Christchurch recently hosted the 129th New Zealand Chess Congress for the first time in 20 years. And among the tournaments at Riccarton Park from January 2-12 were the 'time controlled' Fast chess formats: Lightning and Rapid.
Five national titles and a regional one were up for grabs at the 129th congress, with players competing in the NZ Championship, NZ Major Open, NZ Rapid Championship, NZ Lightning Championship, NZ Junior and Age Group Championships, and Canterbury Open.
Competitors, aged from eight to 78-years-old, battled their way around 64 squares to find the best of the best.
New Zealand Chess Federation president Nigel Metge said it was great to be back in Christchurch, which was where the silver rook trophy was presented to the first winner in 1879 - 140 years ago.
He said chess has become a young person's game, with thousands of school children now playing at organised events.
In NZ Rapid chess, players have 25 minutes for each game with an additional five seconds per move starting from move one.
NZ Lightning chess consists of three-minute games with an additional two seconds per move starting from move one.
Prizewinners:
| Tournament | Position | Points | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury Open | |||
| 1st equal | 4.5/5 | Hao Tang | |
| 1st equal | 4.5/5 | Benedict Suazo | |
| 3rd | 3/5 | Hamish R Gold | |
| NZ Junior | |||
| Joint NZ Junior Champion, Joint NZ Schoolpupils Champion. | 1st equal | 6/7 | Gavith Dharmasena |
| Joint NZ Junior Champion, Joint NZ Schoolpupils Champion, Under 16 Champion. | 1st equal | 6/7 | Ollie Archer |
| NZ Schoolgirls Champion, Under 14 Champion. | 3rd equal | 5/7 | WCM Isabelle Yixuan Ning |
| 3rd equal | 5/7 | Jonathon Hookings | |
| Joint Under 12 Champion | 10th equal | 4/7 | William Rui Liu |
| Joint Under 12 Champion | 10th equal | 4/7 | Emily Gan |
| Joint Under 12 Champion | 10th equal | 4/7 | Ryan Hwang |
| Under 10 Champion | 10th equal | 4/7 | Justin Zhide Wang |
| Under 8 Champion | 18th equal | 3/7 | Leo Yitao Lian |
| NZ Championship | |||
| NZ Chess Champion | 1st | 7.5/9 | FM Daniel Hanwen Gong |
| 2nd | 7/9 | CM Felix Xie | |
| 3rd equal | 6/9 | IM Anthony F Ker | |
| 3rd equal | 6/9 | FM Nicholas Croad | |
| 5th equal | 5.5/9 | IM Russell J Dive | |
| 5th equal | 5.5/9 | Matthew D McNabb | |
| Under 2200 equal | 5/9 | Michael D Sole | |
| Under 2200 equal | 5/9 | CM Edward Rains | |
| Under 2200 equal | 5/9 | Ryan Winter | |
| Major Open | |||
| NZ Major Open Champion | 1st | 7.5/9 | Euan McDougall |
| 2nd | 7/9 | Karl Holdo | |
| 3rd | 6.5/9 | Kian Dharmasena | |
| Under 1700 | 5.5/9 | Emily Gan | |
| Under 1400 equal | 4.5/9 | Levi Paxton | |
| Under 1400 equal | 4.5/9 | Tawan Sunathvanichkul | |
| NZ Lightning | |||
| NZ Lightning Champion | 1st | 8.5/9 | CM Felix Xie |
| 2nd | 8/9 | FM Daniel Hanwen Gong | |
| 3rd | 7/9 | IM Russell J Dive | |
| Under 2000 | 6.5/9 | Thomas Van der Hoorn | |
| Under 1700 equal | 6/9 | Ryan Winter | |
| Under 1700 equal | 6/9 | WCM Isabelle Yixuan Ning | |
| Under 1400 | 6/9 | Emily Gan | |
| NZ Rapid | |||
| NZ Rapid Champion | 1st | 8/9 | IM Russell J Dive |
| 2nd equal | 7/9 | WCM Isabelle Yixuan Ning | |
| 2nd equal | 7/9 | CM Felix Xie | |
| 2nd equal | 7/9 | Michael D Sole | |
| Under 2000 | 6/9 | Gavith Dharmasena | |
| Under 1700 | 5/9 | Justin Zhide Wang | |
| Under 1400 equal | 4.5/9 | Barry R Hooton | |
| Under 1400 equal | 4.5/9 | Wayne McDougall | |
| Under 1400 equal | 4.5/9 | Yeqing Zhu | |
| Under 1400 equal | 4.5/9 | Weiyang Yu | |
| Under 1400 equal | 4.5/9 | Alexandre De Maupeou D'ableiges |
-Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
