Napier Chess Club

President's annual report, 1994

MEMBERSHIP: Club membership slipped somewhat in 1994. the number of full-member subscriptions paid was 21 (including four juniors) compared with the previous year's 23 (including seven juniors). Associate membership, available this year for the first time, drew in another three, but five members had become inactive before the end of the year.

COMPETITIONS: The championships were played in three grades, and lightning, time handicap and Swiss tournaments were also held.

The championships resulted: A grade, Mark Lancaster 1, Andrew Reid 2, Michael Burn 3; B grade, Robin Sutton 1, Maurice Berry 2, Marjorie Finlayson 3; C grade, Eileen Martin 1, Neil Biles 2.
Six-round Swiss 40/40: A grade, Mark Lancaster 1, Barry Kent 2, Justin Davis 3; B grade, Maurice Berry 1, Eileen Martin 2, Hamish McCawe 3; juniors, Brendan Arnold 1, Robin Sutton 2, Joel Mulvaney 3. (Restaurant voucher prizes were again provided by Napier's the Old Flame, the Jade Garden, the Pizza Hut and McDonald's.)
Rapid chess (Boswell Cup); Michael Burn 1, Justin Davis 2, Andrew Reid 3, Top junior and top B grade player Joel Mulvaney.
Time handicap: Michael Burn 1, Tyrone Garratt 2, Andrew Reid, Cliff Wilcox and Maurice Berry equal 3.

HAWKE'S BAY TOURNAMENT: The Napier club was responsible for the 1994 Hawke's Bay open, played at the Polytechnic on July 16 and 17. Andrew Reid was the director of play, assisted by Mark Lancaster. Justin Davis (Hastings) was the overall winner (six wins out of six games), with Napier's Bill Sutton second (five points) and Andrew Reid fourth. Nineteen seniors and eight juniors took part. An anonymously presented trophy for the best player under 20 was shared in its first year by Rosaleen Sheehan (Hastings) and Kent Wong (Wellington).

INTERCLUB: Napier scored a remarkable 11-1 win in the first round of the annual Pete's Bishop contest against Hastings but lost heavily in the second. However, the overall result was a Napier win by 14 to 10, and the trophy was thus retained.
At the annual regional tournament in Taupo, Napier retained the A grade trophy, winning the grade for the fourth successive year. Mt Maungabui won the B grade shield, Napier coming second equal with Rotorua.
A Napier team supplemented by players from Hastings lost a two-round match against the Rotorua club by 12 games to 6. the best performers from Napier were two juniors, Robin Sutton and Hamish McCawe, both of whom won both thier matches.

-- CLIFF WILCOX.