King’s Birthday Weekend Chess Success at the 48th Trusts Tournament.

King’s Birthday Weekend was celebrated with a fantastic weekend of chess as Auckland hosted the 48th Trusts Chess Tournament. The event featured multiple sections, including A, B, and C Grades, as well as a Junior Open category, allowing players of all strengths to compete in the section best suited to their playing level.

New Zealand FM Mao Daqi claimed the Championship title with an impressive score of 5.0/6. He secured first place after drawing his final-round game against CM William Liu. The tournament attracted competitors from several chess federations, adding to the event’s strong and diverse field. In the picture above FM Robert Smith organiser of the tournament playing FM Mao Daqi in Round 5 with FM Daqi scoring a point with black pieces. 

In the B Grade, Vital Henry and Nick Cummings shared first place, both finishing with 5/6. Vital had a very long game in the last round to earn a point to achieve the shared title

The C Grade was won by Tamoghna Reddy Degapudi, who scored an outstanding 5.5/6. Tamoghna has been enjoying an excellent year, having also won the Chessroad Championship in April 2026. The Chessroad Tournament, held monthly, provides valuable opportunities for junior players to develop their chess skills through regular competitive play. The next Chessroad Tournament will take place on Saturday, 27 June, where participants will once again have the opportunity to compete for the monthly Chessroad Trophy.

In the Junior Open section, Ethan Stephan emerged as the winner with a superb score of 5.5/6. Despite being only under 8 years old, Ethan has already achieved notable success, having won the Chessroad Under-8 category twice.

It is inspiring to watch these young players improve so rapidly, expanding their chess knowledge and gaining valuable experience by competing in demanding tournaments featuring long time-control classical games.

Events such as the Chessroad Tournament play an important role in junior chess development. They provide young players with a platform to practise, learn, compete, and excel while preparing them for stronger and more challenging tournaments in the future.

Our congratulations to all the winners and respective grade winners!