The New Zealand 2016 Open chess championship is taking place 2nd–10th January in Devonport, New Zealand, at the National Chess Centre, 100b Victoria Rd. The event, the traditions of which date back to the year 1879, will be a festival incorporating also the 2016 Major Open (U2100), the Mad Morning Blitz, the New Zealand Junior Chess Open, the New Zealand Rapid Championship, the Lightning Blitz Championship, and multiple other side events.
Top seeded players in the Open event are GM Nigel Short, GM Gawain Jones, GM Alexandr Fier, GM Ma Qun, GM Matthieu Cornette, GM Wenjun Ju, FM Thorben Koop, IM Deimante Daulyte, FM Scott Wastney, FM Alexei Kulashko, IM Russell Dive, WGM Nino Maisuradze, FM Ben Hague, etc. Scroll down for the full list of players
Time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with the addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Results will be submitted to FIDE (the World Chess Federation) for rating. Live games will be daily on Chessdom.com with the Top Chess Engine Championship computer analysis by Komodo, Stockfish, and Houdini.
The last event multiple tie in 2015 , the 2014 title was for IM Puchen Wang. Find the full list of winners, starting from 1879, below the live games.
Official website / Live games with analysis
New Zealand Open champions
| Location | Date | Champion | |
| 1 | Christchurch | 1879 | Henry Hookham |
| 2 | Christchurch | 1888/89 | Arthur Ollivier |
| 3 | Dunedin | 1890 | Henry Hookham |
| 4 | Wellington | 1890/91 | Richard James Barnes |
| 5 | Auckland | 1891/92 | Franz Vaughan Siedeberg |
| 6 | Christchurch | 1892/93 | Franz Vaughan Siedeberg |
| 7 | Dunedin | 1893/94 | Joseph Edwards |
| 8 | Wellington | 1894/95 | William MacKay |
| 9 | Wanganui | 1895/96 | William Meldrum |
| 10 | Christchurch | 1896/97 | Richard James Barnes |
| 11 | Auckland | 1897/98 | Richard James Barnes |
| 12 | Dunedin | 1898 | Robert Alexander Cleland |
| 13 | Wellington | 1900 | William Edward Mason |
| 14 | Christchurch | 1901 | David Forsyth |
| 15 | Auckland | 1901/02 | Richard James Barnes |
| 16 | Dunedin | 1902/03 | John Cresswell Grierson |
| 17 | Wellington | 1903/04 | William Edward Mason |
| 18 | Oamaru | 1904/05 | Arthur William Oswald Davies |
| 19 | Auckland | 1905/06 | Richard James Barnes |
| 20 | Christchurch | 1906/07 | William Samuel Viner |
| 21 | Wellington | 1908 | Arthur William Oswald Davies |
| 22 | Dunedin | 1908/09 | Fedor Kuskof Kelling |
| 23 | Auckland | 1909/10 | John Mason |
| 24 | Timaru | 1910/11 | William Edward Mason |
| 25 | Napier | 1911/12 | William Edward Mason |
| 26 | Nelson | 1912/13 | John Cresswell Grierson |
| 27 | Auckland | 1913/14 | William Edward Mason |
| 28 | Christchurch | 1914/15 | Fedor Kuskof Kelling |
| 29 | Wellington | 1919/20 | William Edward Mason |
| 30 | Dunedin | 1920/21 | John Dunlop |
| 31 | Auckland | 1921/22 | John Dunlop |
| 32 | Christchurch | 1922/23 | John Dunlop |
| 33 | Wellington | 1923/24 | Spencer Crakanthorp |
| 34 | Nelson | 1924/25 | Cecil Purdy |
| 35 | Dunedin | 1925/26 | Spencer Crakanthorp |
| 36 | Auckland | 1926/27 | Arthur William Oswald Davies |
| 37 | Christchurch | 1927/28 | Arthur William Oswald Davies |
| 38 | Wellington | 1928/29 | John Angus Erskine |
| 39 | Wanganui | 1929/30 | Gunnar Gundersen |
| 40 | Rotorua | 1930/31 | Alfred William Gyles |
| 41 | Napier | 1931/32 | Gunnar Gundersen |
| 42 | Auckland | 1932/33 | Maurice Edward Goldstein |
| 43 | Dunedin | 1933/34 | John Dunlop |
| 44 | Christchurch | 1934/35 | John Angus Erskine |
| 45 | Wellington | 1935/36 | Alfred William Gyles |
| 46 | Auckland | 1936/37 | Hedley Roy Abbott |
| 47 | Dunedin | 1937/38 | Samuel Hindin |
| 48 | Wanganui | 1938/39 | John Dunlop |
| 49 | Wellington | 1939/40 | John Dunlop |
| 50 | Timaru | 1940/41 | Philipp Allerhand |
| 51 | Wellington | 1943/44 | Robert Wade |
| 52 | Auckland | 1944/45 | Robert Wade |
| 53 | Christchurch | 1945/46 | Tom Lepviikman |
| 54 | Palmerston North | 1946/47 | Tom Lepviikman |
| 55 | Dunedin | 1947/48 | Robert Wade |
| 56 | Wanganui | 1948/49 | Alan Edgar Nield |
| 57 | Auckland | 1949/50 | Philipp Allerhand |
| 58 | Christchurch | 1950/51 | David I. Lynch |
| 59 | Napier | 1951/52 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 60 | Timaru | 1952/53 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 61 | Wellington | 1953/54 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 62 | Auckland | 1954/55 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 63 | Dunedin | 1955/56 | Frederick Alexander Foulds |
| 64 | Wellington | 1956/57 | Arcadios Feneridis |
| James Rodney Phillips | |||
| 65 | Christchurch | 1957/58 | James Rodney Phillips |
| 66 | Hamilton | 1958/59 | Frederick Alexander Foulds |
| Barry C. Menzies | |||
| 67 | Dunedin | 1959/60 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 68 | Auckland | 1960/61 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 69 | Wellington | 1961/62 | Graham G. Haase |
| 70 | Christchurch | 1962/63 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| Richard John Sutton | |||
| 71 | Auckland | 1963/64 | Roger A. Court |
| 72 | Wellington | 1964/65 | James Rodney Phillips |
| 73 | Hamilton | 1965/66 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 74 | Christchurch | 1966/67 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 75 | Dunedin | 1967/68 | Bruce R. Anderson |
| 76 | Wellington | 1968/69 | Bruce R. Anderson |
| Ortvin Sarapu | |||
| 77 | Auckland | 1969/70 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 78 | Nelson | 1970/71 | Richard John Sutton |
| 79 | Hamilton | 1971/72 | Richard John Sutton |
| 80 | Wellington | 1972/73 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 81 | Christchurch | 1973/74 | Paul Anthony Garbett |
| Ortvin Sarapu | |||
| 82 | Dunedin | 1974/75 | Paul Anthony Garbett |
| 83 | Upper Hutt | 1975/76 | Lev Aptekar |
| Murray Chandler | |||
| Ortvin Sarapu | |||
| Wellington | |||
| 84 | North Shore | 1976/77 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 85 | Wellington | 1977/78 | Craig Laird |
| 86 | North Shore | 1978/79 | Ortvin Sarapu |
| 87 | Upper Hutt | 1979/80 | Ewen McGowen Green |
| Ortvin Sarapu | |||
| Vernon A. Small | |||
| Auckland | |||
| 88 | Christchurch | 1980/81 | Roger I. Nokes |
| Ortvin Sarapu | |||
| Vernon A. Small | |||
| Auckland | |||
| 89 | North Shore | 1981/82 | Vernon A. Small |
| 90 | Dunedin | 1982/83 | Paul Anthony Garbett |
| David Anderson Gollogly | |||
| 91 | Auckland | 1983/84 | Paul Anthony Garbett |
| 92 | Upper Hutt | 1984/85 | Vernon A. Small |
| 93 | Christchurch | 1985/86 | Adrian J. Lloyd |
| Ortvin Sarapu | |||
| 94 | Wanganui | 1986/87 | Russell J. Dive |
| 95 | North Shore | 1987/88 | Jonathan Sarfati |
| 96 | Dunedin | 1988/89 | Paul Anthony Garbett |
| Anthony F. Ker | |||
| 97 | Wellington | 1989/90 | Benjamin Martin |
| Ortvin Sarapu | |||
| 98 | Auckland | 1990/91 | Anthony F. Ker |
| 99 | Dunedin | 1991/92 | Martin P. Dreyer |
| 100 | Wellington | 1992/93 | Anthony F. Ker |
| 101 | Invercargill | 1993/94 | Anthony F. Ker |
| Peter D. McKenzie | |||
| 102 | Wanganui | 1994/95 | Anthony F. Ker |
| 103 | Wellington | 1995/96 | Russell J. Dive |
| Martin P. Dreyer | |||
| Robert W. Smith | |||
| 104 | North Shore | 1996/97 | Alexei Kulashko |
| 105 | Hamilton | 1997/98 | Alexei Kulashko |
| 106 | Dunedin | 1998/99 | Russell J. Dive |
| 107 | Auckland | 1999/00 | Alexei Kulashko |
| 108 | Waitakere City | 2000/01 | Scott Wastney |
| 109 | Christchurch | 2001/02 | Anthony F. Ker |
| 110 | Wanganui | 2002/03 | Anthony F. Ker |
| 111 | Wellington | 2003/04 | Anthony F. Ker |
| 112 | Wanganui | 2004/05 | Anthony F. Ker |
| 113 | Queenstown | 2006 | Murray Chandler |
| 114 | Wanganui | 2007 | Puchen Wang |
| 115 | Auckland | 2008 | Murray Chandler |
| 116 | Queenstown | 2009 | Anthony F. Ker |
| 117 | Auckland | 2010 | Anthony F. Ker |
| 118 | Auckland | 2011 | Anthony F. Ker |
| 119 | Queenstown | 2012 | Michael V.R. Steadman |
| 120 | Wellington | 2013 | Scott Wastney |
| 114 | Auckland | 2014 | Puchen Wang |
| 115 | Auckland | 2015 | Russell J. Dive |
| Nicholas Croad | |||
| Ben Hague | |||
| Paul A Garbett | |||
| Anthony F. Ker | |||
| Gino Thornton | |||
| Robert W Smith | |||
| Leonard J McLaren | |||
| Alexandra Jule | |||
| Gordon Morell |
New Zealand Chess 2016 participants
| 1 | Short, Nigel D | ENG | 2684 | |
| 2 | Jones, Gawain C B | ENG | 2625 | |
| 3 | Fier, Alexandr | BRA | 2607 | |
| 4 | Ma, Qun | CHN | 2606 | |
| 5 | Cornette, Matthieu | FRA | 2591 | |
| 6 | Ju, Wenjun | CHN | 2548 | |
| 7 | Koop, Thorben | GER | 2417 | |
| 8 | Daulyte, Deimante | LTU | 2378 | |
| 9 | Wastney, Scott | NZL | 2345 | |
| 10 | Kulashko, Alexei | NZL | 2341 | |
| 11 | Dive, Russell J | NZL | 2311 | |
| 12 | Maisuradze, Nino | FRA | 2288 | |
| 13 | Hague, Ben | NZL | 2287 | |
| 14 | Ker, Anthony F | NZL | 2283 | |
| 15 | Drummond, Matthew | AUS | 2255 | |
| 16 | Steadman, Michael V R | NZL | 2252 | |
| 17 | Garbett, Paul A | NZL | 2250 | |
| 18 | Noble, Mark F | NZL | 2241 | |
| 19 | McLaren, Leonard J | NZL | 2236 | |
| 20 | Smith, Robert W | NZL | 2208 | |
| 21 | Thornton, Giovanni A | NZL | 2207 | |
| 22 | Reilly, Tim | AUS | 2203 | |
| 23 | Gao, Hans | NZL | 2183 | |
| 24 | Richards, Heather S | AUS | 2165 | |
| 25 | Ang, Alphaeus Wei Ern | NZL | 2136 | |
| 26 | Schaefer, Reyk | GER | 2134 | |
| 27 | Moskow, Eric | USA | 2127 | |
| 28 | Duneas, John | NZL | 2110 | |
| 29 | Dowden, R Anthony | NZL | 2088 | |
| 30 | Zhang, Leo | NZL | 2087 | |
| 31 | McNabb, Matthew D | NZL | 2083 | |
| 32 | Vincenti, David | MLT | 2061 | |
| 33 | Gong, Daniel Hanwen | NZL | 2055 | |
| 34 | Li, William Xiang Wei | NZL | 2030 | |
| 35 | Chan, Kim Yew | MAS | 2019 | |
| 36 | Rains, Edward | NZL | 2016 | |
| 37 | Li, Shenyue | CHN | 2007 | |
| 38 | Perry, Roger L | NZL | 2005 | |
| 39 | Zhu, Karl Kai | NZL | 1996 | |
| 40 | Goodhue, Nathan | NZL | 1990 | |
| 41 | Zhu, Leo Lei | NZL | 1989 | |
| 42 | Klyszcz, Michael | GER | 1979 | |
| 43 | Forster, William | NZL | 1975 | |
| 44 | Yee, Stanley | NZL | 1975 | |
| 45 | Bennett, Hilton P | NZL | 1958 | |
| 46 | Milligan, Helen | NZL | 1957 | |
| 47 | Macdonald, Paul | NZL | 1946 | |
| 48 | James, Jack | NZL | 1935 | |
| 49 | Hair, Philip I | NZL | 1932 | |
| 50 | Carpinter, Bernard | NZL | 1928 | |
| 51 | Benson, Christopher | NZL | 1920 | |
| 52 | Timergazi, Layla | NZL | 1915 | |
| 53 | Watharow, Sean | AUS | 1913 | |
| 54 | Nicholls, Leighton | NZL | 1910 | |
| 55 | Power, P Wayne | NZL | 1889 | |
| 56 | Taylor, Richard | NZL | 1888 | |
| 57 | Jackson, L Ross | NZL | 1884 | |
| 58 | Fan, Allen Chi Zhou | NZL | 1825 | |
| 59 | Wolstencroft, Alan | AUS | 0 | |
| 60 | Qin, Joy Shu Yan | NZL | 1685 | |
| 61 | Zhang, Jasmine Haomo | NZL | 1674 | |
| 62 | Yan, Caroline | NZL | 1672 | |
| 63 | Wei, Louie | NZL | 1669 | |
| 64 | Oka, Hikaru | AUS | 1449 | |
| 65 | Punsalan, Vyanla M | NZL | 0 | |
| 66 | Lourenco, Eva | NZL | 1306 |
