Onsite Champions Trophy 2025 Welcome Letter

WELCOME

On behalf of the team at Chess Power I want to wish you a very warm welcome to the Chess Power Onsite Champions Trophy 2025 Chess Championship.

The Champions Trophy is the ultimate individual battle to find the best junior chess players in New Zealand. It is extremely challenging. Every player in this event has had to qualify by achieving one or more outstanding results through the year. This year and in the future there will be two Champions Trophy events, onsite and online. This welcome letter is for the onsite event.

Use the links below to access the online Champions Trophy event and other events in the Chess Power Nationals program.

Onsite Teams Nationals Finals 2025

Online Teams National Finals 2025

Online Champions Trophy 2025

Newly crowned Junior Masters - Champions Trophy 2024

Thank you for supporting our tamariki and giving them the opportunity to enjoy a truly memorable and unique experience. We really appreciate your support.

I am delighted to say we have 776 players registered for our National program of events. For the onsite Champions Trophy we have 206 players registered. We are excited and can't wait for the best individual junior event in New Zealand to start and see the ultimate individual battle begin!

I wanted to give you some pointers about the day to help ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible for you.

DATE

The date of the event is this Sunday 26 October 2025.

VENUE

The event and prize-giving is being held at:

Alfriston College
550 Porchester Road,
Randwick Park,
Manukau
AUCKLAND

Use this Google Map link for directions.

Note that all divisions for the onsite Teams Nationals on the previous day Saturday will also be held at Alfriston College in the same space. A separate welcome letter will be sent to all registered players for the Team Nationals and a link to this letter is at the beginning of this page.

WHAT SHOULD YOU BRING

We recommend all players bring a drink bottle. If you want to record your games (optional) you should also bring a pen and a score book. Score books will also be available for purchase at the venue.

GETTING TO THE VENUE

The venue is just 17 minutes drive from the Auckland Airport.
Auckland Airport to Alfriston College directions

If you are doing a road trip...

Use this map if you are travelling from the North to Alfriston College
Or use this map if you are travelling from the South to Alfriston College

Note: Labour weekend is extremely busy so expect delays on the road and allow for extra time for travel.

PARKING

Entry to the venue is off Porchester Road. There is parking in the school carpark. For this event, you can park in both visitor and staff carparks.

Additional parking is available on Porchester Road itself.

View our Team Nationals facilities map for access, parking and venue areas.

FINDING THE PLAYING HALLS

The opening welcome, tournament announcements, all tournament games and prize giving for all divisions will be held in the school gymnasium.

Refer to the Team Nationals facilities map for an overview of the school, surrounding streets and layout of the school buildings.

ARRIVAL TIME
The event runs from 9am to 5:30pm. Check-in will be available from 8am. We recommend you aim to arrive at the venue by 8:15am to enjoy a stress-free arrival.

ON ARRIVAL

On arrival players should check-in making sure all their details are correct and collect their goodie bag. There is one goodie bag per player. Your name badge will be in the goodie bag.

LATE ARRIVAL?

If you are going to be late, please text us on 021 0271 5577 with the players firstname and surname that will be late and expected time of arrival. We will give a half point bye for players that miss round 1 as long as you text ahead of time. Byes will not be available for later rounds.

EVENT SCHEDULE

Each player will play 9 rounds of chess. The time control is 15 minutes per player. There is no bonus time.

8.00am Guests arrival start

9.00am All guests should have arrived
9.30am Opening Announcements

10.00am Start Round 1

10.35am Start Round 2

11.00am MORNING TEA BREAK

11.20am Start Round 3

11.55am Start Round 4

12.30pm Start Round 5

1.00pm LUNCH BREAK

1.30pm Start Round 6

2.05pm Start Round 7

2.30pm AFTERNOON TEA BREAK

2.50pm Start Round 8

3.25pm Start Round 9

4.15pm Fun Activity!

4.30pm Prize Giving

5.30pm Tournament Close and Farewell

HEALTH, SAFETY, WELFARE AND EVACUATION PROCEDURES

It is important all participants and supporters are safe. You should be familiar with the health and safety policies and procedures to keep everybody safe and in case of an emergency such as a fire or lockdown situation.

View the Alfriston College emergency procedures

WHAT TO EXPECT AND TOURNAMENT RULES

We have put together a summary of what to expect at the Champions Trophy and the rules that will govern the event. We encourage you to go through this so you understand how the event will work.

TOURNAMENT PROGRESS
Results of games for all divisions will be recorded live and are available to view in Tornelo. You can also use this link to see the other players that will be participating in your division. View our Understanding Event Results page to learn more about interpreting results.

UNIFORMS
As this is an individual event, school uniforms are not required. We recommend you come smart casual in something that makes you feel relaxed and comfortable.

FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS

Hero Coffee will be onsite from 7:30 - 10:00am. Cookies will also be available. View the Hero Coffee menu.

Andrew and his team from Nom Nom will also be onsite from 10:30 - 3:00pm for some great lunch options.

Theresia from Cream ice-cream will be onsite from 12:30 - 3pm for yummy ice-cream. They will have strawberry and mango real-fruit ice cream, as well as Whittaker’s chocolate-covered strawberries!

Other alternative food outlets close by include McDonald's, Subway, Daaku Kebab, Alfriston Fish and Chips and Noodle Canteen all within a five minute drive.

Refreshments (tea and coffee) will also be available for all adults throughout the day.

PRIZES

Trophies and Junior Master titles

The top player in each division will be crowned the Chess Power Champions Trophy Champion for their division and be given a trophy they can take home to keep. They will also receive the Junior Master title, a framed certificate and enter the Chess Power Hall of Fame .

The top female player in each division will receive the Best Female Champions Trophy to take home and keep and become the female champion for their division.

If two players get the same number of points, a tie-break is used based on the individual players performance to determine the overall winner.

Medals

The top players in the following age groups (below the overall division winner) will receive a special Champions Trophy age group medal.

Junior Division

7 and under
9 and under
11 and under

Intermediate Division

11 and under
12 and under
13 and under

Senior Division

14 and under
16 and under
18 and under

Certificates

Each player will receive a certificate based on their individual score. There are four levels of certificates:

Merit 4 points or below
Credit 4.5 or 5 points
Excellence 5.5 or 6 points
Distinction 6.5 points or more

X-Chess is Back!

We’re extremely excited to bring back X-Chess again at this year’s Nationals! X-Chess offers a refreshing twist to traditional chess by minimizing opening theory and preparation, bringing creativity to the forefront of each match. X-Chess means thinking from the very first move. Whether you're new to chess or a seasoned player, X-Chess provides a unique challenge, blending strategy and skill in ways that promise to engage and surprise.

This Nationals event you will be able to see the X-Chess professional tournament game and engage in the X-Chess online experience in our activities centre! We can’t wait for you to experience the game’s dynamic pace and exciting possibilities firsthand.

We’re also thrilled to announce that the boxed edition of X-Chess will be available for purchase from our product desk! With both the tournament set and the online game ready to play here at Nationals, this is the perfect opportunity to see what X-Chess has to offer and take a step into a new dimension of chess strategy. We hope you’ll dive in and discover why X-Chess is creating such a buzz in the chess community!

Play X-Chess Now!

Special Awards

The Chess Power badge system will also be running throughout the event so you can earn and collect badges. In addition, prizes will be awarded for the biggest upsets and the biggest rating gainers.

Coaching Clinic and Activities Centre

We have a great chess coach to help you improve your game throughout the event. Brain challenges will also be available and some challenges can earn badges and rewards. And yes, we will have Chess-e, the Chess robot!

Additional Activities

Jo from Sparkles & Smiles will be onsite at the activities centre to do face painting - get into the Nationals spirit with an awesome face design! You will have to get in early to not miss out.

PRODUCTS

A good selection of chess products will be available for purchase at discounted prices including chess sets, clocks, and cool stuff! You can purchase onsite at our product desk or order online at ChessCity.nz, enter the code "NATIONALS2025" and we will courier your products to you. You can pay via Credit Card or bank transfer. The offer will be available until midnight 26 October 2025.

CLOSING NOTE

I personally wish you and your team the very best of success in the Chess Power Champions Trophy. I am confident you and your supporters will thoroughly enjoy the day and have a memorable and rewarding life experience.

Yours in Chess,

Paul Macdonald - Signature

Paul Macdonald
CEO
Chess Power

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