It is hushed activity across the board at Ōamaru’s Brydone Hotel over the next few days, with the 74th South Island Chess Championships in play. 

The event began on Wednesday (September 27) and finishes on Sunday, with two tournaments - the classical and rapid events.

Fifty-four people are competing in the classical, and will play two games per day each for four days. Games usually take about three to four hours, Ōamaru tournament organiser Greg Familton said.

There are seven Ōamaru competitors, and the rest are from around the South Island. The tournament is the second biggest it has ever been.

The rapid tournament, on Sunday, has 66 competitors playing six games in a day, of up to an hour each, he said.

This is only the second time the tournaments have been held in Ōamaru - the first was in 1957.

“So the South Island Champs started in 1950, and it's an annual event. There's three major tournaments in New Zealand each year . . . the New Zealand Champs, the North Island Champs, and the South Island Champs. And so, yeah, it's really big to bring it home,” Greg said.

The boards all belong to the New Zealand Chess Federation and are connected to the internet, so the games can be livestreamed.

Craig Hall, from Canterbury Chess Club is the tournament arbiter.

The tournament is a Fide-rated tournament, which means it's internationally recognised, and there are five “chess masters” or titled players competing, Greg said.

“Every single person in the tournament, if they've played a tournament before, will have a ranking based on their performance. And so they need to have a certain level of ranking depending on what their title is. 

There are Cadet Masters, Fide Masters, or Women’s Fide Masters.

Austrian Women’s Fide Master Nikola Mayrhuber, currently studying at Otago University, is taking part in the tournament, and Greg said when she registered, he invited her to come to Ōamaru a day early and play against students at Waitaki Boys High School, where he teaches.

“We set up 20 boards. So she played basically 20 people at the same time, all students . . . So she played what's called a simultaneous match against 20 different people. She won 19 of those matches and I managed to get a draw against her,” he said. 

“So that was just really for the kids to meet her. 

“She's played in what's called the Olympiad, which means she played for Austria, which means she's ranked in the top five in Austria. So that's quite special to have her in the tournament.”

There are more people playing chess now, following the popular Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, and it was a great sport for children to get into.

“Prior to this we had two tournaments, both held at Waitaki Boys’. One was for primary school kids to get their interest, and then one was for secondary school kids, and seven of those secondary school kids are now competing,” he said.

“It's quite social as well. So although we're playing in here and it's completely quiet, after the game they go upstairs in the analysis room, and so you discuss your game with your opponent, and you can go over what were you thinking at this point, and what was I thinking, and that's all part of it.”

Spectators are welcome to watch the tournament, but they must not talk or have their phones on.

The classic games are being played at 9am and 2.30pm, in the Brydone’s Lindis Room. 

Players deep in thought during the afternoon round of the South Island Chess Championships Classic tournament on Wednesday. PHOTO: Ashley Smyth