Oceania at the Olympiad

 While keeping a close eye on the performance of the PNG team, I was also watching how the rest of Oceania was going. Importantly, every Oceania federation sent a team in the Open category (for the 1st time) while there were 7 federations in the Women's section (a little over 50%). 

A number of teams made their debut this year, and I should single out the performance of the Tongan team. For a Federation that has only been around for a couple of years, to finish with 6 match points, and 14.5 game points, at their first Olympiad , is quite the achievement. 

There is also the 'unofficial' Pacific championship ( ie without the big 2 of Australia and NZ), which Guam won in both sections. But even in the overall standings, NZ ran very close to Australia in the Open, and finished with more game points that the 'West Island' in the Women's section.

A number of direct titles were earned from the event as well, which I have listed below 

 

Open

Place	Name	Points	Game Points	W/D/L
56	Australia	13	25.5	+5=3-3
59	New Zealand	13	25	+6=1-4
125	Guam	10	21	+5=0-6
150	Papua New Guinea	9	19.5	+4=1-6
181	New Caledonia	8	18	+4=0-7
187	Fiji	7	16.5	+2=3-6
191	Kiribati	7	16.5	+2=3-6
192	Palau	7	16.5	+2=3-6
195	Solomon Islands	6	14.5	+3=0-8
200	Vanuatu	6	15.5	+2=2-7
201	Tonga	6	14.5	+3=0-8
202	Naoero	5	14.5	+1=3-7
205	Marshall Islands	0	1.5	+0=0-8

Women’s

Place	Federation	Points	Game Points	W/D/L
51	Australia	13	23	+6=1-4
86	New Zealand	11	23.5	+5=1-5
132	Guam	9	21	+3=3-5
143	Fiji	9	17	+4=1-6
159	Papua New Guinea	8	17.5	+3=2-6
167	Palau	7	16.5	+3=1-7
171	Vanuatu	7	13.5	+3=1-7

There were a number of personal achievements , in the form of FIDE titles

Open

FM title (conditional on having a rating above 2100 after 30 FIDE rated games)

Amnol, Ishmael Papua New Guinea

Galois, Mathieu New Caledonia

Maharaj, Yash Krishen Fiji

Tenezaca, Cristian Guam

CM title (awarded upon confirmation by FIDE Titles Office, and acceptance by Federation)

Amnol, Ishmael Papua New Guinea

Buccat, Benchly Cabanayan Guam

Delrieu, Pierre Vanuatu

Gadeanang, Andrew Naoero

Galois, Mathieu New Caledonia

Justo, James Marcus Guam

Maharaj, Yash Krishen Fiji

Mailangi, Sosefo Tonga

Martin, Ataake Kiribati

Tan, Santiago Jr Palau

Tenezaca, Cristian Guam

WFM title (conditional on having a rating above 1900 after 30 FIDE rated games)

Benzon, Tiffany Guam

Delrieu, Lou-Anne Vanuatu

WCM title (awarded upon confirmation by FIDE Titles Office, and acceptance by Federation)

Delrieu, Lou-Anne Vanuatu

Justo, Alexis Rian Guam

Masau, Latileta Fiji

Mimino, Natasha Papua New Guinea

 

 

 

 

2026 Olympiad - Day 12

 A nice surprise pairing for the Open team in the final round of the 2026 Olympiad. San Marino! As I noted previously, they are a regular opponent for PNG, including in 2002 where we also played them in the final round (It was 2-2, but the draw in my game earned me an eventual FM title).

For this match PNG scored a narrow 2.5-1.5 win, which was enough to move us up to 9 match points (+4=1-6). Stuart Fancy won on board 1, while Bing Barredo won again on bd 2, completing an event that started with 5 straight losses, but then ended with 4 straight wins! A draw on the bottom board to Kavaea Evara was enough to ensure the match win. 

The Women's team was up against Cape Verde seeded about 50 places higher. Nonetheless the team fought well, losing 1.5-2.5 ( 3 draws) and finishing the event on 8 points (+3=2-6). For a team without FIDE ratings, and taking part in the Olympiad for the 1st time, this was a fantastic achievement. Like the Open team, they really found their feet in the 2nd half of the event , once initial nerves an inexperience was overcome.

Both teams exceeded my initial expectations, with the Open team finishing 44 places above their starting rank (the best of all teams in the Open Olympiad). The team is also going home with a number of players earning their first FIDE ratings (and 2 titles), which will enable the federation to begin organising more FIDE rated events in the country.

 

2026 Chess Olympiad - Day 11

 With 2 rounds to play both PNG teams were looking for a big finish. Ishmael Amnol had already secured enough points for a conditional FM title, but still need to play one more game to make it official. In the Women's team both Liberty Joku (Bd 1) and Natasha Mimino (Bd 3) both needed a win for the WCM title.

The women's team was paired with Curacao, and manged to score a 2.5-1.5 win against their higher seeded opponent. Natasha Mimino scored the win to earn PNG's first WCM title, as Chrstine Wosley also won. Tiana Kukula drew on board 4 to deliver the match win, but sadly Liberty Joku lost, dashing the hopes of a 2nd WCM title for PNG.

The Open team scored a decisive win over Pacific neighbors Kiribati (hilariously, throughout the FIDE congress the various chairs pronounced it with the hard T). PNG won 3.5-0.5, with Ishamel Amnol increasing his score to 7/9. Kavaea Evara helped boost the score, recovering from a losing position to save an additional half point. The match win was the 3rd of the tournament against other Oceania federations, helping boost the teams standing in out unofficial championship.

With 2 titles achieved in the same round, it was an historic day for PNG chess. Also of interest that St Joseph's Boroko has now produced 3 titled players (2 FM's and a WCM),  with Ishmael Amnol and Natasha Mimino attending the school in recent years, while I was a student there in 1975 and 1976!

2026 Chess Olympiad - Day 10

 Round 9 of the Open Olympiad saw PNG lose to the Bahamas by a narrow 1.5-2.5 margin. Ishmael Amnol rested for this round (after 8 straight games), and having secured his conditional FM title the round before. Stuart Fancy drew on Board 1, while Bing Berredo continued his good late tournament form with a win on board 2. However some missed opportunities on the bottom 2 boards gave Bahamas enough points to edge us out.

The Women's team drew with the much higher seeded Burundi team. Liberty Joku and Natasha Mimino scored the wins for the team, and moving them up the rankings with 6 match points. It also gives both players a chance for WCM titles, depending on the result in round 10. 

2026 Chess Olympiad - Day 9

 Day 9 of the 2026 Chess Olympiad saw both PNG teams score big wins. The Open team won their South Pacific derby against Fiji 3-1. Previously this match was the decider in the 'small' Pacific Champs, but with the growth of chess in the Oceania region, both PNG and Fiji are now challenged by other, stronger teams.

The real highlight was again the win by Ishmael Amnol. This was his 5th win in a row, and secures a conditional FM title (once he plays his 9th game). He is on 6/8 and is performing above the 2100 rating mark needed to be awarded the title. PNG also saw wins to Stuart Fancy on board 1 and Bing Barredo on board 2.

The Women's team had an even bigger win, scoring 3.5 points against the Seychelles. Liberty Joku scored her 3rd win of the tournament on board 1, with wins for Lucy Age (go Amaroo Primary!) and Tiana Kukula on board 4. 

Both the Open and Women's teams are on 5 match points, and with winnable matches today (fingers crossed) are looking for a strong finish to the event. 

2026 Chess Olympiad - Day 8

 (And on the 7th day, everyone rested)

A number of teams who thought they would enjoy the rest day, came back even more exhausted than they thought. With the hot weather in Samarkand, and the busy tour schedules for the cultural tours, it was no surprise that players turned up for the 2nd half of the event almost as tired as when the finished the first half.

The PNG Open team lost to Gambia 1-3. Once again Ishmael Amnol scored the win (and is now on 5/7), although Stuart Fancy missed a clear win towards the end, which would have allowed the team to split the points. The Women's team continues to grow in confidence, drawing with Dominica 2-2, with Christine Wosley and Liberty Joku both scoring wins. So both teams are now on 3 match points, and aiming for a strong finish. 

The Australian Women's team drew 2-2 with the much higher seeded Israel team. Heather Richards took the principled stand of sitting out the match (she was scheduled to play) , sticking to her strongly held humanitarian beliefs. The Australian open team went down to the strong Hungary team 1.5-2.5 but Bobby Cheng's win over Richard Rapport on board 1 was an outstanding result.

2026 Chess Olympiad - Day 6

 The final round before the rest day saw some very tired chess (from lots of teams). The PNG Open team had a solid 2-2 draw with Sierra Leone, drawing on the top 2 boards, winning on board 3, and losing on board 4. The Board 3 win the Ishmael Amnol took him to 4/6 and secured him the CM title, as even he loses his next game, he has passed 50% for 7 games. (Spoilers - he did not lose his next round game). 

The Women's team  had a more difficult time, losing to Laos 3-1. But the highlight for the team was a win by Christine Wosley , who scored her first Olympiad win with a nice queen sacrifice at the end.

The after round action was at the Bermuda Party, which sadly has become a shadow of ots former self. What used to be an organic, not to serious, pre rest day fun event run by the Bermuda team, has now been taken over by successive organising committee , who simply run it as a fully corporate style function, with over regulation, a cookie cutter set of techno DJ's, and not enough service areas for the crowds that turn up. While it is a good way to catch up with friends, it has lost a lot of the spontaneity that made it a success in the first place.