The South Island championships began at the Brydone Hotel on Wednesday, and will run until tomorrow.
Organiser Greg Familton said it was one of the three biggest chess tournaments in New Zealand, behind the North Island and national championships.
It had two categories, championship and rapid.
Fifty-four players had signed up for the championship tournament, which featured eight rounds of 90-minute games and took place over the first three days of the event.
Sixty-six were entered in the rapid category, which has six rounds of 25-minute games tomorrow.
Only seven of the 54 championship competitors were from Oamaru, the rest coming from around the country.
All ages were welcome. The oldest player was in his late 80s.
It was a slightly smaller event than last year’s, which was held in Invercargill, but was still the second-largest in its history.
The rapid competition had a few more locals entering, including groups from schools.
The event was opened with a karakia by Te Rūnanga o Moeraki upoko David Higgins and a greeting from Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher
The annual competition was first held in 1950.
