IM Puchen Wang              What kind of a move is that?       Oh, better give the camera one 
     Photo by Helen Milligan              Photo by Stan Yee                   Photo by Stan Yee

29th January 2008 Simul by IM Puchen Wang
International Master Puchen Wang was born 20 January 1990 - 18 years old. He participated in the Olympiads of 2004 and 2006. He became the New Zealand Champion, Rapid Champion and Lightning Champion in January 2007. In May 2007 he was unbeaten in the Zonal Tournament of Oceania, played in Fiji. His score of 6½/9 was enough for second place and the award of the International Master title. He was invited to the Euwe Stimulus Tournament in Arnhem, The Netherlands, 17-26 August 2007. It was an invitational tournament in the format of a nine round Round Robin. Together with this group, ten players competed in a regional group. Players included Grandmasters Barua, Panno, Olafsson and Gaprindashvili. The tournament was won by Simutowe, and Puchen was placed third. He was not able to defend his New Zealand Champion title in January 2008 as he was due to sit an exam, but he did retain his Lightning title.

Puchen played a simultaneous display against members and playing guests John McRae and Bob Mitchell, with moral support from non-playing guest FIDE Master Ewen Green, to help launch Puchen on his attempt on the Grandmaster title in 2008. Puchen will be travelling to Europe mid-February 2008 to play in several strong events to gain experience and provide opportunities to ultimately becoming New Zealand's second Grandmaster. He is being supported and project managed in this by the New Zealand Chess Federation, and there was a "launch" at the 115th New Zealand Chess Congress in January 2008 of "Project Grandmaster". Donations at Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club exceeded $700, and we all wish Puchen every success. P.S. Puchen won all 25 games!

Project Grandmaster Puchen Wang, one of the best chess-playing juniors New Zealand has ever produced, is taking a gap year before university to try to achieve the grandmaster title. The New Zealand Chess Federation is seeking to provide the best tournament format and funding vehicle to maximise Puchen's chances for success - we estimate a budget of $50,000 is required. Donors will have access to a special website where Puchen will report his results, annotate some games, and keep us in touch with how he is getting on. If you would like to be part of this project, then please, donate some money! You can make donations using the Automatic Payment form - right click and "Save Target As" to save the jpg file to your hard drive, then double click the file and print from your hard drive. Fill it in, inserting your name in "Details to appear on payee's Bank statement", and send it to your Bank. Or set up an online Automatic Payment, or make an one-off lump sum online payment, to the NZCF Puchen Wang Trust at ANZ Milford Branch account no. 010178-0069910-00, remembering to insert your name in "Details to appear on payee's Bank statement". Email Mike Steadman steadmanm@hotmail.com to get details of the special website for donors. Otherwise, contact Mike phone 021-799-566 to find out what you can do to help Puchen.

Wikipedia on Puchen Wang

      IM Herman van Riemsdijk         Fischer always played the Sozin        f5 is the thematic move 
      Photo by Helen Milligan                Photo by Stan Yee                  Photo by Stan Yee

5th February 2008 IM Herman van Riemsdijk gave a lecture to the Seniors
International Master Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk was born on the 26th of August 1948 in Tiel, The Netherlands. He is a citizen of Brazil. He was Brazilian Champion in 1970 and 1973 and Pan American Champion in 1977. He was awarded the International Master title in 1978.

We have been fortunate in the past to have had two Grandmasters in Julen Arizmendi and Stuart Conquest to give lectures. In fact we can probably boast more top class lectures than any other New Zealand club. Herman is a great lecturer and has just had a top result in the Australian Championship, finishing 2nd= on 8/11 with IM Stephen Solomon. He also finished 4th-7th in the New Zealand Championship, and won the New Zealand Rapid.

Herman gave a lecture based on Bobby Fischer's favourite Leonhard-Sozin Attack, after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4, and demonstrated with several games how Fischer was such a master of that type of position. Herman then showed us what he had learnt from Fischer, achieving similar positions and using the thematic f5 to force Black to play ... e5 and thereby create a weak square on d5 for a White Knight outpost. Then he proceeded to show us how to win from that position. We stopped for a great supper, but Herman carried on informally, showing a crowd of keen players more tips from games on his laptop - so we took the supper to him! We all had a fantastic evening, and made a donation to help him get back to Brazil ... His last stop is Hamilton, for another lecture, before flying back home. Thanks Herman, and have a safe trip back!

           FI Tal Granite                 Tal Granite gives lecture 
 Photo www.fide-trainer-academy.com           Photo by Stan Yee                  

6th May 2008 FI Tal Granite gave a lecture to the Seniors
FIDE Instructor Tal Granite from Israel is visiting New Zealand and accepted an invitation to visit our Club. So we were more than happy to slot him in rather than play the planned Lightning Round Robin. It was a good opportunity to hear him give a lecture. Tal led us through the process that he went through to become a FIDE Instructor in 2006, from his travel arrangements to the different aspects of training required at the FIDE Academy in Berlin. He also explained the structured process in teaching chess to juniors. Tal is holidaying with his wife and family, doing it in true Kiwi fashion - they are travelling around the North Island in a campervan! He was even brave enough to drive himself to and from our Club, at night. A quick quiz showed he did know his way around Auckland, but he did mention that he had to accustom himself to driving on the left hand side of the road. Safe driving Tal, and happy holidaying! P.S. Tal, a list of New Zealand Chess Clubs and their emails and club nights can be found at NZ Chess Federation and we are sure you will be most welcome.

A FIDE Instructor or FI is required to have 2 years experience and a minimum rating of 1800. A FIDE Trainer or FT is required to have 5 years experience and a minimum rating of 2300 i.e. be a FIDE Master, and submit a 12 page trainer paper. New Zealand currently has only 2 FT and 4 FI: FT Ewen Green (HP), FT Bob Smith (WT), FI William Lynn (HA), FI Vivian Smith (WT), FI Victor Wang (CA) and FI Bruce Wheeler (AC).


Membership Fee Payments were due 31st March 2008
Parents - Junior Members in the Coaching Cadre pay $30 per School Term (that translates to only $2.30 per week to cover tea, coffee, milk and biscuits for waiting parents, our rent of the hall, and $6.50 NZCF levy).

Seniors - Would Seniors please remember to pay $110 (that translates to only $2.10 per week to cover tea, coffee, milk, biscuits, our rent of the hall, and $13 NZCF levy).

You can post a crossed cheque (do not post cash) payable to Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club to Mr. Kees van den Bosch, The Secretary-Treasurer, Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club, 37 Centre Court, Pakuranga, Auckland. You can also email or phone Kees van den Bosch.


Chess Club meets on Tuesday nights

The Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club meets on Tuesday nights in the Haseler Hall, below All Saints' Church, corner of Selwyn Road and The Glebe, Howick, Auckland, New Zealand. We are open at 6.30 p.m. for Juniors, with regular tournaments for Seniors at 7.30 p.m. New members are welcome.


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Book Store

Gambit Publications Biggest publisher of chess books world wide. A company which is unique in that it is run by chess Masters for chess players. Directors are GM Murray Chandler, GM John Nunn and FM Graham Burgess. Our Club has a bookstore with Gambit books, open at 6.30 p.m. Tuesdays, run by Leonard McLaren. If we have not got the book you want from the list on www.gambitbooks.com then we will get it for you. Other club members and non-club people are more than welcome to drop in and have a browse and a chat. Or if you want to save time you can email Leonard McLaren at leonardmclaren@quicksilver.net.nz first, to see if the book you want is in stock.
NZ booklist (doc file) for prices in New Zealand dollars as at 12th April 2008.


Problem

White to play and mate in 2.
Answer to Problem

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