Escape from rain: Hawke's Bay chess tournament draws dozens of pupils

Tyson Pearce of Nuhaka School battled the bad weather to make it to the Hawke's Bay primary school chess tournament. Photo / Warren Buckland

Nothing could wash away Nuhaka School's chance to play a bit of competitive chess.

At 6am this morning, principal Nicholas Chapman collected 10 of his best chess-loving students from Years 4 to 6 and hit the road for the Hawke's Bay primary schools tournament in Hastings only to find surface flooding, potholes and debris everywhere.

But despite encountering several cars on the roadside fixing flat tyres, and a few slips, the group of students made it to the Hastings Sports Centre at 9am, half an hour before the first round started.

Hawke's Bay Chess Club president and tournament organiser Mike Earle said Nuhaka School did well travelling through bad weather to get to the tournament,

"it was great to see them."

The club's annual junior tournament attracted 135 competitors from 19 primary schools across the region, about half the number of entries normally received due to Covid-19 restrictions, Earle said.

It's a tournament with tradition - 42 years ago, Hawke's Bay Chess Club started working with the Hastings City Council's recreation team and in 1980 they ran the first junior competition.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency national journey manager Helen Harris said it was monitoring Hawke's Bay's roads closely on Friday.

"Crews have been out responding to incidents across the state highway network, including slips and fallen trees," Harris said.

"State Highway 2 and State Highway 5 currently remain open, but the weather is making driving a challenge. People travelling on these roads need to take extra care and expect the unexpected.

"Potholes and debris have appeared on roads across the region, so please keep speeds down and stay alert. We want everyone to get to their destinations and back home safely.

"Our current focus is on trying to keep the roads open for people who need to travel.

"That means it will take some time for us to repair the potholes, especially as the severe weather is expected to continue into the weekend."