New Zealand Chess Federation

The first chess club in New Zealand was formed in September 1863 in Dunedin

The New Zealand Chess Association came into being in the 1870s. The association, refounded in 1892, conducts the annual championship, usually held in the Christmas – New Year period. The Australian master, C. J. S. Purdy, stated in 1955 that New Zealand holds the record for annual tourneys for a national chess championship.

New Zealand was one of the earliest countries to make use of telegraphic interclub chess as a method of play. Christchurch beat Nelson in two consultation games in 1866. The first interclub match was played between Canterbury and Otago in 1869. The Bledisloe Cup, presented by the Governor-General in 1933, was until recently competed for annually in this way.

Officers of New Zealand Chess Federation Inc.

• Postal Address PO Box 216, Shortland Street, Auckland, New Zealand
• Patron Jim Benson
• Vice-patrons Graham Haase, Bill Poole, George Trundle
• Life Members Peter Stuart, Bob Smith, Viv Smith, Ari Nijman, Gordon Hoskyn, Ted Frost
• President Paul Spiller
• Vice-president Peter Stuart
• Secretary Bob Mitchell
• Treasurer Anthony Whitehouse
• Councillors (Auckland) Murray Chandler, Michael Steadman, Helen Milligan, Bob Gibbons
• Councillors (Regional) Quentin Johnson, Michael Freeman, Craig Hall, Ross Jackson, Hilton Bennett
• Rules Revision Peter Stuart
• Tournament Paul Spiller, Hilton Bennett, Peter Stuart, Bob Gibbons
• Junior Michael Steadman, Quentin Johnson, Jacinta Buist, Gary Judkins, Martin Sims, Craig Hall
• Sponsorship and Publicity Paul Spiller, Murray Chandler, Michael Steadman
• Ratings Peter Stuart, Bob Gibbons (Rating Administrator), Rowan Wood (Rating Officer) , Michael Freeman (FIDE)
• Grand Prix Bob Smith, Hilton Bennett, Helen Milligan
• Women's Chess Gerri Judkins, Jacinta Buist
• Registrar of Master Points Bob Mitchell
• Editor, NZ Chess Magazine Alan Aldridge
• Selectors Michael Freeman, Bob Gibbons, Scott Wastney, Richard Sutton
• Delegate to FIDE Michael Freeman

See also

• New Zealand Chess Championship
• Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE)
• International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF)

External links

• Official NZCF Website
• FIDE Directory: New Zealand