2023 Counties Chess Championship
Hi all I am Happy to report our first ever Counties Chess Championship organised by the Counties Chess Club from Mauku was a resounding success with everyone enjoying the venue and Tournament setup, we had over 100 players of all ages taking part particularly impressive were the two Juniors who are only 6 years old playing in the Junior Boys section so much so that I decided to arrange for young Taarush and young Shawn to be given a book each entitled “ How to beat your Dad at Chess” lol written by NZ`s only Grandmaster since 1983 Murray Chandler, I can see in a few years’ time both Dads will be on the back foot and suffering Chessically speaking lol.
As for the Results of our Tournament the following are the 2023 Counties Chess Champions of the various age groups.
2023 Senior Counties Chess Champion = Xxavier Willoughby-Ansell (Counties Chess Club)
2023 Youth Counties Chess Champion = Aden Dexter (Counties Chess Club)
2023 Junior Boys Counties Chess Champion = Levi Fillmore (Counties Chess Club)
2023 Junior Girls Counties Chess Champion = Aria Windleborn (No Chess Club)
The following are the players with 6 wins out of 6 games,
Senior section Karl Holdo from Onehunga
Junior Boys section Levi Fillmore from Pukekohe
Junior Girls section Alina Shaikh from Blockhouse Bay
We had a couple of glitches (some Prizegiving and clock stopping issues) which will not happen next year but all in all the Feedback has been Very Positive
I would like to Thank the Rosehill Intermediate School for providing a Fantastic venue (look at the decorations in two of the pics that Students prepared they were magnificent)and the Rosehill Intermediate Teacher Volunteers especially the human dynamo named Salome who organised everything at the Rosehill Intermediate School end and of course the Fantastic effort put in by all the Student volunteers on both the Friday setup and Saturday pack down of Chess equipment which was so Very Welcome, Friday especially would have been many many times more difficult without Salome and her Students Help!.
Also, Thanks is due also to the Volunteers from the Counties Chess Club, Kim for ensuring tables and chairs etc were dimensionally in the correct place and Natasha, Yating, Diane, Donna and Benji (the Counties Chess Club Mascot hound who attracted the most attention of anyone lol) for sorting out and making the registration area work as efficiently as it did.
A Chess Tournament has a lot of moving parts mostly sight unseen I was Pleased to receive Help from John McRae, Alex Postma and Bruce Pollard.
The School Canteen was magnificent with lovely things on offer on a personal note the Coffee was Magnificent!.
Please find attached some pics and results sheets from our Tournament.
Lastly, I would like to Thank not only the Players for their support but importantly, Caregivers and Parents for committing their time to allow their young players to take part I look forward to seeing you all next year!
Regards
Ron Lanning
Contact details.
ron-lanning@xtra.co.nz
Phone 0272128232
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Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
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Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
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4.6% Second half of November
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43.5% 1st December
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17.4% A week before Christmas
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33.3% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.