The Australian chess player and Lichess streamer Christopher Skulte cheered on Twitter/X, “Flying over 24 hours across the world just to play your neighbor”

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Australia – New Zealand (live here)

Both young talents are just 15 years of age and have also qualified for the FIDE World Cup, Timergazi earning outright the International Woman Master title.

In the Open, New Zealand International Master Anthony Ker led Australia Grandmaster Max Illingworth and International Master Ari Dale in a tie for second place, while in the Women’s, it was Australians Kathryn Hardegen and Alana Chibnall who shared second place.

Direct titles were a plenty, 56 in all, eight players getting the FIDE Master title, four players the Woman FIDE Master title, 35 the Candidate Master title and nine players the Woman Candidate Master title.

FIDE Master titles were awarded to Yita Choong, Daniel Gong, Jason Hu, Ryan Louie, Luis Chan, Donato Mallari, Charles Tsai, Leonard McLaren, Michael Kethro, Max Chew Lee, and Eliot oo-Burrowes and FIDE Woman Master titles awarded to Hardegen, Chibnall, Guo Zhi Lin and Jasmine Zhang.

Candidate Master titles were also earned by Albert Winkerman, Kris Chan, Pasan Perera, Leo Zhang, Allen Fan, Bruce Wheeler, Don Eade, David Notley, Jack James, Alex Huang, Bobby Yu, Tong Wang, Kirill Polishchuk, William Zhang, Regan Crowley, Gyula Plaganyi, William Maligin, Leighton Nicholls, Oleg Korenevski, Anthony Fikh, Oliver Picken, Jared Louie, Tom Crossman, Paul Russell, Aurel-John Buciu, Benjamin Lim, John Duneas, Isaac Zhao, Vishal Bhat, Richard Taylor, Stanley Yee, Vladislav Dragachuk, Timothy Rains, Cameron Yung and Alex Nagorski and Woman Candidate Master title earned by Nicole Qin, Vyanla Punsalan, Jy Qin, Nadia Braganza, Eva Lorenco, Ranae Ghadiali, Cassandra Lim and Alanna Chew Lee.

The closing ceremony officiated by Oceania Chess Confederation and Zone President Paul Spiller who was also the Chief Organiser, was graced by the attendance of Hisham Al-Tahir, General Secretary of the Asian Chess Federation and Murray Chandler, President of the New Zealand Chess Federation.

Open Team
1. FM Alexei Kulashko
2. FM Scott Wastney
3. FM Luke Li
4. IM Russell Dive
5. FM Ben Hague

Women’s Team
1. CM Helen Milligan
2. WCM Jasmine Zhang
3. Joy Qin
4. Kate Song
5. Nadia Braganza

The quality of the applicants for the 2016 Olympiad has been very high with a number of new faces which is exciting for NZ chess. NZCF is pleased to be able to enter strong teams in both events. To those selected best wishes with your chess preparation and travel organisation, particularly those taking part in their first Olympiad. The selection of Team Captains and non-travelling Reserves will be announced by NZCF at a later date.

Top seeded players in the Open event are GM Nigel Short, GM Gawain Jones, GM Alexandr Fier, GM Ma Qun, GM Matthieu Cornette, GM Wenjun Ju, FM Thorben Koop, IM Deimante Daulyte, FM Scott Wastney, FM Alexei Kulashko, IM Russell Dive, WGM Nino Maisuradze, FM Ben Hague, etc. Scroll down for the full list of players

Time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with the addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Results will be submitted to FIDE (the World Chess Federation) for rating. Live games will be daily on Chessdom.com with the Top Chess Engine Championship computer analysis by Komodo, Stockfish, and Houdini.

The last event multiple tie in 2015 , the 2014 title was for IM Puchen Wang. Find the full list of winners, starting from 1879, below the live games.

Official website / Live games with analysis

New Zealand Open champions

New Zealand Chess 2016 participants

Zhao won 7 of her games and conceded draws to top seed GM David Howell (ENG) and IM Irene Sukandar (INI). Howell was in the group of players tied for 2nd on 7/9, along with GM Klaus Bischoff (GER), GM Allan Rasmussen (DEN) and CM Eu Wen Teh (MAS).

Zhao Xue

The tournament also doubled as the 2015 New Zealand Championship, with the title to be awarded to the highest placed New Zealand player. This resulted in a big tie for the title, with an incredible 10 players finishing on 6/9. As the NZCF policy is to award the title to all players involved in a tie for first (no playoffs or tiebreaks), this meant that 10 names will be added to the Championship trophy.

The 2015 New Zealand Champions are – IM Russell Dive, FM Nic Croad, FM Ben Hague, IM Paul Garbett, IM Anthony Kerr, Gino Thornton, FM Bob Smith, Leonard McLaren, WIM Alex Jule, and Gordon Morell.

Replay games with analysis

The tournament was held in the seaside village of Devonport, at the New Zealand Chess Centre. The Chess Centre was previously a church and was purchased by GM Murray Chandler in 2012. It has since been refurbished and will now become home to a number of important New Zealand events.

After the main event a two day rapid tournament was held. First prize was shared between GM Zhao and GM Rasmussen. The final event of the festival was the New Zealand Blitz Championship and was won by GM Bischoff with an impressive 8.5/9.

(Report by Shaun Press)

Official website

The event is a 10-round Swiss tournament with time control 90 minutes for first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with the addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

Top-seed English GM David Howell (2670) heads the field of 115 players from 14 different countries.

Official website

The charming seaside village of Devonport plays host for the first time. Located directly across the harbour from the Auckland CBD, Devonport is renowned for scenic locations, superb beaches and delightful cafes. The tournament venue is the new National Chess Centre at Devonport St Paul’s.

The 9-round Swiss tournament is organized by the 122nd New Zealand Chess Congress with first prize of $2,000 reserved for the winner.

Twenty players are in the lead with perfect 2/2 score. Grandmasters Allan Rasmussen, Xue Zhao, Klaus Bischoff and David Howell are among them.

You can see the current standings and replay the games below.

Official website/ LIVE games with analysis

Standings after 2 rounds:

1 GM Rasmussen, Allan Sti 2526 DEN 2.0
2 GM Zhao, Xue 2514 CHN 2.0
3 GM Bischoff, Klaus 2490 GER 2.0
4 IM Sukandar, Irine Khar 2392 INA 2.0
5 FM HAGUE, Ben 2462 NZL 2.0
6 IM DIVE, Russell J 2441 NZL 2.0
7 IM KER, Anthony F 2435 NZL 2.0
8 CM Teh, Eu Wen Aron 2300 MAS 2.0
9 FM CROAD, Nicholas 2366 NZL 2.0
10 NM MCLAREN, Leonard J 2299 NZL 2.0
11 Zelesco, Karl 2210 AUS 2.0
12 THORNTON, Giovanni A 2195 NZL 2.0
13 GAO, Hans 2293 NZL 2.0
14 GOODHUE, Nathan 2118 NZL 2.0
15 GM Howell, David W L 2670 ENG 2.0
16 FM Le Roy, Brice 2290 FRA 2.0
17 IM GARBETT, Paul A 2355 NZL 2.0
18 FM SMITH, Robert W 2367 NZL 2.0
19 FM Stojic, Dusan 2123 AUS 2.0
20 Zulfic, Fedja 2114 AUS 2.0
21 IM Van Riemsdijk, Herma 2356 BRA 1.5
22 FM STEADMAN, Michael V 2311 NZL 1.5
23 FM Reilly, Tim 2238 AUS 1.5
24 Drummond, Matthew 2231 AUS 1.5
25 MCNABB, Matthew D 2100 NZL 1.5
26 NM DOWDEN, R Anthony 2194 NZL 1.5
27 LEE, Edward 2061 NZL 1.5
28 DUNEAS, John 2180 NZL 1.5
29 LI, William Xiang We 2167 NZL 1.5
30 CM Schmitz, Andreas Arn 2066 GER 1.5
31 KRSTEV, Antonio 2071 NZL 1.5
32 CM MILLIGAN, Helen 2098 NZL 1.5
33 HAIR, Philip I 1912 NZL 1.5
34 Louie, Ryan 1927 AUS 1.5
35 MORRELL, Gordon 2190 CAN 1.5
36 Williams, Doug 1754 AUS 1.5
37 WIM Lauterbach, Ingrid 2089 ENG 1.5
38 Turner, Justin 1434 AUS 1.0
39 CM VINCENTI, David 2125 MLT 1.0
40 CM ANG, Alphaeus Wei Er 2104 NZL 1.0
41 LIM, Benjamin U 2109 NZL 1.0
42 RAINS, Edward 2106 NZL 1.0
43 Watharow, Sean 1876 AUS 1.0
44 Zibung, Remy Urs 0 NZL 1.0
45 CM BENNETT, Hilton P 2130 NZL 1.0
46 FUATAI, Fuatai 2089 NZL 1.0
47 MACDONALD, Paul 1957 NZL 1.0
48 Boy, Reinhard Gunawa 1980 INA 1.0
49 ZHU, Leo Lei 1978 NZL 1.0
50 WFM Schmitz, Manuela 1966 GER 1.0
51 WIM Jule, Alexandra 1939 AUS 1.0
52 WFM TIMERGAZI, Layla 2074 NZL 1.0
53 JACKSON, L Ross 1977 NZL 1.0
54 POWER, P Wayne 1939 NZL 1.0
55 D`arcy, Michael 1916 AUS 1.0
56 ZHANG, Leo 2098 NZL 1.0
57 Maris, Robert 1895 AUS 1.0
58 ALDRIDGE, Alan L 1966 NZL 1.0
59 CARPINTER, Bernard 1873 NZL 1.0
60 TAYLOR, Richard 1891 NZL 1.0
61 GONG, Daniel Hanwen 2044 NZL 1.0
62 JAMES, Jack 2032 NZL 1.0
63 EADE, Don 1977 NZL 1.0
64 Hielscher, Ursula 1845 GER 1.0
65 SEABROOK, Roy 1886 NZL 1.0
66 Burke, Matthew WP 1833 ENG 1.0
67 Maris, Natalie A 1824 AUS 1.0
68 WFM FAIRLEY, Natasha 1816 NZL 1.0
69 WFM SMITH, Vivian J 1836 NZL 1.0
70 NICHOLLS, Leighton 1925 NZL 1.0
71 MUKKATTU, Philip 1736 NZL 1.0
72 Opasiak, Dustin Tenn 1729 POL 1.0
73 YAN, Caroline 1557 NZL 1.0
74 CM FORSTER, William 2081 NZL 1.0
75 Tsagarakis, Angelo 1855 AUS 1.0
76 Shaw, Robin A. 1813 AUS 1.0
77 LYALL, Simon 1823 NZL 1.0
78 ROSSITER, Philip E 1935 NZL 1.0
79 ZHU, Karl Kai 1689 NZL 1.0
80 Lourenco, Eva 0 NZL 1.0
81 PAKENHAM, John 1704 NZL 0.5
82 HUANG, Alex 2114 NZL 0.5
83 LAUGHLAND, Alexander 1559 NZL 0.5
84 FAN, Allen Chi Zhou 2000 NZL 0.5
85 RAINS, Timothy 2050 NZL 0.5
86 Louie, Jared 1783 AUS 0.5
87 LAMERTON, Troy 1731 NZL 0.5
88 SHEN, Terry 1722 NZL 0.5
89 HOLDO, Karl 1606 NZL 0.5
90 ZHANG, Jasmine 1594 NZL 0.5
91 MENG, Richard 1106 NZL 0.5
92 COOPER, Nigel 1815 NZL 0.5
93 PICKEN, Oliver 1433 NZL 0.5
94 WEI, Louie 1423 NZL 0.5
95 HOLDAWAY, Steven 1387 NZL 0.5
96 BROCKWAY, Andrew 1791 NZL 0.0
97 Brockman, Roland 1652 AUS 0.0
98 Maris, Fred A 1519 AUS 0.0
99 BRAGANZA, Nadia 1334 NZL 0.0
100 MALLELA, Raivath 1190 NZL 0.0
101 BARRY, Jacob 965 NZL 0.0
102 NYLUND, Benjamin 1453 NZL 0.0
103 LI, Rodney Xiang Rei 1379 NZL 0.0
104 WANG, Aaron Ziwen 1409 NZL 0.0
105 NYLUND, Timothy 1405 NZL 0.0
106 YAN, Sarah 1390 NZL 0.0
107 NYLUND, Micah 1200 NZL 0.0
108 MCRAE, John 1133 NZL 0.0
109 STEADMAN, Mathew 1103 NZL 0.0
110 YUAN, Kimberley 1038 NZL 0.0
111 LI, Leo Xiang Yu 955 NZL 0.0
112 RYU, Rosa 684 NZL 0.0
113 LEE, Amy 644 NZL 0.0
114 Mendoza, Darcy 612 AUS 0.0
115 Chandraveer Singh Ch 0 IND 0.0

Open Team
1. IM Puchen Wang
2. IM Russell Dive
3. FM Luke Li
4. IM Anthony Ker
5. FM Ben Hague
Non-travelling reserves: David Guthrie, FM Bob Smith, FM Stephen Lukey

Women’s Team
1. WFM Helen Milligan
2. WIM Marany Flack
3. WFM Judy Gao
4. WFM Nicole Tsoi
5. Layla Timergazi
Non-travelling reserves: WFM Vivian Smith, WFM Natasha Fairley, Evguenia Charomova

The number and quality of the applicants for the 2014 Olympiad has been exceptional and NZCF is pleased to be able to enter strong teams in both events. To those selected best wishes with your chess preparation and travel organisation, particularly those taking part in their first Olympiad. The selection of Team Captains is underway and will be announced in the next fortnight.

The Congress consisted of New Zealand Rapid Championship (2-3 Jan), New Zealand Lightning Championship (3rd Jan), 121st New Zealand Championship and Major Open (4-12 Jan).

IM Puchen Wang won the Championship, and Rapid, and also the Lightning! The Major Open title was shared by Sean Martin-Buss and Paul Macdonald.

Wang automatically qualified for the New Zealand Open team for the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Norway.

The 121st National Congress had a guaranteed prize fund of over $6000 and the new champion received $1000.

Full results can be found on the official website

Schedule:
2-3rd January – New Zealand Rapid Championship
3rd January – New Zealand Lightning Championship
4th-12th January – 121st New Zealand Championship and Major Open

The national championship will be a 9 round Swiss tournament with a minimum of 18 players, open to all New Zealand players with a current NZCF standard rating of 2000 or higher, or a FIDE rating of at least 2100. In the event of fewer than 18 qualified players entering, sufficient Major Open entrants will be invited, in order of rating, to bring the field up to 18. The Championship tournament will be FIDE rated and overseas players may be invited by the NZCF Council.

Major Open will be a 9 round Swiss tournament, open to all players with a current NZCF standard rating of under 2100.

The highest placed New Zealand player in the NZ Championship (Outright Winner) will automatically qualify for the New Zealand Open team for the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Norway.

The 121st National Congress has a guaranteed prize fund of over $6000 and the new champion will receive $1000.

www.newzealandchess.co.nz