.

One 1/2 point bye allowed per player, if notified to Ian the Sunday before the round that it applies.

No half point byes allowed in rounds 5 or 6.

Tie breaks will be according to the NZ  standard  1. Direct Encounter. 2. Cumulative (Sum of Progressive Scores). 3. Total Buchholz. 4. Sonneborn-Berger. 5. Buchholz Cut1.   If still tied the award will be shared.

If you have been thinking about coming along for a look then February 13 at 7pm is your best bet. We will have 6 games each lasting around 15 minutes. Games will kick off shortly after 7, so dont be late if you want to take part in the mini tournament. New members are always welcome. Come along and be part of the fun. Read this page for guidance if you are thinking of joining the club

The club is in recess now for the Summer. We will reopen on February 13^th with a casual blitz, followed by the Summer Cup, and then into the Club Champs. The proposed calendar for 2018 can be found here. Members can make suggestions for alterations if they wish.

The club is in recess now for the summer. We will resume on Tuesday February 13^th. A 2018 calendar will be posted shortly.

For the final night of the year we had a graded robin in four divisions, results as below.

Respective winners were Richard, William, Michael, and Nathaniel.

Last club night for the year next week. We will have casual chess, or a small Swiss if members want

Eushin can be very proud of winning his first full six round club swiss. His chess playing ability is going from strength to strength. He now sits at the top of the club ladder, and ranks 5^th highest in the club at 1632, and will no doubt show a further rise in 2018

Eushin has joined the top echelon of the club coming first in a full six round swiss

Next week we will start the first of 2 Spring Cups. Please if you want to be in, make a commitment to be there for both nights.  The time control will be 20+0, 3 games per night, over 2 nights. We will have two solid hours of chess, so kick off will be as soon as the draw is done. Dont be late. Guests and non-members are welcome to come along and join in.

The club welcomes Alex as its newest member. Alex has played 11 eligible games so far and enters the ratings table on 1452. Welcome Alex.

The plan was for 2 games at 4 +2, 2 at 8 + 2, and 2 at 12 + 2. In the end it took a little longer than we thought so ended up as 2 at 4 + 2 and the remainder at 8 + 2. Prashant was victorious at 5.5 out  of 6. Spring cup starts next week

Richard is club lightning champ for 2017 with a score of 7 – 0. That means he completes the clean sweep having taken the titles for Open, Rapid, Blitz and Lightning. Congratulations Richard

Andy Song and Michael Lin have joined as the clubs newest members. They enter the club ratings with 1491 and 1488 respectively.Welcome guys.

Richard, Eushin, and Kevin came out on top in their respective divisions. The final crosstables are here, and the scores are below. Club lightning next week

Point totals after 4 rounds are below. Crosstables so far and the draw for the entire tournament is located here. (Round C hasnt been updated yet). Round 5 is next week.
Alex Treat2.0

The Simul with Herman proved a great success. Herman took on 21 eager members, and ended up with a score 0f +19.5 =1-1. Notable games were a win for Prashant and an agreed draw in a king and pawn ending for Ian. The event ran for around 3 hours, with Eushin the last player to fall. Our thanks go to Herman and hope that he offers the same opportunity to us in the future. Photos from the event can be viewed here.

In a departure from the calendar schedule we have a special event tomorrow night – your chance to play in a simul against International Master Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk

Herman was Brazilian Champion in 1970, 1973, and 1988, and Pan American Champion in 1977. He was awarded the International Master title in 1978. He played 11 times for Brazil in the Chess Olympiads (1972–1974, 1978–1984, 1988–1994, 1998). ). Notable games include draws against Tal and Larsen. His current FIDE rating is 2306

Please don’t be late. We will try and get things underway around 7:15. There will be no late starters.

Note that entry will be limited to current club members, but spectators are welcome. Entry is free, a nice bonus for your membership. See you there. Don’t be late. (The round robin will continue next week, and we will adjust the calendar later in the year).