A major chess tournament in New Zealand almost didn’t happen this year after the van carrying all the chess sets crashed on the edge of Queenstown.
The Queenstown Chess Classic’s organisers, Paul and Joanne Spiller, were driving to the venue when a taxi span out of control and hit their van.
“It was very traumatic,” explained Paul.
“We basically thought we were going to be killed. Fortunately nobody was seriously injured. My wife Joanne has some bruises and was pretty shaken by the whole thing. It’s one of those nasty experiences I guess.”
Paul explained that the competition simply would not have go ahead if the crash had been more serious: “We had all the equipment for the tournament, everything – all the sets, the electronic gear, computer gear, banners.”
The man towing the van agreed to take it to Queenstown that evening to allow for the equipment to be delivered to the venue in time for the tournament the following day.
Luckily the chess sets were all fine, with just a little damage to some other equipment. Around 150 chess players started in the contest, but only a few remain.
