Organised by the Middle Game Chess Foundation, this 9-round all-play-all event celebrates the life of Bob Wade, one of New Zealand’s top chess personalities and authors when he was alive. Six international players from England, Malaysia, Hungary, Poland and Australia joined four top Kiwi woodpushers in this battle of wits. 

“Our headline event this year is probably the strongest ever round-robin event held here in New Zealand ever since the Plaza event in Wellington in 1988 when former world chess champion GM Boris Spassky played in an event together with our strongest player ever, GM Murray Chandler, alongside strong visiting GMs from all over the world, and then IM Susan Polgar, a soon-to-be women’s world chess champion,” shared Paul Spiller, spokesperson for the Middle Game Chess Foundation. 

Paul Spiller, of the Middle Game Chess Foundation

This year’s Bob Wade Memorial round robin was the top-tiered challenge that was held at the same time as four other similar all-play-all tournaments for differently ranked players to gain exposure and experience. 

There were the Peter Weir Memorial, Hilton Bennett Memorial, Arthur Pomeroy Memorial as well as the Middle Game Chess Foundation Challengers allowing for players who are unrated all through to master strength ones to compete in serious, Classical game play in a single round robin format. 

All five events were held at the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre from the 15th to the 21st of January. With a total prize fund of NZ$10,750 for all five events, this is also the largest (in terms of prize money!) and most lucrative chess event ever held in the land of the All Blacks, since the start of this decade. 

“The Middle Game Chess Foundation is the main sponsor for all five events with the goal of developing New Zealand’s young chess talents through opportunities of top-level competitions. Besides the foundation, FIDE’s Planning & Development Commission also provided quite a sizeable financial sponsorship for the events. Finally, we’d also like to thank other individual sponsors who have made this event possible,” shared Paul.

An Englishman led the way

English player and the second seeded ChessBase columnist and current Commonwealth chess champion, GM Daniel Fernandez, who was fresh from winning the 133rd New Zealand Chess Congress, came out flying off the blocks.

ChessBase columnist GM Fernandez in a fighting mood before his round 1 game

Having been competing since the start of the month, he was probably fully ‘warmed up’ and this factor surely helped as he won his first two rounds to lead the pack; defeating two local heroes, IM Tom Middelburg and FM Daniel Hanwen Gong along the way. Game vs. FM Gong given here.

Top seed and former world number 3, GM Michael Adams, did not probably have the best start when he got little out of the opening as Black in round 1 against GM Jacek Stopa of Poland. The game ended drawn.

“This has been GM Adams’ first trip to New Zealand and we are honoured and thrilled. The local chess enthusiasts got the rare chance to witness the thinking process and game play of this super GM, a term given to GMs who have managed to cross the 2700 barrier,” added Paul.

GM Adams got back to winning ways in round 2 and joined the pack trailing GM Fernandez by half a point. Round 3 was a peaceful one where all games were drawn and the leaderboard remained status quo.

The next round turned out to be the bloodiest of the entire tournament with four out of the five matches decisive. Only the game between Hungarian GM Gabor Nagy – a.k.a. the drawing master – Polish GM Jacek Stopa was drawn. GM Fernandez stepped on the gas and won in an effort to try and extend his lead and for a long time, the game between GM Adams and Kiwi FM Gong felt that it might end up drawn – until a blunder by the latter when a little short of time and the Englishman broke through! GM Adams’ win given here.

This round also witnessed the maiden victory by newly minted GM Yeoh Li Tian, Malaysia’s first chess grandmaster, in his first-ever classical event after getting his title. GM Yeoh’s win against 17 years old, FM Felix Xie, the current NZ Champion was also the Kiwi’s only loss in this entire event!

GM Yeoh at the Bob Wade Memorial

The top seed made the leap

Round 5 witnessed how GM Yeoh held GM Adams to a draw, while GM Fernandez got only a draw in the game against GM Stopa – the Polish GM deviated away from the system of play from his recent defeat to GM Fernandez at the 133rd NZ Chess Congress. 

The first of two turning points for GM Adams came in round 6 of the contest when he defeated IM James Morris of Australia. GM Fernandez and FM Xie engaged in an unconventional battle with swings of evaluation going both players’ ways before the game ended dead drawn. By the end of this round, GM Adams had drawn level to co-lead with GM Fernandez. Round 7 witnessed no change to the top-end of the leaderboard as both Englishmen were held to draws by their GM opponents.

GM Adams receiving a copy of Bob Wade’s biography from local chess teen, Ayaan Bhatia

Round 8 saw GM Adams score his fourth win of the event to take the lead. He was white vs. IM Sravan Renjith of New Zealand. Essaying the Bishop’s opening as White, GM Adams got a playable position but nothing much all through the middlegame. Retaining an isolated d-pawn, the super GM woodpusher gradually improved his position and deep into the late middlegame, a situation arose where White could seize control of the board and further errors by IM Renjith allowed GM Adams to score the win! GM Fernandez was held to a draw by the Master of Equality, GM Gabor of Hungary.

The last round did not throw up much fireworks as GMs Adams and Fernandez played out a quick draw to confirm the top two places in the final standings. The Master of Equality, GM Gabor again maintained his solid composure to finish at a +1 -0 =8.

In this round, only FM Xie and GM Yeoh tried to give it a go to finish 3rd and the younger of the two men got to the podium with a draw while GM Yeoh must have been disappointed with his only loss in this event in this last round to finish at 50% in fifth place!

The final ranking overview is as follows:

Full results are available here.

Robert Graham Wade (10 April 1921 – 29 November 2008) was a New Zealand-born English chess International Master, author, FIDE official, and prominent organizer who played a pivotal role in promoting and developing chess in Britain and internationally for over six decades.

Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, Wade learned chess from his father at age eight, but developed a serious interest during high school. He won the New Zealand Chess Championship three times – in 1943, 1944, and 1947–before moving to England in 1946. There he became one of the country's few professional players. Wade secured the British Championship title twice, in 1952 and 1970, and represented England in six Chess Olympiads during the 1950s and 1960s. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1950, recognizing his competitive successes against top players like Viktor Korchnoi and Wolfgang Uhlmann during extensive international tours.