Rotorua chess player wins Merv Morrison Memorial Chess Tournament

Rotorua's Nunilon Fulo finished first in the Merv Morrison Memorial Chess Tournament in Auckland last weekend. Photo/Stephen Parker

Rotorua chess player Nunilon Fulo has ticked the Merv Morrison Memorial Chess Tournament off his bucket list.

The annual tournament, held at the Auckland Chess Centre every Labour Weekend, comprises different sections for a range of skill levels. Using the Harkness Rating System, it is the players in the under-1800 section who compete in a six-round Swiss tournament for the Merv Morrison Memorial.

Fulo won four of his six matches to finish first-equal with Simon Lyall, of Auckland, and lift the trophy.

"I'm so happy, it's a nice feeling to win. It was quite hard, especially the last game which is one I lost, that game went for four hours. It was my first time playing at the tournament and it was very competitive," Fulo said.

It was not a one-off for Fulo, who has been playing chess since he was 7. He studied accounting at the University of NegrosOccidental-Recoletos, in his home country the Philippines, on a full chess scholarship. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, majoring in accounting, in 1990.

He moved to New Zealand in 2015 and his love for chess has never waned. In February he finished joint-second at Bay of Plenty Rapid Chess Tournament in Mount Maunganui and in July he finished joint-third at the North Island Rapid Chess Championship in Auckland.

As there is no chess club in Rotorua, he is resigned to practising against his computer and takes every opportunity he can to compete against people at tournaments.

"It's a good learning experience for me, every game, whether you win or lose you get something from it. My father played chess, not competitively, but he bought me a book about it, that's how I learned and it started from there.

"It requires concentration, patience and requires you to think strategically, which can all help you in life as well. If possible you want to know about your opponents, each person has a different style. I am quite an aggressive player, I like to attack."

Fulo said he would like to compete in the New Zealand Open Championship in January, however the championship runs for 10 days so it would depend on whether he had the time and budget to do so.