Chess club hosts nationally rated tournament

The New Plymouth Chess Club is hosting the Taranaki Rapid Open Chess Tournament on Saturday 7 October with a guaranteed prize pool of $2,000 – $500 for first place – up for grabs. This is the first time in over 30 years that New Plymouth has hosted a nationally rated event.

The Taranaki Rapid is an annual chess tournament put on by the local chapter of the New Zealand Chess Federation, The New Plymouth Chess Club.  The club expects to attract players from across the country.  So far, Ben Hague, the top FIDE rated rapid chess player in New Zealand, has already signed up!

Chess seems to be experiencing a resurgence ever since the COVID lockdown a few years ago when many people began or got back into playing the game online.  Locally, the club has seen a boom in interest, attaining the largest number of members this century and now meeting two nights a week since the club premises couldn’t accommodate all the keen players.

John Ansell, President of the New Plymouth Chess Club, encourages former players and those who’ve been playing online or with friends to enter, “This rapid is a fantastic opportunity to test your chess skills against some of the best players in the country, but it’s not just for experts.  This is a great chance for all enthusiasts of the game, young and old, to play some quality games.”  

Ansell said, “Most years about half of the players are adults and half are under the age of 20.  This is a chance for some of the top juniors in the region to come and play quality chess against each other as well as against skilled adults.”

The New Plymouth Chess Club is holding this nationally rated event in the hopes of growing interest in the game locally as well as encouraging players from outside the region to come see what Taranaki has to offer while playing some good chess.  The money in the prize pool will be spread out across several divisions based on a players’ initial rating, giving everyone an opportunity to walk away with a bit of money.

We expect it to be nationally rated (by New Zealand Chess Federation) and, depending on participation it may be FIDE rated.

All entries must be received by 5 October.  Anyone interested in playing needs to register in advance, which can be done online by clicking here. More details and a link to the entry form can be found on the New Plymouth Chess Club Facebook page.

For those looking to brush up on their skills prior to the Rapid, the New Plymouth Chess Club meets at 11 Gilbert Street (Model Railway club rooms) on Tuesday evenings for club members and on Wednesday evenings from 7 – 8:30 for social games.