Author: Sue Maroroa

  • About Sue

    About Sue

    Hi readers, In case you didn’t know or realize, I’m Gawain’s wife and we’ve been together just over 4 years and married for nearly 6 months now! I added an About Sue, for readers to get to know me a little more as I write the majority of blog posts. Me in Iceland, climbing a…

  • Winner of our GIVEAWAY…

    Winner of our GIVEAWAY…

    Introducing Mr. Ron Bleeker who won our prize of 2 signed posters by the players of the London Grand Prix with his answer “You have moved around a lot, problaby even more than me! I am a Dutchman living in Germany and moved 9 times. What I have found where you lived is: – Keighley,…

  • Hastings Chess Congress 2012

    Hastings Chess Congress 2012

    I’m pleased to announce that Gawain will be playing in the 88th Hastings  Chess Congress which will be held from 28th December 2012 to 6th January 2013. This will be our first year back since 2008, when I had a horrible start of 0.5/5 in the Christmas morning tournament which gave me a starting ECF Grade…

  • Photoshoot

    Photoshoot

    In anticipation for the London Chess Classic, Gawain did his very first photoshoot and if I can say so myself, he looks very handsome :). I may be biased being his wife and all but I think he did very well in front of the camera. We were put at ease very quickly by Superchess…

  • 4NCL Round 1/2

    4NCL Round 1/2

    We are now in Sunningdale, England playing in the first weekend for the Four Nationals Chess League, otherwise known as the 4ncl. The Four Nations refer to England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (or maybe Northern Ireland) but there has never been a team from Ireland (ROI/Northern Ireland) or Scotland. Gawain is playing for Guildford 1…

  • Metropolitan Congress

    Metropolitan Congress

    On the weekend of the 20th/21st, I decided to play in a local  London Congress. I knew I needed to play more games and when you normally have to pay the cost of travel and accommodation a local tournament would be relatively cheap to attend! We had to play 3 rounds on Saturday and then the remaining…

  • England’s newest member (I think)

    England’s newest member (I think)

    Hi guys, I’m now officially “English” for chess purposes. Having lived in England for the last 2 and a half years as well as being here (in Europe) for the future it made sense to change federation. I also wanted to challenge myself to get better and I felt that if I stayed with the…

  • Kilkenny 2012

    Kilkenny 2012

    Gawain will be back in Kilkenny, Ireland to defend his title. You can see the report below by Gerry Graham from last’s years event. If you have never been to an Irish weekender I highly recommend visiting Kilkenny. Kilkenny has a lovely castle, some nice shops and of course some pubs. Last time I visited…

  • Blast from the Past

    Blast from the Past

    For readers who weren’t aware of our history you can check out this article from 2009. The actual journalism quality was not fantastic as at times they misquoted us but in general it was all good publicity for chess. We were actually front page news for The Dominon which is the regional paper for Wellington,…

  • The Tortoise and the Hare

    The Tortoise and the Hare

    Last week the London Grand Prix came to a close and the closing ceremony was not as spectacular as the opening ceremony held  at Somerset House but nevertheless it was a nice affair. There were rumours that Mr. Stephen Fry was going to attend and present some awards but that didn’t materialize which was a pity as…

  • Icelandic Chess League

    Icelandic Chess League

    Gawain now plays for the newly merged Godinn Matar chess club. We had both previously played for Matar in Iceland for the last season but unfortunately Matar was relegated from the division but fortunately for us we now have the best of both world and the most awesome and helpful team. I would like to…

  • Congratulations to…

    Congratulations to…

    Mr Ron Bleeker from Germany (originally from the Netherlands) with his answer “You have moved around a lot, problaby even more than me! I am a Dutchman living in Germany and moved 9 times. What I have found where you lived is: – Keighley, Skipton, Yorkshire (born 11-12-1987) – Lucca, Italy (2001) – Ennis, Ireland…

  • Are you the UK’s next Chess superstar?

    Are you the UK’s next Chess superstar?

    Checked out my tweets and one that popped up was from the ECF. “BBC America are looking for young adult men who consider themselves ‘geeks’, and want to become more manly or macho for a new series to be filmed for 4-6 weeks in early 2013. If you think you need to ‘man up’ and…

  • Giveaway! Signed posters.

    Giveaway! Signed posters.

    Hi readers (thought I don’t know how many there are of you as you don’t tend to comment so often), At the closing ceremony of the Grand Prix (which I have a story or two to tell) we were given some lovely posters signed by the players and we would love it for a lucky…

  • London Grand Prix/Chessboxing

    London Grand Prix/Chessboxing

    Saturday was a busy day when Gawain and I went to visit two chess events in London. The next day we were meant to go with his Aunt to see the Chess exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery but completely forgot and unfortunately that finishes tomorrow. You can check out a review on Chessvibes where the players from…

  • São Paulo/Bilbao

    São Paulo/Bilbao

      On the other side of the world at the moment (Brazil to be exact) the Chess Masters Finals is happening. With a massive FIDE event happening in London at the moment it’s easy to forget what other chess is happening especially if we are sleeping while they are playing. I’ve never been to Brazil…