Author: Timothy Ha

On Saturday the 14th of January, I learned of my good friend Ian McNally’s death. Ian and I had been friends for nearly forty years. Ian was an Auckland Chess Centre stalwart — he was twice Club President and served on the Club’s Committee in various roles innumerable times over the decades. He was also Club Champion in 1991. Over the years, Ian and I enjoyed many outrageous escapades in the chess world, particularly in Auckland Chess Association Blitz competitions. I shall miss him dearly. R.I.P. old friend.

Bruce Wheeler
Club President

Stay tuned for updates about 2023 club registration and full calendar. Thanks. And please follow the 130th Chess Congress via links on http://newzealandchess.co.nz/ — many of our players are there!

UPDATE: we have changed the opening date to the 13th of February. Thanks.

19th of December is the last club night of the year when we’ll do prizegiving, hold an AGM, eat pizza together, and do some fun chess.

All club members are welcome!

The club will resume on 30/01/2023, and registration will be open in mid-January.

The Spring Cup (only NZCF-rated, classical 75+30, six rounds) starts on Nov 7 and will finish on Dec 12.

The A- and B-grades have been divided. Some were promoted to A- from B-, and some were moved down to B, either based on recent performance or on their own request.

A-grade, https://www.aucklandchess.nz/vega/2022/wwwACCSpringCupA/playersname.html

B-grade, https://www.aucklandchess.nz/vega/2022/wwwACCSpringCupB/playersname.html

Please check your names. If you’re NOT playing in this tournament, please let us know immediately. If you cannot come on any Monday, please text the captain before 6:30 pm as usual.

Please note that our club has only 80 seats, so some new members may not get a game if everybody else shows up.

The last event of the 2022 Auckland Teams Arena (we’re back in 2023, too) will be held during the upcoming weekend, the 12th and 13th of November.

Register online here: https://newzealandchess.nz/auckland-teams-arena-november-2022/

The tournament is held as an individual Swiss with a team twist, where you can build teams and get team standings. Teammates are not paired against each other during the tournament. ATA is also the cheapest way to get FIDE-rated games under your belt, 20 NZD for six classical games in just two days of a normal weekend.

More details about the series: https://www.aucklandchess.nz/auckland-teams-arena/

The 2022 Club Champs was won by FM Alphaeus Ang on 8.0/9 (with one upset caused by WCM Isabelle Ning). Isabelle finished second and undefeated on 7.0/9, Daqi Mao is 3rd on 6.5/9, Justin Wang is 4th and undefeated on 6.0/9, and a bunch of players on 5.5/9.

The B-grade was won by Nikita Lobanov on 7.5/9. Eric Wu dropped from A to B recently but came second on 6.5/9. Pranav Shenoy, Tyleah Po’e-Tofaeono, and Jerome Tao finished on 6.0/9.

All details on Vega pages https://www.aucklandchess.nz/vega/2022/wwwACCClubChampsA/standing.html and https://www.aucklandchess.nz/vega/2022/wwwACCClubChampsB/standing.html

P.S.: rating variations of rounds 6-9 are posted to the FIDE period of December 2022, as the tournament finished on 31/10, too late to be included in November ratings.

The last tournament of the year, the Spring Cup, starts on the 7th of November. Please find your name on the list (everybody’s in one grade for now, but we’ll divide the list into A and B grades before the start). The tournament lasts six rounds and will be only NZCF-rated.

https://www.aucklandchess.nz/vega/2022/wwwACCSpringCupA/playersname.html

If you don’t intend to play, please let the captain know. We’ve removed those who confirmed they’re not playing. If the captain forgot about you, please let us know, too.

The club has only 80 seats, and we’re full for this tournament. New players and their parents, please remember to text the captain before 6:30 pm on Monday night if you cannot come, so others can be paired and not have to wait in vain. Thanks!

Club captain Timothy Ha will be absent on Monday, 17/10 (playing as the youngest player in the Asian Seniors!) so please contact Keong Ang to notify him if you’re not coming. Message Keong if you’ve got his contacts, or write to KeongAng@ and cc: TimothyHa@ (both are gmail.com emails) before 6:30 pm.

On Monday 24/10 the club night will not be run due to the Merv Morrison Memorial tournament being held at ACC. You can register for that one and play!

The last round of the ACC Club Championship will be held on the 31st of October.

To recap: there is no club on Monday 24/10. On 17/10 contact Keong instead of Timothy 🙂

The club is open on school holidays and Monday nights will be held on October 3rd, 10th, and 17th. Those will be rounds 6, 7, and 8 of the Club Championship.

Only on the 24th of October, the club will be closed because of the Merv Morrison Memorial (please register).

The last round of the Club Champs will be held on the 31st of October.

If you’re travelling or cannot come on any of the mentioned Mondays, 3/10, 10/10 or 17/10, please let the captain know as usual. Thanks.