Round 7 - Wastney Extends Lead

Scott Wastney took 26 moves to dispose of Bob Smith, 3 more than required for his previous two opponents! Could he be slowing down??

Ben Hague ground out a win against Brian Nijman, Ewen Green had another draw, this time against Nathan Goodhue, and Mike Steadman bounced back with a win over Athula Russell.
The leading scores are:
Scott Wastney 6/7
Ewen Green, Ben Hague 5/7
Mike Steadman 4.5/7

Thanks once again to Matt Veldhuizen for the photos below

Don Stracy beating Anton Reid in the Major Open

Ker vs Van der Hoorn (draw)

Nijman vs Hague (win to Ben Hague)

In the Major Open Max Chew Lee finally had to concede a half point, against Ross Jackson. He is still a whole point in the lead, though, as his nearest rival, Timothy Rains, was beaten by his own brother!
Leading scores:
Max Chew Lee 6.5/7
Edward Rains 5.5/7
Jack James, Layla Timergazi, Timothy Rains, Ross Jackson, David Paul 5/7

Round 6 - Wastney Leads alone

Scott Wastney

Scott Wastney is now leading the NZ Championships in Wellington with a score of 5/6. He has won his last 2 games both in 23 moves in brilliant fashion. Here is today's effort

 Brian Nijman had a bit of pressure against the other leader going into round 6, but couldn't convert and it ended up a draw

Leading scores: Scott Wastney 5/6
Ewen Green 4.5/6
Ben Hague, Brian Nijman, Bob Smith 4/6
Anthony Ker suffered a third defeat, this time at the hands of Ben Hague. It's going to be very hard for him to regain his title now.

Max Chew Lee

In the Major Open the remarkable Max Chew Lee from Australia won again, so he remains the only player on full points. Today he defeated Layla Timergazi, and tomorrow he will face the highest ranked player in the group, Ross Jackson (sitting behind him in the pic)

Round 5, Wastney and Green Break Away

Bob Smith against Mike Steadman ended in a draw, although I really liked Mike's position better. The other two games in the leading pack were decisive, with Scott Wastney winning brilliantly and Ewen Green winning mysteriously! Scott and Ewen now lead the field with 4/5.

 


 


 Thanks to Matt Veldhuizen for these portraits:

Athula Russell

William Li

Helen Milligan

In the Major Open there is still one player left on 100% - Max Chew Lee from Australia. He inflicted a first defeat on Cantabrian Timothy Rains, and as a reward gets to play against Wellington Chess Club's Layla Timergazi. Apart from Layla and Timothy, Arie Nijman (father of Brian) is also up there on 4/5.
Here is Max conjuring up a win in a Bishop and pawn ending, against Jack James in round 4

More photos from the Championship

Thanks to Simon Lyall for these, taken at the start of round 2

Athula Russell from Sri Lanka

Top female player Helen Milligan

Brendan Reedy, who has won his last 2 games

Hero of round 1 Brian Nijman

Joshua Wight playing in the Major Open

The photographer photographed - Matt Veldhuizen

Layla Timergazi, still very much in contention

Round 4 - Six Players Share Lead

Nobody has yet managed to stamp their authority on the Championship, and now there are no fewer than six players on 3/4, a third of the field! I was very interested in Hague versus Wastney, it looked to my untrained eye as if Scott was in a lot of trouble as his King position was exposed and Ben's rooks looked menacing doubled on the f file. However it turns out that Scott if anything had the slight advantage - it was agreed a draw in the end.
Anthony had another accident this time against Mike Steadman. A rather violent Pirc led to a Rook and pawn endgame where Mike was a pawn up, which he converted for the win.

We are privileged to have one of Sri Lanka's leading players in the tournament, Athula Russell. Here he is winning against Peter Stuart in round 3

In the Major Open there are still 2 players on 100%, Timothy Rains from Canterbury and Max Chew Lee of Australia. These two players will face each other tomorrow

Round 3 - Wastney, Green Catch Leaders

We made it to the Dominion Post! Check out the story here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/8135059/Plenty-of-check-mates

Ewen Green and Scott Wastney caught the leaders Ben Hague and Bob Smith in the 3rd round of the NZ Championship by beating Wellington players Bill Forster and Brian Nijman respectively. The four of them are on 2.5/3, with top seed Anthony Ker half a point behind.

In the Major Open there are still three players on 3/3, Timothy Rains from Canterbury, Jack James from Palmerston North and Max Chew Lee from Australia. Top Wellington player is Layla Timergazi on 2.5.

I can't really comment on any of the games as I was only there for a few minutes today. Thanks very much to Matt Veldhuizen for taking the pictures below.

Strong contender for the title, Ben Hague

Defending champion Mike Steadman from Auckland

Promising junior from Auckland Nicole Shu Yan Qin

Round 2 - Hague and Smith Lead

Only 2 players are left on 100% after 2 rounds of the NZ Championships, Ben Hague and Bob Smith, and they will play each other tomorrow. Ben Hague won a brilliant victory against defending NZ Champion Mike Steadman, and I have included this below. Another result worthy of note was Bill's disrespectful treatment of his former coach Mark van der Hoorn, and I have managed to get the score of that one too!

In the Major Open there are 8 players tied on 2/2, including Wellington's own 11 year old star Layla Timergazi, and all round nice bloke Jonathon Whittle.

If you are playing at the tournament and you have a game you would like to annotate and share, please send it to me and I will publish it on this page. Email to iansellennz@gmail.com

Many thanks once again to Matt Veldhuizen for providing the photography.

Bill Forster doing his thing

The CQ Hotel Cuba Street Wellington

Another view of the venue