Konrad Hanson, 18 June 2026
Making the Right Moves
On Sunday, OBHS played host to 18 teams from 10 schools for the Otago Secondary Interschool Chess Championship.
Before the Shand rebuild, the competition had been held at OBHS, and now with the beautiful upgrade of the Shand, we were able to host once again. It was a fitting return, as OBHS Team A, consisting of Noah Wilson, Thisun Kuruppuarachchi, Scott Samuel, and Randika Dassanayake, took it out with 5.5 out of 6, with Waitaki 2nd, and King's 3rd.
Leading the team on board one, Noah Wilson won his first four matches which helped put us on top. The boys were impressive under pressure, and continued to play with confidence. It was awesome to see the improvement from last year, especially Scott , who, after a disappointing competition in 2025, came back a much stronger and more confident player, earning 4.5 out of 6 this year. Thisun continues to be an excellent and consistent player as our board two, with 4 points, and Randika was very impressive to bounce back after a disappointing first match, to win all five of his remaining games.
We have some great young players coming through, with Michael Nguyen, Fynn Still, Aditha Ranawaka, and Carson Sun performing well with 3 points as OBHS Team B.
Our coach, Alex, has been a great help. His knowledge and enthusiasm has been valuable for our team's development. In a game so influenced by focus, accuracy, and confidence, it was really pleasing to see how far the boys have come in their ability to perform under pressure, and bounce back and move on from any disappointing matches. We now look forward to the Nationals in Auckland, and the chance to play against top teams we do not usually have the opportunity to compete against.
