To Presidents and Secretaries of Zone 3.6 Federation Members, and new members
Hilton Bennett
Hilton Bennett, well known New Zealand chess player and organiser, has passed away at the age of 67. At the time of his passing, he was the Secretary of the Oceania Chess Confederation, and his loss will be felt throughout the Oceania chess community.
The New Zealand Chess Federation is organising an online coaching camp in january 2023 in memory of Hilton. Each Oceania Federation can nominate a junior player to take part in this activity at no charge. Details of this event can be found at https://newzealandchess.nz/
2023 Oceania Zonal
The 2023 Oceania Zonal is taking place in Melbourne, Australia from the 23rd to the 28th January 2023. Each Oceania federation is allowed to nominate 1 official representative in the Open and Women’s event. Each official representative receives free entry and accommodation (twin share) for the duration of the event. Additional players from each federation can enter the tournament, although they will need to cover their own costs.
Additionally, the FIDE Planning and Development Commission had approved the OCC’s request for travel funding for this event. Each development federation is entitled to $1000 per official nominee to support their travel to the tournament. Please contact OCC Treasurer Shaun Press (shaunpress@gmail.com) to apply for this support.
Full details of the zonal (including entry links) can be found at https://sites.google.com/
GM Nigel Short Oceania visit
GM Nigel Short has completed his visit to various OCC federations, and prospective new OCC member countries. The visit was a great success, providing both a boost to chess visibility in the South Pacific, as well as helping prospective new federations prepare to join FIDE. It is hoped that at least 2 new federations will become OCC members in 2023, with at least another 2 to follow in 2024/25.
2023 Oceania Youth Championship
Although this is yet to be officially confirmed, it is hoped that the 2023 Oceania Youth Championship will be held in Canberra, Australia from the 11th to 15th of April 2023. This event is for U/20, U/18, U/16, U/14, U/12, U/10 and U/8 players in both the Open and Girls section. Direct titles (IM, WIM, FM, WFM, CM and WCM) will be on offer.
The event is planned to be held directly after the 2023 O2C Doeberl Cup (6-10 April 2023), which is Australia’s largest international chess event. Prospective participants are invited to play in both events.
Regards
Shaun Press
Treasurer, OCC