Hamilton Chess Club

Thirty three players in attendance last night! Crosstable is below. Rounds 4 5 6  next week.

A message from Craig Hall of Canterbury Chess Club reads:

Canterbury Chess Club, on behalf of the New Zealand Chess Federation, Oceania Chess Confederation, and FIDE, invite players from all Oceania National Chess Federations and associated members to participate in the 2027 Oceania Zonal Chess Championships to be held in Christchurch, New Zealand from the 22^nd to the 27^th of January 2027. There will be an Open and Women’s Zonal along with a Blitz championship. Direct titles will be available (entries permitting). The Organiser is AO IA Craig Hall. More information including the entry link is available on the official website. Registrations open on 1 May and close when full (160 general entries in the Open i.e. official places are additional, no limit in the Women’s Zonal) or otherwise on 15 January.

For players that are looking for some OTB Chess with club members outside of club nights here are links to  WhatsApp and Messenger groups that you can use to find willing opponents:

Club ratings have been updated to include Autumn (1). You can see a graph of how your rating has changed over time here 

Three players finished on 5 points. Using Direct Encounter as first tie break puts Graham in top spot. Crosstable below. Autumn (2) starts next week.

The club welcomes Charlie as its newest member.

An impressive turnout of 29 players for Autumn (1). Crosstable at round 3 below. Rounds 4 5 6 next week.

Club nights resume April 21 after the school holidays

Nathan is Club Champ for 2026, finishing on a 5.5 out of 6. Honourable mention to William a close second on 5.0. Honourable mention also to the clubs newest and youngest member Felix who managed a score of 4.5 even though he missed the first round

Club ratings have been updated to include the Club Open Champs 

Club Champs at round 5. Final round next week.

The club welcomes Marco Triponi as its newest member

Assuming full attendance next week the top five boards will look like this. Start polishing your openings. (Draw finalized on the night)

Club champs at round 4. The field is still wide open

Due to technical difficulties Round 4 will now take place on March 17. Remember the club champs is a members only event and no new players can be added at this stage, so if you are thinking of coming along then April 21 is your first opportunity.

Club Champs are underway. Crosstable at round one is below. Likely draw for the top six games is below that, but is subject to modification on the night based on attendance. Let Ian know if you want a half point bye. Remember members only from round 3, no new entries after round 2.

In order to simplify club record keeping in future all subscriptions will be for the calendar year in which they apply and expire on 31 December. By way of example if your sub is due for renewal in April your $20 fee will keep you in good standing until the end of 2026. New members joining in August will pay $20 for the period August to December. [Members that currently have expiry dates in 2027 will retain those dates].

Previously being a member of the Hamilton Chess Club enabled individuals to play in NZCF sponsored tournaments and receive an NZCF rating. Following a recent change in the NZCF constitution this is no longer the case. New NZCF rules stipulate that to play in NZCF rated tournaments players must now be paid up members of the New Zealand Chess Federation. To become a member of the NZCF individuals need complete an NZCF application form available online and pay the appropriate fee. The cost of NZCF membership is $25 per year. For individuals that might play in only one or two NZCF tournaments each year a more cost-effective option could be to take out a one-month membership as the cost of this is only $5. As an example if you play two tournaments in January and another in September the cost would then only be two single month memberships (January and September) or $10 in total.

Two club members and HBHS pupils recorded notable draws against titled players during the rapid tournament at the 133rd NZ Chess congress held in Invercargill during January. Nathan Sun managed a draw against FIDE GrandMaster Daniel Fernandez in round 2, while Ryan Zhou had a draw against FIDE InternationalMaster Anthony Ker in round 7. Congratulations to both on their stellar performances, and Kudos to HBHS Chess Supervisor Graham Nolan.

20th BoP Rapid 2026 is to be held on Saturday 28th February 2026. The Bay of Plenty Rapid (BoP Rapid) that is held on the last Saturday of February annually is one of most popular weekend rapids in the country.

The 20th BoP Rapid 2026 continues the first and now ubiquitous throughout New Zealand, 25 minutes plus 5 seconds increment rapid time control chess tournament.

Get your entry in here and enjoy playing chess in a pleasant tournament at one of the most beautiful regions in the country.