Figure 1.--.
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Figure 1.--. |
Chess is not one of the most popular activities at New Zealand Schools, but there is usually a group of very eager players at most schools. For some reason most of the interested students are boys.
A regular group of about twenty students (all boys!!) played chess throughut the year. This was enough capable players to enable two teams to be entered in the Press interschool championships.
The A-grade team with Thor Russel as its No.1 player was expected to do well but, with some close individual losses, the result over all was somewhat dissappointing. The team finished fifth in a competition of seven. Thor won five of his six games. The other members of the team were Steven Easton, Pita Cammock, Kevin Hawkins, Russell Baynton and Michael Richardson. All did their best, but were too inconsistant to be a winning team.
The B-grade team were players who had not competed in interschool competition before, and were slightly overawed by the other teams. However, they showed good form at times, with Andrew Moore and Mark Hollings winning most of their games. Other members of the team were Peter Watson, Michael Moore, Paul Astworth and David Biggs
A school team entered the May hoidays competetion organised by the Canterbury Chess Club and won. The team was Thor Russell, Steven Easton, Pita Cammock and Kevin Hawkins.
The New Zealand Chess Federation instituted a Merit Award scheme for top secondary school players. Question and answer papers have to be studied and completed, as well as position papers. Thor Russell and Steven Easten have successfully passed the Bronze level of this Merit Award scheme.
J.W. Bowden, Lymphad, Cashmere High School, 1983
