The cumulative points table for Club Blitz has been updated after round 3 last night. Richard Dare leads the open division on 15.5 followed by Ian and Milton on 12. The reserve board division has Richard Jackson in a narrow lead over Sivoram. (The highest scoring player overall will be awarded the title of Club Blitz Champion. The title of Club Blitz Champion (reserve board) will be awarded to the highest scoring player whose club ranking was pawn, knight, or bishop at the start of the tournament. ) Round 4 next week.
If you have been thinking about coming along for a look then next week 08/07/14 at 7pm is a good place to start. We will be playing 6 blitz games at short time control of five minutes per game plus 3 seconds per move. New members are always welcome. Come along and join in the fun.
We will have the club blitz championship rounds 3 and 4 over the next two weeks. Guests are welcome to play. Remember that the title of club blitz champion will be awarded in August following round 6. There are a maximum of 6 points each night, so the champion will have the best score out of 36. Currently Richard is a clear lead on 10.5 points, followed by Milton on 9. Cumulative scores so far can be found here. There is also a reserve board competition running for those members ranked as pawn knight or bishop at the commencement of the tournament.
The final two rounds of the Winter cup produced a five way tie with Daniel, Richard, Eddie, Hilton, and Sivoram each on4.5 points. Tie break scores gave Daniel first place, followed by Richard second and Eddie third. We will run the spring cup using the same format of two 25 + 0 games a night in October. The final crosstable is posted here, and club ratings have been updated.
Once again Hilton, with the able assistance of Keong Ang as Arbiter, put togethere a fantastic tournament with 37 entries from as far away as Nelson. Nine of the participants hold official FIDE titles of one sort or another reflecting the strength of the top boards, but the tournament also had a share of under 1200 rated players. Top score, and the title of Waikato Open Champion 2014, went to Michael Steadman on 5.5 out of 6. Mark Noble (5) came second, with Ben Hague and Ralph Hart sharing third equal (4.5). Under 1950 honours were shared by Jack James, Efrain Tionko, and Viv Smith (all on 3.5). Under 1700 first equal was shared by William Crombie and Philip Mukkattu (3.5). Joel Crombie and Toby Zhang shared first equal in the under 1200 grade (2). The William Lynn Cup for best result by a Waikato school pupil went to Daniel Davis. The Len Whitehouse Memorial Trophy (best result by a Waikato player) was shared by Hilton Bennett and William Crombie. The full crosstable is here, and some obligatory photos are here. The official NZCF record of the tournament can be found here. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.
The New Zealand Chess Federation page for the Waikato Open can be found here, with a list of confirmed entries so far
We have 37 confirmed entries for the tournament tomorrow night – it is still not too late if you want to register.
Winter cup rounds 3 and 4 last night. Daniel is in the lead on 3.5 followed by Richard Craig and Eddie. Club ratings have been updated with Craig Daniel and Nick achieving all time personal bests . Craigs rise is particularly notable — he has picked up 38 club rating points in his last 10 games. Richard has overtaken Michael as the top rated club player. Final two rounds next week, then a couple of weeks of blitz
Only two days to go until the Waikato Open. We have around 35 entries so far, keep those entries coming !
The first two rounds of the winter cup were held last night. Seventeen players turned out. Currently Daniel, Gary, and Eddie lead the pack on two points each. Craig picked up some valuable club rating points with a win against William followed by a draw against Milton. A permanent link to the crosstable can be found under Events >2014. Club ratings have been updated. It is not too late to join in next week. Remember games kick off 7:30 sharp so don’t be late.
Club ratings have been updated reflecting the first four rounds of the rapid and Richard has managed to knock Michael off top spot. Currently he sits on 1648 points. He will be looking to pick up a few more points now to see if he can break the all time club ranking high of 1658 points that Michael had set on 23/6/13. Hats off to Richard.
We will run the inaugural winter cup over the next three weeks. Format will be a six round Swiss with two games per night, each at time control 25 + 0. The tournament is open to non members and guests, so if you have been thinking of coming along for a look this is your chance.
After four rounds of the Club rapid championship Richard leads on 4 points, followed by Graham, Milton, William, and Daniel all on three points each. We will take a break from the rapid now, and then conclude with rounds 5 6 and 7 in September and October.
The club welcomes Dhusar Chatterjee as its 35th member. Dhusar is eleven and joins an expanding group of juniors at the club. He has played eight ratable games so far and enters the club rating board with 1458 points. Dhusar has already signed up for the Waikato open in a couple of weeks time. Welcome Dhusar.
Club rapid round 3 last night. Richard and Graham lead on three points each. The crosstable has been updated here. Round 4 next week with a break then until round 5 in September. We will run the Winter cup, two games per night over 3 nights from 17/6/2014 as set out in the calendar. Club ratings have been updated: Richard, Eddie, Milton and Dave achieved personal bests this week. Richard only needs a couple of points and he will knock Michael off of top spot.
We currently have a members only tournament running on club nights. If you are a guest or prospective member we will be starting a less formal tournament running for three weeks from 24 June. Games will be about an hour long and there will be two per night. We would prefer that people commit to attending for all three weeks. Alternatively, we will be playing “blitz” games, 6 games per night, each of about 12 minutes duration, on the 8th and 15th of July. The blitz nights are usually the best for newbies to come along to so as to get a feel for the club.
The club rapid championship kicked off last night. We will have rounds 2, 3, and 4 over the next 3 weeks, with subsequent rounds later in the year. A permanent link to the crosstable can be found under events > 2014 above. As is usual in a seeded tournament such as this the first round was characterized by some pretty uneven matchups in playing strength, but as the rounds progress opponents will find themselves more evenly balanced. This year we have 20 starters, and may pick up a few latecomers with subsequent rounds. Last year we only had 17 entrants, and in 2012 there were only 12, so club membership and participation are blossoming
The club welcomes Nithin Perumal as a full member. The club now has 32 financial members (and one member in arrears). At 8 years old Nithin joins the group of youngsters that are regulars at the club. The 6 rated games that Nithin has played so far earn him a club rating of 1405, placing him between Adam and Elijah. We look forward to Nithin participating in the club rapid from tomorrow night. Welcome Nithin.
The club welcomes Milton as its newest member. Milton is a strong player scoring an impressive four out of six in the first round of the blitz, followed by a first equal of five out of six last week. The twelve ratable games that he has played so far mean he enters the ratings board with the rank Queen, a rating of 1611, and is now the fourth strongest club member by club rating. Milton is a serious contender for club blitz champion currently placed second overall. Welcome Milton.
Hamilton Chess Club 
