National chess team

Press, 3 November 1984, Page 80

National chess team

A finishing position in the thirties or early forties would be a good result for the New Zealand chess team at the forthcoming world Olympiad, according to the only South Island player in the five-man team, Vernon Small, of Christchurch. The world team’s championship will be at Thessaloniki, Greece, from November 18 to December 5.

The teams are: —Men: Small, Ortvin Sarapu (North Shore), Robert Smith (Waitemata), Mark Levene (North Shore), David Gollogly (North Shore). Women: Fenella Foster (Wainuiomata), Winsome Stretch (North Shore), Vivian Burn-

dred (North Shore), Lynn Carline-Powell (Auckland). The initial seedings are determined by averaging the F.I.D.E. points ratings of the top four competitors in each team. “We could finish anywhere between thirty-fifth and sixtieth,” said Small, who added that he hoped the team could least match its forty-sixth placing achieved two years ago in Lucerne, Switzerland. "The standard of chess overseas seems to be improving faster than chess in New Zealand.” “We will Miss Roger Nokes and Paul Garbett and might have gained a higher placing with them, but Gollogly and Levene are both

strong players,” said Small, who will play the top board for the second time. It will be the fifth world Olympiad for Small, but the No. 2, Sarapu, will be competing for the sixth time. Smith had the best percentage of the New Zealand team two years ago. He is one of the country’s most active players and is renowned for his determination and concentration. Gollogly shared the New Zealand championship in 1982-83, and Levene possibly gained his selection by finishing well placed in a prestigious tournament in Britain. Levene has been in Britain for a year and will join the New Zealand team in Greece.