FM Daniel Gong is a new champion of New Zealand. The youngster from Auckland won his maiden national title just a few days before his 19th birthday.
The New Zealand Championship (dating back to 1879!), a nine-round Swiss tournament, took place in Christchurch on the South Island and brought together 24 players. The future champion got off to a flying start winning four straight games but faced very dangerous opponents – seven times NZ champion IM Russell Dive and the defending champion FM Nicolas Croad – in Rounds 5 and 6.
Daniel rose to the occasion and ground down both rivals in long endgames to grab a commanding lead. Gong made three draws in the end to finish on 7½/9, a half-point ahead of another youngster CM Felix Xie (pictured above), who claimed silver. Fourteen-time NZ champion IM Anthony Ker and FM Nicolas Croad scored 6 points each and tied for third place. The bronze goes to Ker, who has a slightly better Buchholz.
Final standings:
|
1 |
FM |
Gong, Daniel Hanwen |
2352 |
7½ |
|
2 |
CM |
Xie, Felix |
2301 |
7 |
|
3 |
IM |
Ker, Anthony F |
2441 |
6 |
|
4 |
FM |
Croad, Nicolas |
2449 |
6 |
|
5 |
IM |
Dive, Russell J |
2388 |
5½ |
|
6 |
McNabb, Matthew D |
2231 |
5½ |
|
|
7 |
Sole, Michael D |
2004 |
5 |
|
|
8 |
FM |
Lukey, Stephen G |
2353 |
5 |
|
9 |
CM |
Rains, Edward |
2178 |
5 |
|
10 |
Winter, Ryan |
2186 |
5 |
The Junior NZ Championship run concurrently with the Major Open. The winners in five age groups are:
U8 Leo Yitao Lian
U10 Justin Zhide Wang
U12 Emily Gan, William Rui Liu, and Ryan Hwang
U14 Isabelle Yixuan Ning
U16 Ollie Archer
2022 NZ joint junior champions - Ollie Archer and Gavith Dharmasena
Girl Champion - Isabelle Yixuan Ning
The NZ Championship also includes rapid and blitz events scheduled for January 11 and 12.
Official website: newzealandchess.co.nz/
