Zhao Xue wins New Zealand Open with 8.0/9
1/16/2015 – The traditional New Zealand Open, dating back well over 100 years, was held in Auckland, New Zealand in a church bought by GM Murray Chandler, who also sponsored the event, and uses the locale as a chess center. The main competition was dominated by GM Zhao Xue in yet another great Chinese victory. Here is the final report with analysis.
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Held in a church purchased by GM Murray Chandler, the New Zealand Open continues its
century old tradition
Here is a photo of the ninth annual championship held in 1896
GM Allan Stig Rasmussen (left) was one of the international guests, and came fourth in the
main open while sharing first in the rapid event
Among the visitors from afar, was IM Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk (right), who hails from
Brazil where he was three-time national champion in 1970, 1973 and 1988
The top seed of the tournament was GM David Howell by a large margin,
but his tournament went south in the sixth round, when he lost control
of his game against German GM Klaus Bischoff, who regularly provided
GM commentary on Playchess. As a result he had to settle for third.
GM Bischoff ran into his own nemesis in round seven, when he faced GM Zhao Xue who played
an aggressive attacking game, to push her into an untouchable lead. In compensation, Bischoff
took sole first in the blitz tournament.
The trophies and prizes
GM Zhao Xue receives her first prize from the hands of tournament organizer GM Murray Chandler
New Zealand television program "One News" reported on the event
Final standings
| Rk | Ti. | Name | Rtg | Perf | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Zhao, Xue | 2514 | 2640 | 8.0 |
| 2 | GM | Bischoff, Klaus | 2490 | 2510 | 7.0 |
| 3 | GM | Howell, David W L | 2670 | 2274 | 7.0 |
| 4 | GM | Rasmussen, Allan Stig | 2526 | 2459 | 7.0 |
| 5 | CM | Teh, Eu Wen Aron | 2300 | 2126 | 7.0 |
| 6 | IM | Sukandar, Irine Kharisma | 2392 | 2441 | 6.5 |
| 7 | -- | Zelesco, Karl | 2210 | 2477 | 6.5 |
| 8 | -- | Drummond, Matthew | 2231 | 2307 | 6.5 |
| 9 | IM | Van Riemsdijk, Herman C. | 2356 | 2267 | 6.5 |
| 10 | IM | DIVE, Russell J | 2441 | 2344 | 6.0 |
| 11 | FM | CROAD, Nicholas | 2366 | 2342 | 6.0 |
| 12 | FM | HAGUE, Ben | 2462 | 2335 | 6.0 |
| 13 | IM | GARBETT, Paul A | 2355 | 2280 | 6.0 |
| 14 | IM | KER, Anthony F | 2435 | 2192 | 6.0 |
| 15 | -- | THORNTON, Giovanni A | 2195 | 2266 | 6.0 |
| 16 | CM | Schmitz, Andreas Arnold | 2066 | 2212 | 6.0 |
| 17 | FM | SMITH, Robert W | 2367 | 2207 | 6.0 |
| 18 | FM | Stojic, Dusan | 2123 | 2244 | 6.0 |
| 19 | FM | Reilly, Tim | 2238 | 2233 | 6.0 |
| 20 | NM | MCLAREN, Leonard J | 2299 | 2220 | 6.0 |
LinksThe games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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