Hi everyone. This group has been pretty quiet for a while so I think it would be cool if everyone was to to speak up and let us know who's still around!:)  Because I'm a fool and I accidentally deleted the introduction thread I was hoping that people could take just a moment to introduce themselves (again for some)

I'm a 27 year old male and I live in Auckland. I do labouring work for a living.  I have been playing chess for seven years, I really love it, play every day and study regularly.

I lived in Australia for 12 years before returning to New Zealand a couple of years ago.

Hello, I'm 40, living in Ruakaka just south of Whangarei and I pretend to study while I play chess online!

weeeheeee!

im madness and crazility in wellingtown!

i live here with my esteemed friend the mollus(c)k, he has expressive lips. (and his name baint really sasquatch reklaw) we study...things and...stuff (but not chess, yuck). umm.... eye… i like cheese as a friend, not a food. 

 our flatmate erroll's lips are soft, unlike sand. and apparently mine are crinkly. i done gone been playing schach for....sicks years now. umm. umm....

spot the difference between three fullstops and an ellipsis ... …. wowza! are we learning here people? 

yo wassup!!

 i grew up in Auckland, went to AGS, and now im living in LA.

just started playing chess, coz my 7 year old brother is beating me... haha 

 

Born and lived in Auckland for 33 years.  Met my wife in Cameroon Africa on the O.M. ship MV Doulos.  Teacher of Mathematics.  Learned chess at 12 and played at school as #1 on the team.  Bob Smith was #2 in those days... who could tell he would one day become NZ champ...?

Howdy,

I'm from the sunny Bay of Plenty. Katikati to be precise. Play plenty of chess when I get the time. Would be real keen to be involved in some NZ vs 'other country' tournaments. Usually play King's Pawn openings as white, and just try to be difficult when playing Black.

Hi all, So I am Paul Postma, original from The Netherlands ( Born there & lived there for more than 50 Years). Learned  to know Chess, when I was about 12 say in a sort of Boarding-school, there I played with a polish guy from the same age... But maybe did not play it right, as I didn't had a clue on which side the queen has to stand/Castling/an passant capture, so maybe played it wrong! Anyway kept my interrest in Chess so far that I clipped out the Chess-Matches and -Questions followed it on television, so that all in the Netherlands. Now, say about 45 years later, I think I know how to castle & an passant Capture/ also on which side the queen has to stand, and off course the set board right! I still learn more everyday, but still not good enough to beat the real toppers, but Chess got me in his grip! So watch out!

Kiaora koutou, joemack here, nice to meet you all, I was born in Liverpool and currently live in Welly, deffo one of the planets better places to live! just started playing chess again after a "few" years of not playing. Got to say, squidgirl I like your style!

See what living in Wellingtown does for you!

We march at dawn. 

 

heya! im Ryan Feyter of Auckland. im 16 and i play chess for MAGS im #1 in the B team. been playing chess for a while. i started playing again in high school when i heard about the chess club.

%$#@&* Welsh! Don't they take ages to play their &*#$ing move or what? Sometimes I think they're trying to win by boring the @#$% out of the game; sometimes I think there's some sort of collaboration between them. Bastards! I think they're trying to even the score after Andy Haden's spectacular dive from the lineout at Cardiff Arms Park back in the day. I don't think they ever got over that. And they still refuse to give that dive the 10.0 it deserves:p

Sometimes I like to goad them whenever I get the chance or whenever I don't get the chance. For example, out of the blue I would say something exceptionally witty and insensitive like: "How do you think Andy Haden would handle this endgame position?"

Well, I'm really getting bored with this turn-based style, so I started playing blitz more where I've been getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter. But I play to sharpen up on various opening ideas where I'm tempted to experiment with the hyper-modern genre like the Gruenfeld and a fetish with the transpositional Indian systems to counter d4.

I now see a tendency amongst players to play d4 followed by Bf4 and e2! What’s up with that? However, like the anti-Sicilian response to c5, it’s very effective, and I haven’t quite figured out an effective response but will in time.

I over-rely on the Caro-Kann to counter e4 and the English opening when playing white. This is probably because I get bored with the Sicilian, Italian-Spanish-Scotch games, 4 Knights, Counter Centre etc response to e4 and the plethora of gambits too numerous to mention as well as the Queen's Gambit response to d4.

Mind you, I quite like the Dutch Defense but I can’t bring myself to revive the King’s Gambit or the risky Bird’s Opening; in fact, I’ve been watching a guy who uses the Polish Opening exclusively! Amazingly, he hasn’t lost a game to date, but I doubt whether the opening would prove stable against players rated above 2200. I guess it proves there are some advantages with the novel openings.

Oh, I’m Piri by the way (not my real name). I joined with a few mates from work. We play chess primarily for stress release and to pass the time, so we play it at work whenever we get the opportunity and when suspicious minds aren’t prying.

Apparently, chess is quite popular inside (prison), too. Don’t ask me how I know – I just know. I also know … they’ve got plenty of time on their hands to learn and it’s very therapeutic for idle minds.

I’d like to study the game a little more if I ever get enough time. Once I went along to a chess club some years ago but was made to feel uncomfortable so I never went back.

I enjoy the game because of the close analogies with effective and efficient business management, namely, the strategic management of resources, a field I’m delving into at the moment after a stint in journalism. I guess it’s no wonder those who dream of world dominance also enjoy the odd game of chess.

Actually, I didn’t realise this online version could be so addictive. But like many of you, I’ve got more pressing matters in real life to deal with. After the Welsh tournament (where we seem to be winning (yay, Go Kiwi Go!), I’m going to give the game a break – perhaps just play the odd game of blitz every now and then.

Hei konei, hei kona (catch you later)

I'm with Piri in that 7 days is a bit long!  Let's make the next one a 3 day tourney! (if there is a next one).

I must admit though, I tend to rush my moves and at times pay the price for not sitting down to study the position a bit longer.  Then again my wife tells me I spend too much time on chess and not enough with her and the kids, so maybe I'll just continue to be lazy and rush my moves.

By the way, Doulos (the ship on which I met my wife Heidi) is in Auckland and will soon travel on to Wellington.  It was built in 1914 (2 years after the Titanic!!).  It has a colossal bookshop on deck and is open to the public.  If you want to visit it's your last chance since it will shortly be de-commissioned (scrapped I presume - shame, we have a lot of great memories of our travels around africa and Asia!)

dutchkiwi:

Wow, sounds romantic! I wonder if the de-commisioning feels like the end of an era? The future must roll on ay? I might go down and have a look (if I find the time!)

Actually the tournament is 3 days per move but I understand it might seem like 7 because it is taking so long! I have been guilty of the cause of this myself, because I really like to study my moves before I make them - too many stupid blunders from moving quickly. ;)

We will have future events with this group and I would be pleased if you join.

 

Piri:

It's great to have you as a part of our group and I'm sorry we might be losing you  so soon after getting to know you. I hope you stay on to play some live! I will be willing to play with you anytime.

Hi again!  I just realised we are playing 3 days per move with the Welsh, as also stated by Quixotical above!  So ignore my previous comment.  The other tourney I am in is the 7 day tourney.  If you have already dispatched with Sonofpearl you are too valuable a player to lose Piri, so my sentiments are with the comments above!!

wow good stuff up there, well my name is Kelvin living in Perth with my wife and two boys (they are quite a handful).Born in Palmerston North.Learn to play chess when about 8yrs old ,I remember there was a class activity in chess at intermediate school I think that how is sort of caught on for me .(but is been on and off for years reading books & magazines),now when we moved to Dunedin it was pretty quiet ,I do remember one thing Robert Hubner from Germany who came down to give a simultaneous games is was interesting ,few years later I've tried to join up in the Otago Chess Club but now I was then 19 they played on Saturday night and I usually hang out at the pubs so perfer beers than chess (naughty, oh well is was good fun !) travelled to oz and the rest is here.

Right, fellow chess players and comrades. Im Mike, live in the capital, work at the airport, have a lovely other half but she doesnt play chess. I have got hooked on this s**t thanks to the Mollusk( you know who you are). Since then I have managed to hook a few of my workmates and we pass the time at work with a bit of online shenanigans. Quite happy to play anyone anytime but be warned I can pull out some unorthodox moves at times which can either lead to victory or absolute disaster.

 

Either way I enjoy the game win or lose but we all know winners are grinners.

 

So, keep smiling people and fly our flag with a bit of pride.

Shabooyah Roll Call

Lol. Yeah I'm Will. From Wellington. Played for a bit. just introing myself. Nice skin for the page by the way.

(How did we, being the small country that we are, get so lucky as to have the colour BLACK for our national uniforms? It's like the most intimidating colour imo Lol)

And if you feel that we as New Zealanders CHOKE at Finals time in any sport, and you get to the tournament finals in Chess, then here's my advice -

Pretend your an Australian

Play hard!

*bump* just want to bring this topic back into action for the new kiwis players, go on have a go posting here about you and chess.
    Also have a go posting in Roll call part 2 more about you and your other interests.

hey KIWIS! im a 28 year old born n raised in south auckland,pretty much lived my whole life here apart from a 3 year forced vacation (wasnt by choice,figure that out for urself,lol).im a landscaper by trade but currently working as a truck tyre fitter part time,tryna find a change of work actually so if anybody with a business looking for a hard worker HOOK A BROTHER UP! HAHAHA...

just started playing chess this year and yes im addicted and yes i need a chess fix daily and yes i hog the computer as much as i can cos nobody bothers to tell me to get off cos il deal to them lol just kidding,im a softy but if u mess with me while playing chess theres a high percentage that i will turn HULK on yah hahahaahaha... 

Ok I'd better post something now I'm meant to be helping out with all stuff Kiwi.

I grew up in Papakura (South Auckland) and started playing chess at 8 or 9 against my friends. Then played in the high school team but didn't really play much after that. Have gotten back into it since we moved to Thailand this year and my son joined the chess team. He is 11.

So I coach his school team now (which just won an inter-school chess competition here in Chiang Mai :-)

And I play here

Hey by the way there is a new World chess League that is going to start in January (15th) and we are enrolled. So go check it out and join our Team NZ

http://www.chess.com/groups/home/team-new-zealand

Hello all.

I am a 16 year old living in a small town in Northern Southland, making me the furtherst south member in this group (I think). I attend an Otago boarding school, where they block internet game access, making my contribution here on chess.com reasonably limited. This does not affect my addiction to this game.

I learned to play at about the age of 7. A then and now restriction in the number of OTB opponents means that nearly all of my chess has been played on the internet in recent times. Hopefully university will provide more opposistion for OTB matches and tournaments.

In my spare time I read, play music and run when I am not doing anything related to chess, school or work.