Chess in Nelson

28/10/2026

Relive the South Island Chess Championships 2026 ♟️

77 players, five federations, ages 8 to 84, five days of chess and six nights of Nelson Chess Club history projected on the Rutherford Hotel.

Thank you to everyone who played, helped and supported, and a huge thank you to Nelson City Council, Card Merchant Nelson, NelsonTasmanNZ, Rutherford Hotel, BrightHope Bookkeeping, MiGym, Orange Dog, Silver Eye Films and NZCF and Orange Dog.

28/10/2026

The move is easy to find once you see the idea 🧠 Do you know why it works?

26/10/2026

♟️ En Passant Interschool Chess Tournament 2026: results!

What a day at Nelson College! 154 players from schools across Nelson and Tasman took part in the En Passant 2026. Thank you to every player, parent and teacher who came along.

🏆 Years 1–3
🥇 Samuel Hutcheon (Homeschool)
🥈 Timothy Hewson (Nelson Christian Academy)
🥉 Cosmo Gilberts (Nelson Christian Academy)

🏆 Years 4–6
🥇 Sam Luke (Homeschool)
🥈 Matthew Maungmit (Te Puna Wānanga o Te Wairepo)
🥉 Finn Searle (Parklands)
👑 Best Female Player: Wee Meh
🏫 Best School: Te Puna Wānanga o Te Wairepo

🏆 Years 7–8
🥇 Luciano Ciminiello (Broadgreen Intermediate)
🥈 Thomas Voyce (Nelson Intermediate)
🥉 David Gorst (St Joseph’s School)
👑 Best Female Player: Ali Taylor-Krabo
🏫 Best School: Nelson Intermediate

🏆 Years 9–13
🥇 Lawrence Ciminiello (Nayland College)
🥈 Troy Kelso (Nelson College)
🥉 Arlo Gunn (Nelson College)
👑 Best Female Player: Lilly Quinn
🏫 Best School: Nelson College

Congratulations to all our winners, and well done to everyone who played! We’ve also sent participation certificates online to all students, so keep an eye out for yours.

You can see the full standings here: https://bit.ly/48mPCe9

A big thank you to our sponsors and supporters, who helped make the day possible: Card Merchant Nelson, MiGym, BrightHope Bookkeeping, Orange Dog, Tāhunanui Community Hub and Nelson College.

Check you later!

25/10/2026

♟️ Throwback to Top of the South 2026! ♟️

We’re still working on the photos from En Passant, and they’ll be coming very soon! 📸 In the meantime, we found these archive shots from the Top of the South Interschool Chess Championship a few months ago, and we couldn’t wait to share them with you.

Look at all that concentration, all those great moves and all those smiles! 😍

Were you there? Tag yourself or a friend in the comments 👇

📷 A huge thank you to Roger from WannaBeKiwi.com for capturing these moments so beautifully!

25/10/2026

Can you find the best move? ♟️
Drop your answer in the comments 👇

25/10/2026

♟️ Fischer Random Tournament ♟️

What happens when the pieces start in random positions? 🔀 Come and find out!

📅 Wednesday 28 October
🕠 5:50pm to 8:10pm
📍 Tāhunanui Community Hub, 55–61 Muritai Street, Nelson
⏱️ 5 minutes per player

- Medals for the top 3 in each category
- $20 Card Merchant Nelson vouchers for the top 4 in the Under 14 category

[email protected]

Special thanks to our sponsors, Orange Dog, BrightHope Bookkeeping and Card Merchant Nelson

21/10/2026

♟️ Last chance to join En Passant!

Our last big interschool tournament of the year is this Friday, 23 October, at Nelson College, from 8:30am to 3pm. Open to all Top of the South students from Years 1 to 13, at any level.

Registrations close soon! Just email us at [email protected]

21/10/2026

Your move. What would you play here? ♟️

19/10/2026

Congratulations to Otago and New Plymouth on the wins, and well done to everyone who took part. Special shoutout to our own Nelson Chess Club for representing the region ♟️

15/10/2026

Thank you to Kate Russell and the Nelson Weekly team for the great article on the South Island Chess Championships! ♟️
Congratulations to all our local players on their fantastic results!
Read the full story below 👇

Nelson players excel at chess championships