Let’s get some sun this winter!
By Edwin Lam Choong Wai
Photos courtesy of WFM Helen Milligan
Ever thought how priceless it feels to play chess close to the magnetic South
Pole? Wonder no more, dear friends! There is an opportunity here for you to
compete in the Queenstown Chess Classic (www.queenstownchess.com).
This ten-round tournament is to be held in the resort town of Queenstown during
winter time in the Northern Hemisphere – back again after a lapse of two
years.

Welcome to Queenstown!

Streets of Queenstown
Queenstown, which is set out along the S-shaped Lake Wakatipu, is home to the
world’s southern-most wine producing region, and is also one of the few towns
closest to the South Pole. The 45th parallel location of the town means that
the Queenstown Chess Classic is possibly the southernmost FIDE-rated chess
event in the world!

Down under – Australia, New Zealand and the Arctic continent

The southernmost FIDE-rated chess event in the world?
Incorporating the official 116th New Zealand National Championships, the Queenstown
Chess Classic will be held from the 15th to the 24th of January 2009, in the
Millennium Hotel, with a total prize fund of NZ $50,000 (US $37,000). There
is a total of 15 prizes for the top finishers, with the champion taking home
NZ $10,000 in money. On top of that, there are also grading, senior and junior
prizes.

The defending Champion, GM Murray Chandler
While everyone freezes in the North, January is summer time in Queenstown.
The 45° south latitude means that summer days in Queenstown are long, with
dawn at 5 a.m. and dusk at 10 p.m. Daytime temperatures hover between 20–30
degrees Celcius, thus making it the best time for outdoor activities such as
mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, skydiving and “river safaris” in jet boats.
Besides these activities, Queenstown, which sits on a UNESCO World Heritage
site, also offers opportunities for hot-air balloons and para-gliders.

This is what you will see when you go on a ride with Dart River Safaris

Time for a relaxing boat ride?

A scenic lookout with a breadth-taking view
Queenstown is also a most convenient staging ground for drives around the mountains
and fiords of New Zealand’s South Island. Its roads offer stunning sceneries
ranging from the fiords and glacial lakes to forest and rolling pastures, as
well as wineries and apple orchards. With Mt. Aspiring National Park, Milford
Sound, Homer Tunnel and Mount Cook within driving distance from Queenstown,
this is the perfect opportunity for some chess tourism around the back roads
of New Zealand’s South Island
With the tournament organizers allowing half point byes to be given to players
combining the tournament with a holiday, this is the perfect opportunity to
experience Lord of the Rings, up-close-and-personal! With such a priceless
experience on the cards, this tournament is sure to attract lots of interests
from around the world – even the legendary Bob Wade flew three quarters of the
way across the globe to join 192 other players from 18 different countries to
compete in the previous Queenstown Chess Challenge.

Photo session – note Bob Wade’ seated in the center of the group
For enquiries and registration, please contact the Chief Organizer of the Queenstown
Chess Challenge, Paul Spiller, at paul@queenstownchess.com.
All GMs, WGMs and Australian/New Zealand IMs and WIMs will receive free entry
to the competition. Only one round per day, with games starting at 3 p.m. The
time control is 100 mins + 1 min increment per move played. Let’s get some sun
this winter, down South in Queenstown!
Previous report on Queenstown

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Murray Chandler wins Queenstown Chess Classic
08.02.2006 – This is LOTR country – Lord
of the Rings to the uninitiated. It is the adventure capital of the
world. for people who like fast jetboats or bungy jumping, an activity
invented in Queenstown! But it also paid host to a big chess tournament,
with many interesting new faces. Big
pictorial report.
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Lord of the Kings – Queenstown Chess Classic
08.05.2005 – Like to visit New Zealand? We
know that it is on the other side of the globe, but it is Lord of
the Rings country. The excuse for going: there is a very attractive
tournament in Queenstown. You can combine chess with the holiday
of a lifetime!
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