“November always seemed to me the Norway of the year.”
“November always seemed to me the Norway of the year,” wrote Emily Dickinson (in perfect iambic heptameter). This is a Norway November for sure, as Norway’s Magnus Carlsen defends his World Champion title in Sochi, Russia, November 7 to 28. His challenger is the previous World Champion, India’s Vishwanathan Anand, whom Carlsen defeated in a title match last November. Since then, Norway has run the No Logo Norway Chess supertournament and hosted the Tromsø 2014 Chess Olympiad. The whole country seems to have caught the chess bug, as media outlets now vie for broadcast rights, chess coverage enjoys high ratings, and Carlsen was even featured in a November issue of Donald Duck.

Meanwhile in Tøronto, the ACC Norway Swiss takes place November 10 to December 8. It’s a five-round regular club Swiss tournament, divided in three sections by CFC rating: Crown (minimum 1800), Under-1900 (minimum 1400), and Under-1500. The time cøntrol is game in 90 minutes with a 30-second increment each move from move 1, which makes for a 3- or 4-hour game. Games are CFC-rated, and the Crown section is also FIDE-rated. Rounds are Monday nights at 7:30 at the ACC clubhouse, 918 Bathurst.
Round 1 – November 10
Forty-five players came out for the start of the tournament. Round One of a Swiss-paired event sees many David-vs-Goliath matchups, with underdogs having a chance for a big upset.
The night, as it turns out, is relatively free of such upsets, but it does see Kevin Gaffney (1599) victorious over Chris Udrea (1883) in the U1900 section.
Round 2 – November 17
After the night’s bouts, the leader group in each section is down to two or three. In the Crown section, Daniel Wiebe (with a win over Barry Nash) and Robert Bzikot (with a win over Armand Jess Mendoza) are in a two-way tie for first with 2.0/2.
In the U1900 section, there’s another two-way tie for the lead, as Heimo Haikala (with a win over Ulli Diemer) and Sergey Malakhovets (with a win over Kevin Gaffney) share the honours.
In U1500, it’s a three-way tie for first among Mark A. Gelowitz, Richard Morrison, and Raymond Lin, all with 2.0/2. Only time will tell.
Round 3 – November 24
In the Crown section, the bout between Bzikot and Wiebe ends with victory for Robert Bzikot, now in clear first with 3.0/3.
In U1900, top board sees Sergey Malakhovets against Heimo Haikala, and the game ends in a draw. Meanwhile Kamran Amirirad, with a victory over Daniel Pirri, joins a three-way tie for first at 2.5/3
In U1500, Mark Gelowitz has top honours after defeating Richard Morrison. Gelowitz stands in clear first with 3.0/3.
Games from Round 3
Round 4 – December 1
Round 4 sees Joseph Bellissimo take over first place in the Crown section, with a victory over leader, Rob Bzikot. Bellissimo has 3.5/4 with 3 straight victories after a Rd-1 bye.
In U1900, co-leaders, Heimo Haikala and Sergey Malakhovets remain neck and neck after Rd-4 victories. Both have 3.5/4, with 3 wins and a draw against each other.
In U1500, Jean-Marc David takes over first place by defeating leader Mark Gelowitz. David has 3.5/4, with 3 wins after a Rd-1 draw.
One more round to go!
Round 5 – December 8
Last round sees Crown section leader Joseph Bellissimo, at 3.5/4, face club champion Michael Humphreys, at 3.0/4. With a win, Humphreys would be tied by points and have a better tiebreak on head-to-head. As it turns out, Bellissimo holds onto first place with a draw against Humphreys, so 4.0/5, and a better tiebreak than Robert Bzikot, having defeated him in Round 4. Congratulations, Joseph Bellissimo!
In U1900, Sergey Malakhovets finally pulls out of the tie with Heimo Haikala, after the latter is defeated by Chris Udrea. Malakhovets finishes in sole first with 4.5/5 after a victory over Hooshang Abbarin. Congratulations, Sergey Malkhovets!
In U1500, Jean-Marc David holds onto sole first place by defeating Richard Morrison. David finishes with 4.5/5. Congratulations, Jean-Marc David!
Next week, December 15, we’re running a one-night, one-section, six-round Year End Rapid tournament, at a time control of 10’+5″. New players are welcome! Register by 7:00. Round 1 starts at 7:30 pm!
After that, we’re closed for two weeks! The club re-opens in the new year on January 5. Hope everyone has a great holiday!
Final Results after Round Five
SwissSys Standings. Norway Swiss: Crown
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Joseph Bellissimo | 147544 | 2206 | H— | W10 | W5 | W2 | D4 | 4.0 |
2 | Robert Bzikot | 132541 | 1897 | W9 | W12 | W3 | L1 | W6 | 4.0 |
3 | Daniel Wiebe | 132137 | 2042 | W21 | W14 | L2 | D8 | W11 | 3.5 |
4 | Michael Humphreys | 131628 | 2270 | H— | W7 | D13 | W12 | D1 | 3.5 |
5 | David Southam | 102535 | 2177 | W22 | D11 | L1 | D7 | W8 | 3.0 |
6 | Bill Evans | 103309 | 2024 | H— | D8 | W14 | W13 | L2 | 3.0 |
7 | Hugh Siddeley | 120619 | 2085 | D19 | L4 | W10 | D5 | W12 | 3.0 |
8 | David Filipovich | 103521 | 2194 | D10 | D6 | W11 | D3 | L5 | 2.5 |
9 | Matthew Struthers | 110170 | 2074 | L2 | D16 | H— | H— | W17 | 2.5 |
10 | Daniel Zotkin | 146857 | 2035 | D8 | L1 | L7 | B— | B— | 2.5 |
11 | Ismail Ibrahim | 105228 | 1984 | W20 | D5 | L8 | W16 | L3 | 2.5 |
12 | Armand Jess Mendoza | 156958 | 2069 | W18 | L2 | W17 | L4 | L7 | 2.0 |
13 | Jonathan Yu | 126131 | 2172 | H— | W19 | D4 | L6 | U— | 2.0 |
14 | Barry Nash | 120160 | 2105 | W17 | L3 | L6 | D19 | D16 | 2.0 |
15 | Alex T. Ferreira | 127516 | 2048 | H— | H— | U— | W21 | U— | 2.0 |
16 | Ian Mahoney | 149124 | 1747 | H— | D9 | H— | L11 | D14 | 2.0 |
17 | Miroslav Stefanovic | 154500 | 1994 | L14 | W18 | L12 | W20 | L9 | 2.0 |
18 | Jacob Stein | 108627 | 1805 | L12 | L17 | H— | H— | W21 | 2.0 |
19 | Arkadiy Ugodnikov | 146626 | 1924 | D7 | L13 | D20 | D14 | U— | 1.5 |
20 | Rodrigo Oliveira | 152923 | 2104 | L11 | H— | D19 | L17 | U— | 1.0 |
21 | Max England | 155135 | 1639 | L3 | H— | H— | L15 | L18 | 1.0 |
22 | Wajdy Shebetah | 148432 | 2013 | L5 | H— | H— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
SwissSys Standings. Norway Swiss: U1900
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sergey Malakhovets | unr. | W17 | W11 | D3 | W7 | W9 | 4.5 | ||
2 | Chris Udrea | 155000 | 1883 | L11 | W17 | W14 | W5 | W3 | 4.0 | |
3 | Heimo C. Haikala | 107606 | 1767 | W10 | W8 | D1 | W4 | L2 | 3.5 | |
4 | Robert J. Armstrong | 100034 | 1621 | L14 | W18 | W10 | L3 | W7 | 3.0 | |
5 | Qi Zhou | 158050 | 1485 | H— | H— | W16 | L2 | W11 | 3.0 | |
6 | Tigran Ghazarian | 155438 | 1562 | L9 | W15 | H— | W12 | H— | 3.0 | |
7 | Kamran Amirirad | 158329 | 1410 | B— | D9 | W13 | L1 | L4 | 2.5 | |
8 | Ulli Diemer | 153538 | 1563 | W12 | L3 | D11 | W13 | U— | 2.5 | |
9 | Hooshang Ab-barin | 152910 | 1642 | W6 | D7 | H— | H— | L1 | 2.5 | |
10 | Mark A. Patton | 104721 | 1576 | L3 | W12 | L4 | D15 | W18 | 2.5 | |
11 | Kevin Gaffney | 102701 | 1599 | W2 | L1 | D8 | D18 | L5 | 2.0 | |
12 | Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy | 153938 | 1646 | L8 | L10 | W18 | L6 | W13 | 2.0 | |
13 | Daniele Pirri | 132983 | 1605 | W18 | D14 | L7 | L8 | L12 | 1.5 | |
14 | Marc Ben-Avraham | 145628 | 1529 | W4 | D13 | L2 | U— | U— | 1.5 | |
15 | Bill Thornton | 131181 | 1698 | H— | L6 | H— | D10 | U— | 1.5 | |
16 | Antonios Valkanas | 158189 | 1565 | H— | U— | L5 | H— | U— | 1.0 | |
17 | Jack Maguire | 144604 | 1616 | L1 | L2 | H— | H— | U— | 1.0 | |
18 | Marko Stevelic | 157957 | unr. | L13 | L4 | L12 | D11 | L10 | 0.5 |
SwissSys Standings. Norway Swiss: U1500
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jean-Marc David | 151900 | 1332 | D6 | W15 | W4 | W2 | W3 | 4.5 |
2 | Mark A. Gelowitz | 126627 | 1370 | W13 | W9 | W3 | L1 | W4 | 4.0 |
3 | Richard Morrison | 135889 | 1367 | W10 | W8 | L2 | W6 | L1 | 3.0 |
4 | Raymond Lin | 150193 | 1316 | W11 | W7 | L1 | W8 | L2 | 3.0 |
5 | Eli Teram | 107314 | 1129 | H— | D6 | H— | D11 | W7 | 3.0 |
6 | Rahul Gangolli | 156023 | 1107 | D1 | D5 | W14 | L3 | W12 | 3.0 |
7 | Larissa Souchko | 145490 | 1039 | W14 | L4 | W9 | W13 | L5 | 3.0 |
8 | Milan Cvetkovic | 150817 | 1276 | W16 | L3 | W12 | L4 | U— | 2.0 |
9 | Brendan Grady | 158392 | 1227 | W12 | L2 | L7 | H— | D11 | 2.0 |
10 | Dylan Xiong | 152060 | 1124 | L3 | U— | U— | W15 | W13 | 2.0 |
11 | Howard Halim | 153419 | 1077 | L4 | L12 | W16 | D5 | D9 | 2.0 |
12 | Derek Chen | 156690 | 987 | L9 | W11 | L8 | B— | L6 | 2.0 |
13 | Teresa Lee | 154501 | 1129 | L2 | H— | W15 | L7 | L10 | 1.5 |
14 | Rose Tuong | 158024 | 619 | L7 | W16 | L6 | H— | L15 | 1.5 |
15 | Martin Pitt-Bradley | unr. | H— | L1 | L13 | L10 | W14 | 1.5 | |
16 | Kaizen Liu | 152053 | 990 | L8 | L14 | L11 | H— | B— | 1.5 |
– Um…now look…now look, mate, I’ve definitely ’ad enough of this. That parrot is definitely deceased, and when I purchased it not ’alf an hour ago, you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it bein’ tired and shagged out following a prolonged squawk.
– Well, he’s…he’s, ah…probably pining for the fjords.
Hi guys – Just wondering who’s job it is to input the results from the Monday games. I’m not being unduly critical, as I know it’s an unpaid gig. It just seems to be taking longer and longer ….
That’s been my job, Mark. I just noticed your comment three weeks later, and I’m a week behind on updating the Year End Rapid, so I definitely think it’s fair criticism. I’m ready to pass on the responsibility if there’s a volunteer.
~ Marcus