Small to lead N.Z. team

Press, 29 August 1984, Page 64

Small to lead N.Z. team

Vernon Small, the only South Island player selected, will play the top board in the New Zealand chess team to contest the world Olympiad in Thessaloniki, Greece, from November 18 to December 5. The team announced by the New Zealand Chess Association is:— Men: Small (Christchurch), Ortvin Sarapu (North Shore), Robert Smith (Waitemata), Mark Levene (North Shore,

now resident in England), David Gollogly (North Shore). Women: Fenella Foster (Wainuiomata), Winsome Stretch (North Shore), Vivian Burndred (North Shore), Lynn Carline-Powell (Auckland). Reserves.— Men: Jonathan Sarfati (Wellington). Women: Jackie Sievey (Otago). Small, aged 30, will be attending his fifth Olympiad and he has retained the No. 1 board which he played at

the last world teams’ championship. He has been the New Zealand champion on three occasions and last Saturday shared the South Island title. The veteran Sarapu, the national champion 18 times, will be competing in his sixth Olympiad and will qualify for a World Chess Federation (F.1.D.E.) medal for his feat. Another Christchurch player, Roger Nokes, who represented New Zealand at

the last world championship in Switzerland two years ago, declined the non-travel-ling reserve position because of university research work. Sarapu and Smith were members of the 1982 team, but the selection of Gollogly caps off a remarkable rise to prominence by the young player. He caused a big surprise by sharing the 1982-83 national chess title after having been just promoted to the top grade.