Mr Paul Spiller has been involved with the New Zealand chess community as an organiser, administrator, sponsor and player for 40 years.

Mr Spiller has been World Chess Federation (FIDE) Zone 3.6 President since 2014, the highest organisational post attained by a New Zealander in chess, and is currently Vice President of the New Zealand Chess Federation (NZCF). He was appointed a NZCF Councillor from 1977 to 1978. He co-organised the Borroughs Computer Grandmaster tournament in Wellington and led the New Zealand Women’s team to Buenos Aires.

He served in committee roles with the Howick-Pakuranga Chess Club between 1980 and 1990. During this time he organised the NZCF Junior Championships and NZCF Women’s Championship. He organised the NZCF Congresses for 1989/1990 and 1999/2000. He organised numerous exhibitions and junior coaching clinics in the 1990s. He organised the 2002 and 2003 Auckland International Open Tournaments. He re-joined the NZCF Council in 2004 and organised the 2005 Oceania Zonal Tournament. He co-organised the 2006 and 2009 Queenstown International tournaments.

He was President of the NZCF from 2008 to 2014, during which time he organised multiple prestigious tournaments. He raised sponsorship and organised the FIDE World Championship Zonal tournament in Rotorua. Mr Spiller organised the 2017 Oceania Championship where multiple New Zealand players qualified for master titles.