From pow wows to Caribana, summer in Toronto is full of drumming and dancing.
At Annex Chess Club, there will be no regalia in sight, and no steel band in earshot. But we will make our moves to a rhythm that is inside us as much as it is outside. We will enter a state of concentration and focus for a performance that demands training and technique, rigour and endurance, continual creativity, and perfect timing.
The Drum and Dance Swiss is a five-round regular club tournament, divided in three sections by CFC rating – Crown (minimum 1800), Reserve A (under-1900; minimum 1400), and Reserve B (under-1500). Tournament games are CFC-rated.
Rounds are every Monday night, July 7 to August 11, except August 4, Caribana weekend.
Round 1 – July 7
The tournament starts with 42 players. Round One of a Swiss sees underdogs battle favourites as the top half of each section is paired against the bottom half.
In the Crown section, three games are taken by the favourites, two are drawn, and veteran Arkadiy Ugodnikov scores an upset victory over young Daniel Zotkin.

In the U1900 section the underdogs score fifty percent, as Mark Patton, Daniel Pirri, and Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy all defeat higher-rated opponents, three favourites win their games, and there is one draw.
Finally, in U1500, the favourites dominate, taking five of eight games. There is one draw, and underdogs Jeffrey Zhu and Qi Zhou each score a full point.
Round 2 – July 14
Round Two pits first-round winners against winners; only a few finish with 2.0/2. Atop the Crown section are Rodrigo Oliveira, defeating Daniel Wiebe, and Bill Evans, defeating Dave Southam.
In the U1900 section, Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy is in a groove, as he follows up a win against Ulli Diemer in Round 1 with a win against Marcus Wilker in Round 2. Vigneswaramoorthy is in good company atop the section, joined by veterans Bill Thornton and Hooshang Abbarin.

In U1500, unrated Qi Zhou has 2.0/2, with a Round-2 victory over Mark Gelowitz, as does Adam Goldfarb, with a win over Jean-Marc David.
Round 3 – July 21
Round Three sees the leaders go head to head, aiming for sole possession of first place.
Before the round, club arbiter Tyler Longo announces the success of two of our young players at the 2014 Canadian Youth Chess Championship in Montreal. Nicholas Vettese came 2nd among Canadians under 10, and Cindy Qiao came 3rd among Canadian girls under 12. Congratulations, Nicholas and Cindy!
Tyler also mentions the absence of many of our players who are currently competing in the 2014 Canadian Open Championship, also in Montreal. Club Champion Michael Humphreys, in particular, has done well in the top section; he’s undefeated against a GM, two IMs (one of whom he beat), and an FM. Initially seeded 41st out of 43 players, his 2.5/4 score puts him in 12th place. Good luck, Humphreys!
When the games begin, the top section sees Rodrigo Oliveira and Bill Evans face off on board one. At the end of the night Oliveira comes out on top, and he now leads the tournament through three rounds with 3.0/3 in the Crown section.

In U1900 play, leaders Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy and Bill Thornton face off on the top board, while Jack Maguire (back from parental duties at CYCC) faces the third leader Hooshang Abbarin on board two. Vigneswaramoorthy wins his second game in a row from the black side of a King’s Indian, while Maguire takes out Abbarin. Vigneswaramoorthy now leads the section with a perfect 3.0/3 and has already knocked out three top seeds, but he’ll have to face two more challengers before it’s over. Maguire, for one, just a half point behind at 2.5/3, does not plan to let him off easy next week (see comments below).
In U1500, there’s still no clear leader, as Tigran Ghazarian and Dennis Li, from the 1.5 group, win their Round-3 games (with Li knocking Adam Goldfarb out of the top point group) while Qi Zhou, with a bye this week, stays level with Ghazarian and Li at 2.5/3. The trio of leaders will have two more rounds to sort it out, but with another five players just a half point behind it’s anyone’s guess what the final standings will be.
Games from Round 3
Here’s the game from top board in the Crown section: Rodrigo Oliveira’s win from the black side of a QGD.
Round 4 – July 28
Before the round, Tyler Longo announces the Harbourfront Centre Chessfest, August 10, and the Labour Day Open, August 30 to September 1. When the round starts at 7:30, players include the Washimkar brothers returning to the club. Welcome back, Atharva and Arhant!
In the Crown section, top board sees the undefeated leader Rodrigo Oliveira, with 3.0/3, face a challenger from the 2.5-point group, Miroslav Stefanovic. In the end, Oliveira takes a full point – see game below – and now leads with 4.0/4. Oliveira has one more round to play, but with only one player with 3.0/4, whom he has already beaten, nobody can catch him.
In U1900, it’s Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy, with 3.0/3, facing challenger Jack Maguire. Maguire, known for his daring gambit play, essays the Portuguese variation of the Scandinavian Defence (1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4+ – allowing 4. f3 and 5. c4 to hold the pawn), which Vigneswaramoorthy answers by giving the pawn back with 4. Nf3, and succeeds in holding Maguire to a draw – see game below. Holding sole possession of the lead with 3.5/4, Vigneswaramoorthy may yet be overtaken by one of the players with 3.0/4, Maguire included. But if he wins in Round 5, Vigneswaramoorthy will undoubtedly be the lowest-rated player ever to take the middle section at Annex Chess Club.
Finally, U1500 play sees Tigran Ghazarian defeat Dennis Li to take sole possession of first place with 3.5/4. Ghazarian, who was this year’s Canadian Chess Challenge grade 1 champion, is the youngest player in the tournament.

Games from Round 4
Here are the games from top board in the Crown section (Oliveira wins against Stefanovic’s Slav) and top board in U1900 (Vigneswaramoorthy is “up to the Portuguese challenge” – see comments).
Round 5 – August 11
In the Crown section, Rodrigo Oliveira defeats Jonathan Yu to win the tournamaent with a perfect 5.0/5 record. Congratualtions, Rodrigo!
In the U1900, Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy finally has his winning streak ended when he runs up against Hooshang Abbarin. Abbarin spoils Vigneswaramoorthy’s hopes, and hands the section to Jack Maguire, who wins first place with a 4.0/5 record after a final-round win over Daniel Pirri. Congratulations, Jack!
Finally, in U1500, young Tigran Ghazarian holds his lead, defeating Qi Zhou to take first place with 4.5/5. Congratulations, Tigran!
The next tournament starts on Monday, August 18, at 7:30 pm. Players, please arrive before 7:00 pm unless you’ve pre-registered.
Section winners, Ghazarian and Maguire, may each play up in the next higher section. And the Crown section will now be FIDE-rated.
Final Results after Round Five
SwissSys Standings. Drum and Dance: Crown
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rodrigo Oliveira | 152923 | 2086 | W17 | W10 | W3 | W5 | W4 | 5.0 |
2 | Armand Jess Mendoza | 156958 | 1861 | D14 | L4 | W12 | W8 | W3 | 3.5 |
3 | Bill Evans | 103309 | 2024 | W18 | W6 | L1 | W7 | L2 | 3.0 |
4 | Jonathan Yu | 126131 | 2072 | H— | W2 | H— | W9 | L1 | 3.0 |
5 | Miroslav Stefanovic | 154500 | 1970 | H— | W14 | W15 | L1 | D6 | 3.0 |
6 | David Southam | 102535 | 2201 | D9 | L3 | W14 | W10 | D5 | 3.0 |
7 | Arkadiy Ugodnikov | 146626 | 1947 | W8 | H— | H— | L3 | X13 | 3.0 |
8 | Daniel Zotkin | 146857 | 2200 | L7 | H— | W17 | L2 | W15 | 2.5 |
9 | Nicholas Vettese | 154199 | 1949 | D6 | H— | W13 | L4 | L14 | 2.0 |
10 | Daniel Wiebe | 132137 | 2032 | W12 | L1 | H— | L6 | D16 | 2.0 |
11 | Wajdy Shebetah | 148432 | 2030 | H— | H— | U— | W15 | U— | 2.0 |
12 | Hanyuan Ye | 144844 | 1749 | L10 | U— | L2 | W14 | W17 | 2.0 |
13 | Jianqiu Chen | 157842 | 2058 | F15 | W18 | L9 | W17 | F7 | 2.0 |
14 | Hugh Siddeley | 120619 | 2073 | D2 | L5 | L6 | L12 | W9 | 1.5 |
15 | Josep Sobrepere | 152976 | 1807 | X13 | H— | L5 | L11 | L8 | 1.5 |
16 | Alex T. Ferreira | 127516 | 2048 | H— | H— | U— | U— | D10 | 1.5 |
17 | Chris Udrea | 155000 | 1926 | L1 | W19 | L8 | L13 | L12 | 1.0 |
18 | Greg Beal | 101490 | 1710 | L3 | L13 | H— | H— | U— | 1.0 |
19 | Tyler Longo | 135360 | 2031 | H— | L17 | H— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
SwissSys Standings. Drum and Dance: U1900
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jack Maguire | 144604 | 1579 | W7 | H— | W2 | D3 | W8 | 4.0 |
2 | Hooshang Ab-barin | 152910 | 1647 | W11 | W8 | L1 | W4 | W3 | 4.0 |
3 | Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy | 153938 | 1413 | W17 | W19 | W9 | D1 | L2 | 3.5 |
4 | Mark A. Patton | 104721 | 1545 | W13 | L9 | W15 | L2 | W10 | 3.0 |
5 | Atharva Washimkar | 153285 | 1765 | H— | H— | U— | W17 | W7 | 3.0 |
6 | Arhant Washimkar | 153286 | 1435 | H— | H— | U— | W20 | W9 | 3.0 |
7 | Richard Morrison | 135889 | 1382 | L1 | B— | W17 | W9 | L5 | 3.0 |
8 | Daniele Pirri | 132983 | 1422 | W18 | L2 | H— | W10 | L1 | 2.5 |
9 | Bill Thornton | 131181 | 1698 | W10 | W4 | L3 | L7 | L6 | 2.0 |
10 | Marc Ben-Avraham | 145628 | 1444 | L9 | D13 | W16 | L8 | L4 | 1.5 |
11 | George Supol | 152286 | 1417 | L2 | L17 | W19 | H— | U— | 1.5 |
12 | Arkadiy Ugodnikov | 146626 | 1947 | H— | H— | U— | U— | D14 | 1.5 |
13 | Daniel Sirkovich | 145096 | 1779 | L4 | D10 | H— | H— | U— | 1.5 |
14 | Antonios Valkanas | unr. | H— | H— | U— | U— | D12 | 1.5 | |
15 | Benito Surya | 153755 | 1675 | H— | H— | L4 | H— | U— | 1.5 |
16 | Claudio Sottile | 148499 | 1488 | D19 | L18 | L10 | B— | U— | 1.5 |
17 | Ulli Diemer | 153538 | 1606 | L3 | W11 | L7 | L5 | U— | 1.0 |
18 | Adie Todd | 125156 | 1663 | L8 | W16 | U— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
19 | Marcus Wilker | 102713 | 1723 | D16 | L3 | L11 | H— | U— | 1.0 |
20 | Vlad Nitu | 154215 | 1759 | H— | H— | U— | L6 | U— | 1.0 |
SwissSys Standings. Drum and Dance: U1500
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tigran Ghazarian | 155438 | 1156 | W22 | H— | W12 | W9 | W4 | 4.5 |
2 | Mark A. Gelowitz | 126627 | 1442 | W11 | L4 | W19 | W7 | W9 | 4.0 |
3 | Adam Goldfarb | 153496 | 1320 | W21 | W13 | L9 | H— | W10 | 3.5 |
4 | Qi Zhou | unr. | W16 | W2 | H— | H— | L1 | 3.0 | |
5 | Jeffrey Wang Zhu | 154705 | 609 | W15 | H— | H— | W6 | U— | 3.0 |
6 | Howard Halim | 153419 | 1083 | W7 | L12 | W8 | L5 | W14 | 3.0 |
7 | Kevin Corlis | unr. | L6 | W11 | X15 | L2 | W17 | 3.0 | |
8 | Zaynah Bhanji | 155866 | 843 | D10 | H— | L6 | W18 | W12 | 3.0 |
9 | Dennis Li | 153129 | 1200 | H— | W10 | W3 | L1 | L2 | 2.5 |
10 | Raymond Lin | 150193 | 1218 | D8 | L9 | W14 | W15 | L3 | 2.5 |
11 | Larissa Souchko | 145490 | 1008 | L2 | L7 | B— | X19 | U— | 2.0 |
12 | Eli Teram | 107314 | 1238 | H— | W6 | L1 | H— | L8 | 2.0 |
13 | Jean-Marc David | 151900 | 1351 | W14 | L3 | H— | U— | U— | 1.5 |
14 | Areez Bhanji | 156144 | 877 | L13 | H— | L10 | W22 | L6 | 1.5 |
15 | Alex Geddie | 155388 | 1142 | L5 | W20 | F7 | L10 | U— | 1.0 |
16 | Rahul Gangolli | 156023 | 1060 | L4 | H— | H— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
17 | Kaizen Liu | 152053 | 1047 | H— | H— | U— | U— | L7 | 1.0 |
18 | Vicknan Harichandrabose | unr. | H— | H— | U— | L8 | U— | 1.0 | |
19 | Denis Ceastov | 156165 | 626 | H— | H— | L2 | F11 | U— | 1.0 |
20 | Richard Morrison | 135889 | 1382 | H— | L15 | U— | U— | U— | 0.5 |
21 | Luka Svirac | 158025 | 850 | L3 | H— | U— | U— | U— | 0.5 |
22 | Rahman Durdyklychev | 156700 | 806 | L1 | U— | U— | L14 | U— | 0.0 |
Dance to the rhythm in Toronto




you will be able to hit the enemy naturally and strike naturally.”
~ Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings, 1645
how do i sign up, and how much is the fee?
It’s $60 for a 5-week tournament membership ($40 for juniors). We also have one-night drop-in rates and full-year membership. http://annexchessclub.com/membership/
As with all rated tournaments in Canada, CFC membership is also required ($48/year or $30 for juniors).
You can register on site, 6:00 to 7:00 pm.
I have a cfc membership, but do I need some sort of proof when I arrive at the tournament? Or is just my name fine?
Just your name is fine. They don’t give out membership cards.
thanks a lot!
Bill Thornton has been tacking on those CFC rating points with great regularity of late but he’s still not Bill Evans (:
Oops! Thanks, Jack (:
Larry King?
Lol. No, the admin account is called King.
~ Marcus
If Vinorth beats me next Monday I may just have to ask for a urine test (:
In his 24 prior tournaments at the CFC website he’s never had a TPR better than 1538. His TPR this tournament is 2076!!
Sadly, I won’t be able to spring my Bronstein Scandinavian on Vinorth come Monday since he sat right next to me as and witnessed its inaugural board appearance against Hooshang. I had been waiting to play 4. …Nb4!?, a move favoured by the immortal David Bronstein, after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Nxd5 4.c4, ever since coming across the move in Alexander Raetshy & Maxim Chetverik’s ‘No Passion For Chess Passion’.
Hooshang fell for the ‘trap’ and played the natural Queen fork, 5.Qa4+, dubious only because there’s a loss of tempo with this move. I/Bronstein responded 5. …Nbc6 and Hooshang again played the natural but dubious 6.d5?! After 6. …b5! Black is already better/close to winning and after 7.Qxb5? (the Queen had to go home) Nc2+, White can put the pieces away. Hooshang played on for another 21 moves but his position was clearly hopeless.
I may have to look at some Portuguese lines for Vinorth next Monday now that I’ve spilled the Bronstein secret (:
As you can see from the posted game, Vinorth was up to the Portuguese challenge. He also did Alekhine proud, who once said, “In order to defeat me, you have to beat me three times: in the opening, in the middlegame, and again in the ending.”
After Vinorth’s 11.Ng5?, Houdini 1.5 has Black better by 2.15 pawns. Unfortunately, my 11th move was also a blunder, having to play 11. …Bxc3 for those 2.15 pawns. My 11. …Bxe2 gives an equal evaluation of +0.03. Black was better throughout most of the middle game, even at move 27. …Nd1, which Tyler thought a blunder but Houdini thought best and still had Black better (-0.41) even if Vinorth had played the correct 28.Rg2. When all the pieces came off the board at move 34, Houdini had Black better by 2.6 pawns. Unfortunately (for me, but not for Vinorth), activating my King was not the way to proceed. 35.f5 should have been my plan ):
Jack, I feel that your solid performance against Vinorth was because you were following the Brian Burke playbook. I felt that going into the game that you had the proper levels of truculence, biligerance, pugnacity and testosterone.
And, if you were not following the Brian Burke playbook, then you must have been following wrestler Hulk Hogan’s three rules of Hulkamania: train, say your prayers, and take your vitamins.
Mayor Rob Ford has described himself as a straight up guy. I feel that both you and Vinorth are “straight up guys” as well.