Great news for young NZ chess talents:
FM Allen Fan (b. 2004) will represent New Zealand at the FIDE World Cup in Sochi, Russia, July 2021 (tournament details: PDF + calendar)
WCM Isabelle Ning (b. 2009) and Felix Xie (b. 2008) will participate in the FIDE Chessable Academy and get special coaching from the world’s best!
The note on NZCF website reads:
Allen Fan selected for the World Cup
NZCF has selected 17-year-old FM Allen Fan to represent NZ at the World Cup in Sochi, Russia, to be played from July 10th. Allen started playing chess at five and credits his parents for dedicating countless hours of time and effort to his chess ambitions, including travelling with him to international youth competitions. Allen has enjoyed participating in global online competitions but is pleased to be selected for a prestigious over-the-board event as Covid (hopefully) wanes. He is intent on doing everything he can to progress further and eventually become an IM.