132nd New Zealand Chess Congress in Auckland

The prestigious nine day chess event 132nd New Zealand Chess Congress at Waipuna, Auckland is jointly won by Hungarian Grand Master Gabor Nagy and New Zealand FIDE Master Felix Xie with 7.5 points of 9 games.

The best women player is taken by FIDE Master Chen Yining of China.  In the picture we see Chen Yining with NZCF President Nigel Metge.

In the Major Tournament, we again have joint winners - Issac Ceferino and Pan Alexander Hanrui.  In the picture below, we have the winners with Paul Spiller, organiser of the tournament and the NZCF Vice President.

The event attracted chess players of diverse ages and skill levels with participation in the main tournament or the Major tournament.

The tournament showcases excellent chess quality with minimal inaccuracies as players have ample time for preparation before rounds and a lengthy time control per game.

One of the highlights of this event, involves passing through security checks to prevent cheating. Multiple arbiters and volunteers generously donated their time to ensure the success of the games. 

Featuring substantial prize money, chess players nationwide and international participants from various federations  Hungary, China, Brazil, England, France, Sri-Lanka, Australia, India, Japan, Philippines, Scotland, Isarel and the US converged for this prestigious event.

After the main New Zealand event for 2025 concluded, featuring fast time control tournaments like Blitz and Rapid, additional events suitable for juniors and adults are organized by chess enthusiasts.

Further to enhance chess within New Zealand, I have organized a monthly Juniors chess tournament to enhance local chess growth and support Junior chess development in the community. This project aims to give back to the community and provide chess players with a platform to enhance chess knowledge and skills and also grow and support women chess players.