The club welcomes Graham Nolan as its newest member. Graham performed strongly at the Waikato Open recently gaining 3.5 points out of 6 in the Open division, and will be a strong contender in future local tournaments, and in the club champs and rapid next year.
We tied with our best ever previous turnout for the Rookies today with 30 competitors. Special kudos to those that travelled from as far afield as Rotorua and Auckland to take part. First overall was taken out by Benjamin Symon –participation in club night games has increased his ability in the last few months and he will be giving big brother Christopher a run for his money soon. Second and third went to club members Murray Tuatini and George Tuwhangai. Age division first and second prizes for U16 U14 U12 U10 and U8 were also awarded – the final crosstable and full details of all prizewinners and the tiebreak points can be found here, and these are the photos. Special thanks to Hilton for giving a simul against 6 players during the lunchbreak – hopefully we can provide the same challenge at next year’s events. This was the last rookies tournament for 2012 but we look forward to seeing you all again next year when maybe we can get to 40 participants.
Castling is for sissies — Anon
Only three more and we will have reached 30
Numbers are looking good for this weeks Rookies Tournament with in excess of 20 entries. Make sure you dont miss out, register now
Hilton has managed to take the title of Club Rapid Champ 2012 with 4.5 out of 5, dropping only half a point to the second place getter Stefan. For the rest of us it is a case of “Maybe next year …. ” as usual. For his efforts Hilton’s name is now immortalized in the hall of fame. Final cross table is here. Next week we have a one night blitz tournament like no other – definitely not to be missed.
The link has now been updated so that you can access all the games (both u1800 and open grade divisions) of the Waikato Open Tournament 2012 in .pgn format
The results after round 4 are posted here. The final weeks draw will be
Hilton:Michael
Richard:Stefan
Ian:William
Murray:George
Benjamin:Craig
The games for the Waikato Open 2012 are now available here in .pgn format. Currently only the Open Grade games are available, we hope to make the under 1800 grade games available in the near future. (The page is located permanently under Events > Waikato Open 2012).
Combining a top class venue with the organisational skills of Hilton Bennett and Keong Ang meant that once again the Waikato Open was a resounding success for the forty six participants, some from as far away as the South Island. The Open division was contested by 22 individuals including one IM and 3 FM. First place (4.5 out of 6) was a three way tie between Ben Hague, Mark Noble, and Ralph Hart. The Len Whitehouse Memorial Trophy for the best Waikato Player in the open division went to club member William Lynn. Twenty four aspirants tussled it out in the under 1800 division with first placed (5.0 out of 6) shared equally by Ian Kennedy and Nigel Crombie. David Chen and Arvin Lim took the first equal grade prize in the under 1500. The William Lynn Trophy for the best local junior was shared by Sheng Cao and Daniel Davis. A big thank you to all the participants and we look forward to an even bigger tournament turnout next year. Cross tables are located here and once again the obligatory rogues gallery is included here.
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!!
Hamilton Chess Club 