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WARWICK SMITH / Things
Isabelle Ning, 11, contemplates her next move at the New Zealand Chess Championship at Palmerston North.
She is too young to look The Queen’s GambitBut it’s okay, Isabelle Ning is concentrating on her own movements.
The 11-year-old is the defending national youth chess champion and the youngest participant in the open national championship, which is held in Palmerston North.
Isabelle claimed her first scalp in her first open game on Monday, against a much older and well-ranked opponent.
“I like everything about chess, but I really like that feeling when you win. Because you did it with your own hard work, which is very satisfying. “
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WARWICK SMITH / Things
Isabelle on track to claim her first open championship scalp, beating Nigel Meige on Monday.
New Zealand’s 128th Chess Championship at the Copthorne Hotel is smaller this year, with no international players due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the game is enjoying a rare moment of pop culture awareness due to a hit TV miniseries. .
the Queen’s gambit is Netflix’s most-watched miniseries and centers on Beth Harmon, a fictional orphan child chess prodigy.
Tournament organizer Mark Noble said the lack of foreign competition has been offset by an increase in people joining chess clubs in New Zealand and a growing interest in live broadcasts of tournament matches.
He said there hasn’t been as much public interest in chess since the dramatic Cold War rivalry between American Bobby Fischer and Russian grandmaster Boris Spassky captured the world’s imagination in 1972.
At Isabelle, the tournament has its own Beth Harmon-style prodigy; the Auckland girl won her first chess tournament at age 6 and has traveled the world looking at chess boards.
“Your first open championships are never easy, and I don’t think she will win,” Noble said, “but she will definitely take on some scalps for the next two weeks.”
Isabelle said that she used to get nervous playing against older and more experienced opponents, but not anymore, now some of them feel nervous playing with her.
“The first time I play them and beat them, they may be a bit surprised. I like that too.”
Isabelle has traveled throughout New Zealand, Asia, and Brazil to participate in chess tournaments, and she loved exploring different cultures and foods.
She just wanted to keep competing as long as it helped her improve at the game; otherwise it wasn’t worth bothering, when you could play chess and have fun closer to home.
Spectators are welcome at the Copthorne, as long as they keep quiet and put their phones on quiet so the competitors are not distracted.
Key matches can be viewed on virtual boards in real time on the New Zealand Chess website.
