Vanuatu Chess Federation

Final Standings — Team Vanuatu at the Oceania Youth Zonal Championship, Christchurch, April 9th - 13th!

Competing against 163 players in the Open section and 40 in the Women's section, our players gave everything across 9 rounds of tough competition. Here's how our players finished:

Open Section:
Sean Zhitong – 4.0/9
Ishaan Nand – 4.0/9
Lou-Anne Delrieu – 3.5/9
Anatole Morel – 3.5/9
Armaan Nand – 1.0/9

Women's Section:
Marguerite Lukai – 2.5/9
Cataleya Enock – 2.0/9
Mathilde Enock – 2.0/9

Overall, this tournament has been a great experience for our players as they pursue excellence and develop their skills as chess players. Many lessons have been learned and will continue to spark their ability to play at a high level — nationally and internationally.

A huge thank you to the New Zealand Chess Federation, the organisers, arbiters, and the full team who made this event run so smoothly. It was a privilege to be part of it, and we look forward to future events and collaborations.

Thank you to our sponsors who made this trip possible for our delegation:
Port Vila International School
Titan FX Vanuatu
FIDE Planning and Development Commission
VASANOC (Vanuatu Association of Sports And National Olympic Committee)
FIDE - International Chess Federation

Through 8 Rounds at the Oceania Youth Zonal Championship, our Vanuatu players have provided an excellent challenge to our counterparts in the region.
The current standings for our players through 8 rounds are:
Lou-Anne: 3.5/8
Anatole: 3.5/8
Ishaan: 3.0/8
Sean: 3.0/8
Mathilde: 2.0/8
Marguerite: 2.0/8
Cataleya: 1.5/8
Armaan: 1.0/8

Round 9 concludes this morning with one final push!
Go Team Vanuatu! 🇻🇺

Thank you to our sponsors for making our participation possible:
Port Vila International School
Titan FX Vanuatu
FIDE Planning and Development Commission
VASANOC (Vanuatu Association of Sports And National Olympic Committee)
FIDE - International Chess Federation

Round 4 is done at the Oceania Youth Zonal Championship in Christchurch.

After an impressive Day 2, we are extremely excited to see the level of development taking place at this tournament — and with 200 players competing, the standard here is high.

Within our team,
Lou-Anne and Sean are leading on 2.0 points each,
Anatole on 1.5,
and Ishaan, Cataleya, and Mathilde all on 1.0;
Marguerite and Armaan are still in the hunt for their first points. Every point in a field this size is hard-earned.

Rounds 5 and 6 take place today — We are extremely proud of how this team is competing. Go Team Vanuatu! 🇻🇺

Thank you to our sponsors!
Port Vila International School
Titan FX Vanuatu
VASANOC (Vanuatu Association of Sports And National Olympic Committee)
FIDE Planning and Development Commission
FIDE - International Chess Federation

The Oceania Youth Zonal Championship is officially underway, held from April 9–14 | Christchurch, New Zealand 🇳🇿, and Vanuatu's young chess players are ready to compete. This is Pacific chess at its finest - with over 200 participants - our young delegation is here to show what Vanuatu is made of.
We are deeply grateful to our sponsors who believed in these players and made this trip a reality. Your investment goes far beyond this tournament — it builds the future of chess in Vanuatu. 🇻🇺
Titan FX Vanuatu, Port Vila International School, FIDE Planning and Development Commission, and FIDE - International Chess Federation

🎉 The Vanuatu Chess Federation is celebrating by announcing some exciting news!
After 3 successful Round Robin tournaments last month, 17 players earned a FIDE Classical Rating — 10 men and 7 ladies making their entrance onto the world chess map. Across the three tournaments, our players competed in a total of 166 classical FIDE-rated games over 2 weeks.
This has expanded our rated player base from 15 to 32 players, nearly doubling our numbers and opening the door for even more players to earn a rating in upcoming tournaments.
And it's already showing in our global rankings:
Vanuatu Men: 174th → 172nd (avg. 1681 Elo) +2 positions
Vanuatu Women: 161st → 146th (avg. 1513 Elo) +15 positions

A special mention to our Women's section — a jump of 15 positions in a single rating period is a remarkable achievement.
Congratulations to all 17 players and to everyone who competed. We are proud of what this community is building — and this is just the beginning. 🇻🇺♟️

If you would like to participate in our upcoming tournaments, please message us, text 738 7969, or email [email protected] for more information!

We also want to thank Eat Street Village, Masala Magik, and Pizza 83 Vanuatu for allowing us to use their venues and facilities throughout the past 2 weeks of the round robin tournament.

FIDE - International Chess Federation
VASANOC (Vanuatu Association of Sports And National Olympic Committee)

Parents and Adult Improvers!
Ready to challenge your mind or help your child unlock their creative potential? 🧠
Join our 10-week Chess Course, where players develop critical thinking, pattern recognition, strategic planning, and strong focus under pressure — valuable skills that extend far beyond the chessboard. ♟️
No prior chess experience is required. Beginners and improving players are welcome. 🤩

For more information, and/or registration, email or message us at: [email protected] or
738 7969

We are excited to host these lessons with our generous partners at the Alliance française de Port-Vila!
Lesson times:
Beginners - Mondays at 5:30 - 7:30 P.M.
Intermediate - Wednesdays at 5:30 - 7:30 P.M.

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Parents et adultes souhaitant progresser aux échecs !
Envie de stimuler votre esprit ou d'aider votre enfant à développer sa créativité ? 🧠
Rejoignez notre cours d'échecs de 10 semaines. Les cours sont ouverts aux enfants comme aux adultes ! Les participants y développent leur esprit critique, leur capacité à reconnaître des schémas, leur sens stratégique, et leur concentration sous pression — des compétences précieuses qui leur seront utiles bien au-delà de l'échiquier. ♟️
Aucune expérience préalable n'est requise. Débutants et joueurs souhaitant progresser sont les bienvenus. 🤩
Pour plus d'informations ou pour vous inscrire, contactez-nous par courriel à :
[email protected]
ou par téléphone au 738 7969
Nous sommes ravis d'organiser ces cours en partenariat avec l'Alliance française de Port-Vila.
Horaires des cours :
Débutants : les lundis de 17 h 30 à 19 h 30
Intermédiaires : les mercredis de 17 h 30 à 19 h 30

Hey Chess friends!
Tomorrow we are meeting at 8:30 A.M. at Masala Magik!
Come for a fun and exciting blitz tournament, with the format being 9 rounds of 10+0!

See you all there bright and early!

🇦🇺 🤝 🇻🇺

We had a great time meeting the Vanuatu Chess players last Saturday. We played a few casual games, gave a few pointers and spoke about our experiences playing chess over the years. Thank you for making us feel so welcome. Looking forward to catching up with you all again sometime in the future!

Today, the Vanuatu Chess Federation has the pleasure of welcoming from Australia, FIDE Master (FM) Brett Tindal, his Woman International Master partner (WIM) Laura, and their 2 children, to our blitz tournament this morning.
They gave us some solid pointers on developing our own personal games, and gave us encouragement as we pursue international success in the upcoming Oceania Youth Zonal, in New Zealand, and the 46th Chess Olympiad, in Uzbekistan, later this year.

We look forward to reconnecting with you in the future, and thank you for your investment into the development of Chess in Vanuatu with our young students!

This week’s blitz tournament winners are:
🥇CM Jeremy Ellison 9.0/9
🥈Marc Delrieu 7.0/9
🥉Anatole Morel 7.0/9

We would also like to thank our wonderful host Masala Magik for taking the utmost best care of our players throughout the tournament this morning.

We look forward to seeing you all at our next tournament in the coming weeks!

Wan Smolbag
VASANOC (Vanuatu Association of Sports And National Olympic Committee)
FIDE - International Chess Federation

Join us this Saturday for our next edition of Social Saturday.
We are hosting a 9 Round Blitz Tournament!
All players welcome to join or spectate!

♟️ The Vanuatu Final Nominations Tournament has drawn to a close and the players for the upcoming Olympiad team will be selected in the coming weeks.
🙏 We'd like to give a massive thank you to L'houstalet Restaurant and Mr. Clement Martinez for hosting and providing such an excellent venue for this tournament, and a special shoutout to all his wonderful staff for taking such great care of us throughout the event.
🥳 Congratulations to all 37 participants who took part, making this the largest tournament ever hosted by the Vanuatu Chess Federation. This event marks a major step forward for competitive chess in Vanuatu and highlights the growing strength of our chess community.
👏 We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to our Chief Arbiter, Miklos Greizer, and all volunteers for their professionalism and support throughout the tournament.
📈 The final Olympiad team will be confirmed following a formal review by the VCF Committee in the coming weeks.
🏅 Last but not least, a special congratulations to the winners of the tournament!
🥇 CM Jeremy Ellison (8.5/9) (+31.2 Elo)
🥈 Jayson Tasso (8.0/9) (+32.8 Elo)
🥉 Marc Delrieu (7.0/9) (+72.4 Elo)
Women’s Section:
🥇 Lou-Anne Delrieu (6.0/9) (+14.8 Elo)
🥈 Olivia Gottfried (5.0/9) (+28.4 Elo)
🥉 Kaina Delrieu (5.0/9) (-32.4 Elo)
♟️ For our ceremonial first move tonight, we had the privilege of inviting Mr. Ryan from L'houstalet Restaurant to do the honors — a fitting gesture to acknowledge their incredible support of chess in Vanuatu.

Wan Smolbag
VASANOC (Vanuatu Association of Sports And National Olympic Committee)
FIDE - International Chess Federation