Gifted, much admired chess champion
Ub March 4, 1991 d May 11, 2023
nique is the only way to describe New Zealand chess great Sue Maroroa Jones. Of Cook Island and Chinese Malay descent, Maroroa has died aged 32.
In the cut-throat world of chess, her death brought tributes from players and clubs from across the world.
Although she had the ability to be a grandmaster, the holy grail of titles for those who love the game, she never seriously pursued the title.
A summary of her life: she grew up in South Auckland, became a youthful chess champion, married a chess grandmaster she met online and moved to England where she became a keen rugby player and mother of two. A unique life but one that does not do her justice.
A world traveller, Maroroa was a gifted cook, unbeatable in board games, and enjoyed challenges like learning mandarin and Icelandic. She won a number of New Zealand titles and made friends wherever she played.
It was always clear that she was more intelligent than most. At Otahuhu Primary, she won academic prizes and at 14 she secured a scholarship to Auckland International College.
Coming from a family of chess players, she was a member of a number of clubs in Auckland and began playing seriously at 10.
A year later, she was selected in the New Zealand women’s Olympiad team in Slovenia and travelled the world representing New Zealand at five chess Olympiads.
At 17, her life took another unexpected turn when she met Englishman Gawain Jones, a big name in chess who had beaten a grandmaster when he was aged 9.
They met online and speaking at her funeral, in The Old Rectory, in Handsworth, Birmingham, he described how they spent many happy hours on Messenger. ‘‘We spent hours chatting about our lives, plans and dreams.’’
Her ‘‘fantasy’’ was to marry an Italian artist and live in Italy. Instead, he said, she was ‘‘happy’’ to marry a chess player from Sheffield.
The couple first met in an overseas airport and later married in South Africa, where he was playing in a chess tournament. ‘‘I was completely mesmerised by her.’’
They lived briefly in Wellington, where Jones took on 30 of the best local players, and Maroroa, who loved children, studied to be a nanny.
Aftr their move to England, she decided to concentrate on her husband’s
chess career, becoming his manager and organiser, and occasionally still playing in tournaments.
An intuitive player, she excelled on attack and defeated many highly rated players, including a famous win against a grandmaster, Mark Hebden, in 2014.
In 2019, at a time when she was tackling little competitive chess, she played in the Reykjavik Open, one of the most prestigious tournaments in chess.
She performed strongly, sharing the top women’s prize with Dinara Saduakassova and emerging star Vaishali Rameshbabu
Managing Jones’ career was not, however, the end of her sporting career. She joined the Sheffield Rugby Club in 2015, quickly making an impression on the field as a tough loose forward and off it as a popular development office.
Maroroa spent five seasons playing for Sheffield before retiring to have her first child, Samaria, in June 2020.
After her death the club posted a moving tribute, noting she was a muchloved member. ‘‘As the development officer and captain of the Roses, Sue helped grow the women’s section by being an incredibly welcoming and friendly face to all newcomers.
‘‘She was never without a smile (and a tin of delicious home baking!). Sue formed lasting friendships with her team-mates and will be greatly missed by everyone.’’
Mararoa died shortly after giving birth to a son, Daniel. At her funeral, speakers noted her love of life and family, desire to see the world, and her ability as a cook and master of any board game.
Chess stalwart and friend Bill Forster said that once she moved to England she played much less chess but remained a dangerous opponent. She played one more Olympiad, representing England in 2014.
An intuitive player, she excelled in attack and beat many highly rated players.
Speaking from ‘‘extensive experience’’, he said it was always a mistake to regard yourself as more intelligent than Maroroa. ‘‘Against Sue in a contest of pure mental dexterity, chances are you’d be put to the sword in double quick time.’’
John McRae of the Papatoetoe Chess Club was one of the earliest influences on her career. Her father Temu introduced her to chess and it was soon apparent that Maroroa would be a force to be reckoned with.
She ‘‘hated being coached’’ and had a lot of natural talent. ‘‘She was a bit of a shining light, that is for sure.’’
As to the obvious question, was she
good enough to become a grandmaster, he believes she was.
When she was 12 or 13 she surprised him by saying she wanted to study at Harvard University.
‘‘She really did have a hidden inner talent and I really thought she had the ability to do anything she wanted to.’’
It was always clear that she was very much her own person. ‘‘She would sit outside doing her homework under the interior light of the car. I would say come inside (to the chess club) and she would say, ‘I am all right’.’’
During her time living in Wellington she had many close friends in the chess community. One of those, Ross Jackson, describes her as a ‘‘remarkably warm’’ person who made an impact beyond chess.
She had a natural sense of empathy and was liked by everyone she met.
Forster remembers her arrival and impact on the chess scene in the capital. It was initially her husband who made an impact, as it was highly unusual to have a grandmaster in the community for a prolonged period.
He had first played against Maroroa in the New Zealand chess championship when she was 15 and he 47.
They became friends during her time in Wellington and he remembers her as a very good player who was particularly ‘‘formidable’’ in five minute games where her agile brain and good ‘‘tactics and strategy’’ made her hard to beat.
‘‘It is obviously hard to sum someone up in a few sentences, but she was extremely intelligent and very bubbly.
She had special qualities with her ability to organise things and solve any problem on her phone.’’
Choosing his words carefully, he said she had the potential to be a grandmaster but chess was never her No 1 priority.
‘‘She was interested in chess but was not obsessed in the way so many players [are].’’
To reach the very top requires a lot of hard work and study, and Sue instead relied on her natural talent.
‘‘Sue really did have extraordinary ability in any game that involved mental dexterity. I recall struggling over Wordles that Sue would just get more or less instantly, she didn’t bother with Wordle because it was basically too easy.’’
Her role as a wife and mother ‘‘was more important to her than chess’’.
She is survived by her mother Suee Lee, brother Andrew, husband Gawain and children Samaria and Daniel.
The respect she is held in is shown by a Go Fund Me page set up for her children, which quickly raised more than £100,000, including five donations of more of £10,000.
Donors included British international master Malcolm Pein and the British Chess Federation. – By Nicholas Boyack
‘‘Against Sue in a contest of pure mental dexterity, chances are you’d be put to the sword in double quick time.’’
Sources: Nigel Metge (president of NZ Chess Federation), Bill Forster and John McRae.
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