When Toronto chess players feel that end-of-summer nip in the air, it means only one thing: not that the malls are in back-to-school mode, nor that the CNE is in full swing, but that the Toronto Labour Day Open is just around the corner. In other words, it’s time to hit the books and prepare for the 2014-2015 chess season.
The ACC Hit the Books 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, and games in the Crown section are FIDE-rated.
Rounds are every Monday night, August 18 to September 22 (except September 1, Labour Day).
Round 1 – August 18
The tournament starts with only 40 players – I hope the name didn’t scare anyone! As in every Swiss, Round One sees David-versus-Goliath matchups – and it’s fun to report the upsets.
In the Crown section, Hugh Siddeley scores an upset win over SCC Champion Dave Southam, Hanyuan Ye defeats 100-point favourite Daniel Wiebe, and Miroslav Stefanovic does well to draw Rodrigo Oliveira, the winner of our last club tournament.
In U1900, newcomer Nicholas Wu scores an upset win over Daniel Sirkovich, the highest-rated player in the section.
Finally, while U1500 is free of major upsets, we’re happy to welcome to the club unrated newcomers Jimmy Fitzgerald, Leon Gagarin, and Kamran Amirirad.
Round 2 – August 25
Before the round starts, players are treated to a lecture by Omar Shah, “Musings from Canadian Open: Montreal 2014.”
The lecture focuses on an interesting moment from one of Shah’s games at this year’s COCC, and uses the audience’s thinking about the position to mine gems of insight about the process of chess analysis.
Reflecting on the analytic process has been a preoccupation of Shah’s for the past year. For those interested in following him on this journey, he recommends starting with Soltis’ The Inner Game of Chess. Shah’s lecture also includes some advice on attending an out-of-town Canadian Open: don’t do it alone. The lecture is lively and interactive, with plenty of audience participation throughout. Thank you, Omar!
The round gets started at 7:30 pm.
Both Tigran Ghazarian and Jack Maguire, winners of last tournament’s U1500 and U1900 sections, are taking advantage of the opportunity to play in a higher section in this event, but both received full-point byes in the first round because of odd numbers. Now entering round two with a full 1.0/1, they each face tough veteran opponents in their sections. Amazingly, Tigran Ghazarian manages to take down Hooshang Abbarin, and now has a 2-0 record in U1900! Maguire, however, is not so lucky against Bill Evans in the Crown section.
Along with Bill Evans, the crème de la crème atop the Crown section includes Jonathan Yu and Club Champion Michael Humphreys, all with 2.0/2.
In U1900, Tigran Ghazarian is joined at the top by Ulli Diemer and Vlad Nitu, all with 2.0/2. U1900 play also sees newcomer Irina Saneblidze, who hasn’t played chess since she was young, start her triumphant return in fine style with a win against young Arhant Washimkar. Congratulations, Irina!
In U1500, two players are still perfect: Jean-Marc David and Qi Zhou stand atop the section with 2.0/2.
Round 3 – September 8
In the top section, Michael Humphreys, with a win over Jon Yu, and Bill Evans, with a win over Arkadiy Ugodnikov, are the only two who remain with perfect 3.0/3 records. Next week, Humphreys, the club champion, will face off against Evans, the veteran master. Southam, Yu, and Ferreira are just a point behind at 2.0/3.
In U1900, young Tigran Ghazarian, fresh from the U1500 section, is mopping up in the middle section as well! If he wins the U1900 section, he’ll be able to play in the Crown next tournament. With a win over Ulli Diemer, Ghazarian is now the only player with 3.0/3, but Vlad Nitu is just a half point behind at 2.5/3.
In U1500, there’s a three-way tie for the lead as unrated Kamran Amirirad, with a win over Richard Morrison, catches up with Jean-Marc David, who took a bye, and Qi Zhou, who was held to a draw by Raymond Lin.
Thanks to Pepin Manalo for sharing his game from the Crown section!
Round 4 – September 15
The cold weather seems to be bringing players back to the club; the Crown section has reached 20!
In that Crown section, three-time Club Champion Michael Humphreys stands undefeated after a win over Bill Evans. Standing a point ahead of the competition at 4.0/4, and having defeated both 3/0/4 contenders, Humphreys has clinched the event! Next week, he’ll have the opportunity for a victory lap to make it a perfect 5.0/5.
In the middle (U1900) section, Tigran Ghazarian’s streak is held in check as he and Hooshang Abbarin draw their game. Nevertheless, Ghazarian leads the section by half a point with 3.5/4 going into the final round.
In the bottom (U1500) section, Jean-Marc David takes a bye, allowing Qi Zhou, with a win over Kamran Amirirad, to catch him. Zhou and David enter the final round, both with 3.5/4.
Round 5 – September 22
The final round sees the champions take perfect results. In the Crown section, Michael Humphreys makes it a perfect 5.0/5, with a win over Daniel Wiebe. In the U1900, Tigran Vaganian wins by forfeit over an absent Vlad Nitu to take the section with 4.5/5. And in the U1500, Qi Zhou defeats Jean-Marc David to take first with 4.5/5.
Congratulations, Michael, Tigran, and Qi!
A new club tournament starts at 7:30 pm next Monday September 29. New players are welcome. Arrive by 7:00 if you’re not already registered!
See complete results on the standings table below.
Final results after Round Five
SwissSys Standings. Hit the Books: Crown
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Michael Humphreys | 131628 | 2307 | W16 | W7 | W2 | W4 | W9 | 5.0 |
2 | Jonathan Yu | 126131 | 2076 | W22 | W19 | L1 | W13 | W4 | 4.0 |
3 | Daniel Zotkin | 146857 | 2061 | H— | H— | D7 | W8 | W10 | 3.5 |
4 | Bill Evans | 103309 | 2027 | W17 | W11 | W8 | L1 | L2 | 3.0 |
5 | Matthew Struthers | 110170 | 2018 | H— | H— | U— | W20 | W13 | 3.0 |
6 | Rodrigo Oliveira | 152923 | 2216 | D18 | D20 | D11 | D10 | W7 | 3.0 |
7 | Hugh Siddeley | 120619 | 1987 | W10 | L1 | D3 | W11 | L6 | 2.5 |
8 | Arkadiy Ugodnikov | 146626 | 1947 | H— | W12 | L4 | L3 | W16 | 2.5 |
9 | Daniel Wiebe | 132137 | 2064 | L19 | W22 | H— | W17 | L1 | 2.5 |
10 | David Southam | 102535 | 2178 | L7 | W16 | W18 | D6 | L3 | 2.5 |
11 | Jack Maguire | 144604 | 1608 | B— | L4 | D6 | L7 | X21 | 2.5 |
12 | Ismail Ibrahim | 105228 | 2027 | H— | L8 | L17 | W22 | D15 | 2.0 |
13 | Alex T. Ferreira | 127516 | 2048 | H— | D18 | W20 | L2 | L5 | 2.0 |
14 | Jacob Stein | 108627 | 1746 | H— | H— | U— | U— | W22 | 2.0 |
15 | Ian Mahoney | 149124 | 1747 | H— | H— | U— | D16 | D12 | 2.0 |
16 | Armand Jess Mendoza | 156958 | 2001 | L1 | L10 | W22 | D15 | L8 | 1.5 |
17 | Pepin Manalo | 112277 | 1824 | L4 | H— | W12 | L9 | U— | 1.5 |
18 | Miroslav Stefanovic | 154500 | 1996 | D6 | D13 | L10 | H— | U— | 1.5 |
19 | Hanyuan Ye | 144844 | 1954 | W9 | L2 | U— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
20 | Nicholas Vettese | 154199 | 1950 | H— | D6 | L13 | L5 | U— | 1.0 |
21 | Wajdy Shebetah | 148432 | 2030 | H— | H— | U— | U— | F11 | 1.0 |
22 | Antonios Valkanas | 158189 | 1957 | L2 | L9 | L16 | L12 | L14 | 0.0 |
SwissSys Standings. Hit the Books: U1900
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tigran Ghazarian | 155438 | 1288 | B— | W2 | W6 | D5 | X4 | 4.5 |
2 | Hooshang Ab-barin | 152910 | 1659 | W10 | L1 | W9 | X8 | D3 | 3.5 |
3 | Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy | 153938 | 1599 | H— | W5 | D8 | W7 | D2 | 3.5 |
4 | Vlad Nitu | 154215 | 1731 | W12 | W9 | H— | H— | F1 | 3.0 |
5 | Nicholas Wu | 154991 | 1541 | W15 | L3 | W11 | D1 | L10 | 2.5 |
6 | Ulli Diemer | 153538 | 1552 | W14 | W11 | L1 | H— | L9 | 2.5 |
7 | Daniele Pirri | 132983 | 1442 | L11 | W10 | X15 | L3 | U— | 2.0 |
8 | Irina Saneblidze | unr. | H— | W12 | D3 | F2 | U— | 2.0 | |
9 | Mark A. Patton | 104721 | 1601 | W13 | L4 | L2 | L10 | W6 | 2.0 |
10 | Marc Ben-Avraham | 145628 | 1439 | L2 | L7 | L12 | W9 | W5 | 2.0 |
11 | Atharva Washimkar | 153285 | 1725 | W7 | L6 | L5 | D12 | U— | 1.5 |
12 | Arhant Washimkar | 153286 | 1507 | L4 | L8 | W10 | D11 | U— | 1.5 |
13 | Mark A. Gelowitz | 126627 | 1433 | L9 | B— | U— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
14 | George Supol | 152286 | 1430 | L6 | H— | H— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
15 | Daniel Sirkovich | 145096 | 1759 | L5 | H— | F7 | U— | U— | 0.5 |
SwissSys Standings. Hit the Books: U1500
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Qi Zhou | 158050 | 1314 | W18 | W4 | D5 | W2 | W3 | 4.5 |
2 | Kamran Amirirad | unr. | D7 | W16 | W4 | L1 | W5 | 3.5 | |
3 | Jean-Marc David | 151900 | 1336 | W8 | W19 | H— | W6 | L1 | 3.5 |
4 | Richard Morrison | 135889 | 1408 | W9 | L1 | L2 | W17 | W12 | 3.0 |
5 | Raymond Lin | 150193 | 1199 | W14 | D6 | D1 | W10 | L2 | 3.0 |
6 | Dennis Li | 153129 | 1213 | D16 | D5 | W8 | L3 | W9 | 3.0 |
7 | Dylan Xiong | 152060 | 1046 | D2 | H— | D16 | D9 | W10 | 3.0 |
8 | Rahul Gangolli | 156023 | 966 | L3 | W14 | L6 | W13 | U— | 2.0 |
9 | Howard Halim | 153419 | 1124 | L4 | D10 | W14 | D7 | L6 | 2.0 |
10 | Eli Teram | 107314 | 1201 | H— | D9 | W17 | L5 | L7 | 2.0 |
11 | Adam Goldfarb | 153496 | 1326 | W15 | U— | H— | H— | U— | 2.0 |
12 | Larissa Souchko | 145490 | 1008 | H— | H— | U— | X16 | L4 | 2.0 |
13 | Kaizen Liu | 152053 | 1047 | H— | H— | U— | L8 | W14 | 2.0 |
14 | Leon Gagarin | unr. | L5 | L8 | L9 | B— | L13 | 1.0 | |
15 | Jeffrey Wang Zhu | 154492 | 900 | L11 | W18 | U— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
16 | Jimmy Fitzgerald | unr. | D6 | L2 | D7 | F12 | U— | 1.0 | |
17 | Ryan Yu | 156218 | 989 | H— | H— | L10 | L4 | U— | 1.0 |
18 | Vicknam Harichandrabose | 158191 | 611 | L1 | L15 | H— | U— | U— | 0.5 |
19 | Mark A. Gelowitz | 126627 | 1442 | H— | L3 | U— | U— | U— | 0.5 |
~ Magnus Carlsen
The title picture features Tal’s Life and Games of Mikhail Tal (1997) and Sheerer’s Blackmar Diemer Gambit: A modern guide (2011) – both available from Everyman Chess (formerly Cadogan Chess).
a link to Tigran’s game
http://www.chess.com/blog/mrbill/tigran-ghazarian