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Members
Dr Richard Sutton
Photo otago.ac.nz
Richard Sutton
It is with great sadness that Dr Richard Sutton passed away on Friday 17th April 2009. Our Club was represented at the
funeral by our Patron His Honour Justice Paul Heath. Dr Tony Booth, our President, sent a message of condolence (see below)
and we held a remembrance period of silence in Richard's memory on Tuesday. May he Rest in Peace.
Kees van den Bosch
Secretary
Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club
Dear Quentin and Greta,
We would be very grateful if you would pass on our sincere condolences to Kensie, Alister, Phillipa and Gregory following
the recent loss of our dear friend Richard. I was personally so privileged to see him at Queenstown in January this year. As
our Club founder in 1969 he and Kensie started the Cockle Bay Chess Club, which became the Howick Chess Club, and shortly
afterwards the Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club, which name has been retained to the present day. In the late eighties the
Remuera Chess Club wound down and some members and equipment merged into the Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club. Richard will be
remembered for his quiet leadership, his coaching ability, chess battles with Les Esterman, Dr Bill Fairhurst and FM Ewen
Green, amongst many others, commencing in the early 1970's. He was instrumental in my playing for Auckland against Otago in
a twenty board Bledisloe Cup match with Otago Chess Club, with communication by morse code over a telephone line, all day
costing I believe $100.
We, as a Club, held a minute's silence on Tuesday night in Richard's honour as a last tribute to the man. Richard was
delighted to know that our clubrooms are now in the basement of All Saints Anglican Church, Howick, where Richard and his
family worshipped before moving south.
Rest in Peace
Dr Tony Booth
President
Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club
I am sorry to have to advise you that Richard Sutton passed away last Friday, 17 April 2009. I attended his funeral in
Dunedin yesterday. It was a fitting tribute and a joyous celebration of a great life. People spoke, all with great
admiration, of his significant achievements; first family, and then, in no particular order, community, church, law, Maori
issues and chess. His efforts in setting up the Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club were expressly noted. A marvellous waiata from
the Maori Law Students gave him a great send off.
I passed on to Kensie (Richard's widow) the best wishes of the Club. Could you please advise Club members at your next
meeting.
His Honour Justice Paul Heath
Patron
Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club
In Memory of Emeritus Professor Richard Sutton
Tributes flowed following the passing of Emeritus Professor Richard Sutton, a leading light amongst legal academics, in
April last year. Richard graduated from the University of Auckland in 1963, then worked as a law lecturer before heading to
Harvard as a Fulbright Scholar and Knox Memorial Fellow, obtaining an LLM in 1968. He returned to Auckland as a Senior
Lecturer then Associate Professor, before moving south to take up a Professorship here at Otago in 1980, a position he held
until 2004. Richard spent two periods as Dean of the Faculty of Law (1981-1984 and 1998-1999), as well as taking leave
without pay to serve as a Law Commissioner from 1992-1997. Richard was particularly proud of the work he did with Mäori to
incorporate their customs and values into the law of passing on property within families.
Professor Mark Henaghan fondly recalled starting his own academic career almost 30 years ago as an assistant lecturer with
Sutton, then the newly appointed Dean. “Richard was the Law Faculty’s secret weapon to send out into the university
bureaucracy and brilliantly throw a spanner into their works,’ said Henaghan. “A couple of flow diagrams later and [the
bureaucracy] left us alone to prey on more defenceless beings.”
Outside of the law, Richard was a Master of Chess – New Zealand Champion in 1963, 1971 and 1972, New Zealand representative
at the Chess Olympics in Yugoslavia in 1972, national master 1963 and 1968. As recently as 2005 Richard was the South Island
Champion. He was a life member of the Otago Chess Club and a Selector for the New Zealand Chess Olympiad teams. Richard
regularly crushed our two resident Canadians, Jim Allan and Richard Mahoney, simultaneously over Chess at lunch. Allan and
Mahoney took 15 minutes each to decide their moves. Richard, 10 seconds. As Allan and Mahoney said: “After only two or three
moves, it felt as though you had no options left on the entire board as though this powerful intellect was bearing down on
you from every direction.” Afterwards, Richard would patiently point out the possible moves that could have been made. Jim
Allan, who is now in Australia, says “it was that gracious nature and willingness to help that came through in everything he
did around the law school.”
Richard describes his research as follows: “My research is a questioning, always assuming that there is something much
deeper lying behind the pattern of law I am studying”. As a Law Commissioner for five years, Richard was responsible for
projects which have led to considerable improvements in the Wills Act, the law of damages, the law of evidence, the law of
contract, property law and fraudulent conveyancing. Richard wrote two books, one on Creditors Remedies and the other on
Actionable Non-Disclosure and numerous legal articles. The one on testamentary claims by adult children written with Nicola
Peart challenges the Law Commission, Court of Appeal and the High court. Since 1996, Richard has worked on the
Te Matahauariki Project with colleagues at the University of Waikato to develop Mäori legal structures that would be
recognised by New Zealand Law. Richard has served with distinction on the Auckland, Wellington and Otago District Law
Societies.
Richard has worked tirelessly as a member of the Anglican Church – using his legal skills to draft constitutions for the
Church. Richard said of this work: “It is a privilege, a different world which has called on all my skills. It has also
tested the things I hold sacred in the Church – its tolerance, its emphasis on the direct access of the people to their God,
its distrust of doctrinal extravagance and of oversimplified fundamentalist thought. I see these values in my churchgoing,
and in the way I have lived my life. I still carry them close to my heart.”
Richard is survived by his wife of 44 years Kensie, and family Alister, Pip, Greg, Rachel, Mike, Ashley, Callum, Kearne,
Jack and Tom.
Reproduced with the permission of
Professor Mark Henaghan
Dean of Law
Faculty of Law
University of Otago
Otago.ac.nz
Richard's name remains on the Richard Sutton Junior Championship Cup and the Richard Sutton Cup, our Grand Prix Swiss Rapid
tournament.
See "Games 2010" for a brilliant game 01/01/62 A Feneridis vs R Sutton 0-1
See "Games 2010" for a brilliant game 01/01/80 R Sutton vs P Stuart 1-0
See "Games 2010" for a brilliant game 01/01/80 R Sutton vs L Cornford 1-0
See the "About Us" page for more.
Clive Wilson, an active and founding member of our Club since 1976 passed away on Friday 21st November 2008
at the South Auckland Hospice after fighting a brave battle with cancer. Clive loved the game of chess and was very sad when
he became too sick to play. His name is on a number of chess trophies. He is survived by his wife Patricia Wilson, children
Andrew Wilson, Ian Wilson, and Anne Wilkins, and grandchildren.
Clive and Patricia married in 1961. In the mid 1970s they and their young children immigrated from England, in answer to New
Zealand's need for qualified teachers. Clive was a science teacher with not one, but three degrees, and taught at various
schools in Auckland. He is remembered as a teacher that made the subject come alive. He was also a teacher to his children
and grandchildren, investing his time in their futures. He was a family man. He set up a chess club in every school he
taught at. He was an avid collector of rocks, and a regular visitor of Crystal Mountain in Swanson. He was a good swimmer.
And he had a great sense of humour. When Anne asked her 4 year old what was the thing he most liked about Granddad, he said
"I liked him when he was alive!" He will be sorely missed by all.
See "Games2008" for a brilliant game 01/01/90 C Wilson vs A Dunn 1-0
Paul Spiller 25/01/08 Rapidplay winner Herman van Riemsdijk Jim Benson
of Brazil being congratulated by New Zealand New Zealand Chess
Chess Federation President Paul Spiller Federation Patron
Photo by Wayne Martin Photo by Helen Milligan Photo by Tony Booth
Paul Spiller is owner of
Spiller's Hammer Hardware in Howick, and supplier of batteries for our chess clocks!
Paul Spiller, stalwart of the Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club, was elected as the President of the New Zealand Chess Federation
at the Annual General Meeting on 19th January 2008. Jim Benson, another longstanding Club member, was elected the Patron.
This is a double-first for our Club.
Paul says he hopes to continue developing New Zealand chess juniors and to gain more government recognition for the game,
which is associated with the New Zealand Olympic Committee but receives no government funding.
He will also help organise around 25 chess events to be held in New Zealand each year, including international competitions.
When US player Bobby Fischer hit the world scene in the early 1970s, the number of chess players worldwide doubled, and
10 year old Paul was one of the newcomers. He has been a member of the Club since at least 1980, with his name being
engraved as winner 22 times
on numerous cups and trophies, a Club record. He also served as the President for 12 years.
He has played competitions in South America, Malta, China, Malaysia, Palau and Australia. He played in the 3rd IGB Dato'
Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Chess Championship in August 2006 coming 69th= from 85 players, scoring 4/11 in a very strong field
with 22 Masters, in the 4th IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Chess Championship in August 2007 coming 60th= from 87
players, scoring 4.5/11 in a very strong field with 30 Masters, and in the 5th IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Chess
Championship in August 2008 coming 69th= from 112 players, scoring 5.5/11 in a very strong field with 38 Masters.
He also played in the Ambassador Marino Cup in August-September 2007 in the Palau Islands, which is northwest of Papua New
Guinea, achieving 3rd place with 6/9.
He played in the Sydney International Open in March 2008, coming 62nd= from 106 players, scoring 4/9 in a very strong field
with 30 Masters. His first round game was against a Grandmaster, with New Zealand's only Grandmaster Murray Chandler coming
13th= on 6, and International Master Puchen Wang coming 19th= on 5.5.
He has organised countless events in New Zealand. He was the Chief Organiser for the Queenstown Chess Classic in 2006, and
is again in 2009. He is the only New Zealander to be recognised as an International Chess Organiser by the World Chess
Federation.
He says the popularity of chess among young people faces some serious competition from computer gaming and its lucrative
prize money, but he feels positive about the future of chess in New Zealand. “It looks very promising. We have a number of
talented young players,” says Paul, heralding the talents of 18 year old Puchen Wang who is now aiming to become
New Zealand’s second Grandmaster.
With around 30 clubs active across the country, Paul says chess has a lot to recommend it. “It takes a lot of skills:
discipline, strategy and planning skills you can apply to other areas. But it’s also an international language – you can
travel anywhere in the world and meet people.”
Howick and Pakuranga Times
"Howick player becomes NZ chess leader".
 
Stan Yee at Houhora Wharf Stan Yee and Jim Benson at Jim's BBQ
Photo by Stan Yee Photo by Stan Yee
Above Left When Stan is not working, studying or playing chess he goes riding on his Honda Firestorm 1000.
Above Right At Jim's now famous Waitangi Day BBQ 2010. It was here on Waitangi Day 2006 that Jim persuaded
Stan to return to chess, having not played since 1984. Jim is the Patron of the New Zealand Chess Federation. The chess
clock was a gift from "GB" (Grandbunny) Simon Ward of Christchurch, after Stan billeted him for the 2008 New Zealand Major
Open in Auckland, and is being put to good use!
Odd Spot
* Stan Yee and Ross Jackson are cousins. Ross' great grandfather and Stan's great grandfather were brothers.
* Ross' future wife Lin flatted with Stan's future wife's sister Lynne, in London.
* Stan was a member of the Wellington Chess Club. Ross is currently a member of the same Club.
* The Club premises is in the same building that once also housed the Alexander Turnbull Library (since moved to the
National Library), where the memoirs of Ross' grandfather Yue Henry Jackson as Chinese Consul to New Zealand were stored.
* Stan and Ross had exactly the same NZCF standard rating of 1770 in 2007, FIDE rating of 1996 in 2009, and NZCF standard
rating of 2013 in 2010.
* Stan's NZCF rating code is 3111, Ross' is 4333.
* The only game they have played against each other was drawn.
Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club members are welcome to add their non-chess profiles and jpg files by emailing
Webmaster Stan Yee stanyee@ihug.co.nz
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