WCM [Woman Candidate Master] Isabelle Ning, 14, powered her way through the field to win her first New Zealand Women’s Chess Championship title in Auckland with a score of 6.5/7.
The tournament, which finished last Thursday at the Howick War Memorial Hall (previously known as the Howick Information Centre) was held as a tribute event for New Zealand WIM Sue Maroroa-Jones, a former winner of the championship, who passed away earlier this year.
After an early upset round one draw against 9-year-old rising star Olivia Li, Isabelle – who was New Zealand girls’ champion – reeled off six consecutive wins to finish one and a half points clear of her nearest rival Sarah Wanyao Sun who scored 5 points.
Third place was shared between five players on 4.5 points – Luna Xu, Emily Gan, Weiyang Yu, Jennya Charomova and Annie Yue.
Many of these players have already been selected for the New Zealand Women’s Olympiad training squad which is preparing for next year’s Olympiad in Budapest.
The under-1300 prize was shared between Olivia Li, Sayuni Rehansi and Sundeia Lomberg whilst the senior prize was won by WFM Vivian Smith, a previous 10-time winner of the NZ Women’s Championship.
