Vernon Small


Vernon Albert Small is a New Zealand chess International Master. He represented New Zealand in eight Chess Olympiads from 1976 to 1992. By profession he is a journalist, reporting on New Zealand political affairs for Fairfax Media.

Biography

Small moved to New Zealand at the age of 9 in 1964 from England. Small was educated at Shirley Boys' High School in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was awarded a PhD in English Literature from the University of Canterbury in 1985. He has previously worked as National Affairs Editor for Fairfax Media New Zealand, based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery; for which he has received numerous awards. He lives in Wellington, New Zealand.

Chess career

He represented New Zealand in eight Chess Olympiads from 1976 to 1992, playing on board 1 in 1982, 1984 and 1988. His best result was his Olympiad debut at the 22nd Chess Olympiad, Haifa 1976, when he scored 7/9, and finished equal third with Grandmaster Larry Evans for the bronze medal on board 3.
Small won or jointly won the New Zealand Chess Championship on four occasions; 1979/80, 1980/81, 1981/82, and 1984/85.
He has defeated a number of strong players, including Jonathan Mestel, Eugenio Torre and Oscar Panno.

Notable games