When the current rapid finishes we will be having a one night blitz tournament with a special guest (providing a minimum of 10 players are present) …….
We have 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 entries and counting for the Waikato Open to be held at St Pauls starting tomorrow evening. Remember that players meet at 7pm, game one starts at 7:15 sharp.
Welcome to Benjamin Symon who has joined us as our newest member. Benjamin has been cutting his teeth in the club rapid championship over the last few weeks and is due to face off against George in round 4 next Tuesday. He played for the Fairfield team that took first place in the Intermediate division of the schools’ competition this past weekend so will be off to the Nationals in September. He is also taking part in this weeks Waikato Open and we wish him every success.
The results after round 3 are posted here. Next weeks draw will be
Stefan:Hilton
Richard:Ian
Michael:Murray
Craig:William
Richard:Ian
Michael:Murray
Craig:William
George:Benjamin
Remember that providing we get the numbers we will be having a one night blitz tournament in three weeks time with a mystery guest as mentioned in the earlier post
Twenty teams (9 primary, 7 intermediate, and 4 secondary) battled it out on Sunday for the privilege of representing the Waikato Region at the National Schools’ Chess Competition in Palmerston North in September.
Hukanui “1” (on 15 points) came first in the primary division with Southwell “1” (14.5) and Southwell “2” (11) coming 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The intermediate division was won convincingly by Fairfield “1” on 19 points with Southwell “1” (14.5) and Fairfield “2” (11) taking silver and bronze.
The Secondary division was contested by two teams from St Pauls and Hamilton Boys High School. St Pauls “1” and HBHS “1” tied on 9.5 points apiece, and there was nothing to seperate the teams on tie break either. This lead to a “penalty shoot out” of sorts with the teams vying it out against each other in a deciding playoff with a resounding 4-0 win to HBHS “1” .
We wish all the teams success at the forthcoming national event. A complete crosstable is available here and these are some photos from the event.
Calling all rookies and juniors
The next rookies shield event will be held at Hamilton Girls High School on August 19th
Where
Hamilton Chess Centre, Room G1, Hamilton Girls High School, enter from Hill St Entry fees – cash only please – Juniors (and club members): $10, Adults: $15 * Game time 15 minutes each player
Program
11 Registration; Introduction
11.30 – 1 Rounds 1, 2 and 3
1 – 1.30 Lunch break
1.30 – 2.30 Rounds 4, 5
2.30 – 2.45 Snack break
2.45 – 3.45 Rounds 6, 7 (Final)
3.45 Awarding of prizes
Cash Prizes
for 1st and 2nd open, best U18, U14, U10
Prior registration required to allow planning
To avoid disappointment register now; don’t delay
**Entries are restricted to players under 1600 NZCF rapid rating as this is a Rookies event – which still includes 80% of rated chess players! **In case of tied scores a tiebreak count back will be used to allocate prizes. Only one prize per competitor **Age is based on the date of the tournament, not 1 Jan **Event will go ahead providing a minimum of 18 registrants indicate attendance
When the current rapid finishes we will be having a one night blitz tournament with a special guest …….
The results after round 2 are posted here. Next weeks draw will be
Hilton:Richard
Ian:Stefan
Craig:Michael
Murray:Benjamin
William:George
There are 10 contenders for the glory of Club Rapid Champion 2012. Round one is completed and the 25 + 5 tournament will run over the next four weeks. The crosstable is here. Next weeks draw will be:
Stefan — Michael
Benjamin — Richard
George — Craig
Murray — Ian
William — Hilton
The July NZCF ratings are out. Club members fared well: 9 made gains in their rapid rating (with 3 losing) and 6 made gains in their standard rating (with 2 losing).
The big winner was Michael Metham who improved his standard rating by 172 points. Other substantial gains went to Craig (+32 rapid), Stefan (+45 rapid) and Brett (+59 rapid). The club rating list has been updated, and the full NZCF list can be found here.
The Waikato Open is coming soon — register now for the opportunity to polish up your standard rating!!
“The Pin is mightier than the sword.”
– Fred Reinfeld
The 40th Chess Olympiad is scheduled to take place in the Turkish metropole of Istanbul, from August 27 to September 10th, 2012. The Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other, it can be seen as the unofficial world team championship. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation. The previous Olympiad was held in 2010 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, the next will be in Tromsø, Norway. The first was held in Paris, France, in 1924, with 16 nations participating. The last Olympiad had 143 nations, 1294 competitors, and included no fewer than 254 grandmasters, 65 WGMs, 159 IMs, and 90 WIMs. This time the organisers are expecting even more.
We are pleased to report that two members of the Hamilton Chess Club will be attending this years Olympiad: Hilton Bennett as captain of the men’s team, and Peter Hulshof as captain of the Women’s team.
Open team (in possible board order):
FM Nic Croad, IM Russell Dive, IM Paul Garbett, FM Mike Steadman, Luke Li
Captain: Hilton Bennett
Women’s team (in board order):
wim Sue Maroroa, wfm Helen Milligan, Judy Gao, wfm Nicole Tsoi, wfm Natasha Fairley
Captain: Peter Hulshof
Winter rapid final results below — a win for Peter, with Gary second. Casual chess next week.
| 1 | Peter Hulshof | 6.0 | +W6 | +W5 | +B7 | +B8 | +W2 | +W3 |
| 2 | Gary Judkins | 4.0 | -B8 | +W4 | +B6 | +W5 | -B1 | +W10 |
| 3 | Stefan Wagner | 3.5 | =BYE | =BYE | =B4 | +W6 | +W8 | -B1 |
| 4 | Richard Jackson | 3.5 | =BYE | -B2 | =W3 | =W7 | +B10 | +W5 |
| 5 | George Tuwhangai | 3.0 | +W9 | -B1 | +W8 | -B2 | +W7 | -B4 |
| 6 | Ian Kennedy | 3.0 | -B1 | +W10 | -W2 | -B3 | +BYE | +W8 |
| 7 | Craig Scott | 2.5 | +W10 | -B8 | -W1 | =B4 | -B5 | +BYE |
| 8 | Michael Budd | 2.0 | +W2 | +W7 | -B5 | -W1 | -B3 | -B6 |
| 9 | Murray Tuatini | 1.5 | -B5 | =BYE | =BYE | =BYE | — | — |
| 10 | Maimoena Hulshof | 1.0 | -B7 | -B6 | =BYE | =BYE | -W4 | -B2 |
We had seventeen for rookies round 2. Christopher Symon came first with 6.5 out of a possible 7, dropping a half point to Murray Tuatini. David Chen and Nigel Crombie were tied on 5 points a piece, but David took second on tiebreak with Nigel third. Gary Judkins got the prize for best adult, and Maimoena Hulshof edged out her sister Zamiena for best girl. Age based prizes went to Benjamin Symon (U14), Sam Eddy (U12), Finlay Buckell (U10), and Campbell Wood (U8). Campbell was especially proud of his victory over Luke Halliwell. The full cross table is here, and a rogues gallery of photos is here. The final Rookies tournament for the year will be on 19 August.
Hurry and get your registration in to avoid disappointment, this is shaping up to be a well attended tournament with a good range of talent to test yourself against. Dont miss out!!!
The round four results are in. Final two rounds next week.
| 1 | Peter Hulshof | 4.0 | +W9 | +W5 | +B6 | +B4 |
| 2 | Gary Judkins | 3.0 | -B4 | +W7 | +B9 | +W5 |
| 3 | Stefan Wagner | 2.5 | =BYE | =BYE | =B7 | +W9 |
| 4 | Michael Budd | 2.0 | +W2 | +W6 | -B5 | -W1 |
| 5 | George Tuwhangai | 2.0 | +W8 | -B1 | +W4 | -B2 |
| 6 | Craig Scott | 1.5 | +W10 | -B4 | -W1 | =B7 |
| 7 | Richard Jackson | 1.5 | =BYE | -B2 | =W3 | =W6 |
| 8 | Murray Tuatini | 1.5 | -B5 | =BYE | =BYE | =BYE |
| 9 | Ian Kennedy | 1.0 | -B1 | +W10 | -W2 | -B3 |
| 10 | Maimoena Hulshof | 1.0 | -B6 | -B9 | =BYE | =BYE |
The club welcomes our newest member George Tuwhangai. George has been coming along to club nights for the last several weeks and has now joined as a fully fledged member. He managed to score a win in the first round of the club Winter rapid last night, and is looking forward to next weeks’ games
We kicked off a six round mini rapid last night with 9 players. Welcome back to Michael returning after a long absence from chess, and welcome also to our newest member George Tuwhangai.
Standings at round 2:
| 1 Peter Hulshof | 2.0 | +W6 | +W4 |
| 2 Michael Budd | 2.0 | +W3 | +W5 |
| 3 Gary Judkins | 1.0 | -B2 | +W8 |
| 4 George Tuwhangai | 1.0 | +W7 | -B1 |
| 5 Craig Scott | 1.0 | +W9 | -B2 |
| 6 Ian Kennedy | 1.0 | -B1 | +W9 |
| 7 Murray Tuatini | 0.5 | -B4 | =BYE |
| 8 Richard Jackson | 0.5 | =BYE | -B3 |
| 9 Maimoena Hulshof | 0.0 | -B5 | -B6 |
…. Peter Hulshof has taken out the Title of Club Champion 2012 with an impressive 6.5 out of 7 score. For his efforts he gets $40 in prize money, the Trophy, and of course the accolades that go with the achievement. The final crosstable can be found here. If that wasnt enough, Peter also managed to take out the $20 prize for “Best Tactic Or Combination Leading To A Decisive Winning Advantage” with his neat 16. Bf4.
For the rest of us, as always, it is a case of “Next year, next year, next year I will come through victorious!!!!”.
Well… not those All Blacks, just that all games played were 0-1. With Hilton in Australia next week Peter now has an unassailable lead, so the contest is on for the minor placings. Final round next week. After that a six round rapid two games per night for three weeks.
Crosstable at round six …
| 1 Peter Hulshof | 5.5 | +B9 | +W3 | +B4 | =W2 | +W6 | +B7 |
| 2 Hilton Bennett | 5.0 | +W7 | +B5 | =W6 | =B1 | +W3 | +B4 |
| 3 Philip Rossiter | 4.0 | +W8 | -B1 | +W5 | +W7 | -B2 | +B6 |
| 4 William Lynn | 4.0 | +B10 | +BYE | -W1 | +B6 | +B9 | -W2 |
| 5 Gary Judkins | 3.0 | +B12 | -W2 | -B3 | -W9 | +W10 | +BYE |
| 6 Stefan Wagner | 2.0 | +W11 | =BYE | =B2 | -W4 | -B1 | -W3 |
| 7 Ian Kennedy | 2.0 | -B2 | -W10 | +W9 | -B3 | +BYE | -W1 |
| 8 Jess Fai | 2.0 | -B3 | +W12 | +B10 | — | — | — |
| 9 Murray Tuatini | 2.0 | -W1 | — | -B7 | +B5 | -W4 | +B10 |
| 10 Craig Scott | 1.5 | -W4 | +B7 | -W8 | =BYE | -B5 | -W9 |
| 11 Colin Barrett-Hogg | 1.0 | -B6 | — | +BYE | — | — | — |
| 12 Kaylash Raman | 0.0 | -W5 | -B8 | — | — | — | — |
Hamilton Chess Club 