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Toronto weather can whip up quickly. Winter snow squalls cause low visibility on the highways and bring big accumulations overnight. But then all that snow can vanish just as quickly!

The ACC Snow Squall Swiss is our first tournament of the new year. A 5-round Swiss in three sections, it starts January 5 and will be all wrapped up on Groundhog Day, February 2.

Round 1 – January 5

Round One sees 34 players in action, battling in three sections, with a number of upsets recorded at the end of the night. In the Crown section, Sergey Malakhovets (1937) beats Alex Ferreira (2044). In U1900, young Tigran Ghazarian (1500) takes down Nicholas Wu (1632) while Daniel Pirri (1525) defeats veteran Bob Armstrong (1641). And in U1500, Howard Halim (1066) pulls off a win against Richard Morrison (1332).

We are also pleased to welcome to our club two new players, Michael Finkelstein and Marc Flores. And both are victorious on their first outing! Welcome and congratulations, Michael and Marc!

Round 2 – January 12

Winners from the last round play winners, and the leading group starts to dwindle. In the Crown section, the few, the proud, include just two players, Michael Humphreys and Sergey Malakhovets, both with 2.0/2.

In U1900, it’s down to Kamran Amirirad and Marc Flores, both with 2.0/2.

And in U1500, the leader group includes the usual suspects, Jean-Marc David, Mark Gelowitz, and Milan Cvetkovic.

Round 3 – January 19

With a win over Sergey Malakhovets, Michael Humphreys emerges as the sole leader in the Crown section with a perfect 3-0 record. Wajdy Shebetah, victorious over Daniel Wiebe, is in second place with 2.5/3.

In U1900, co-leaders Kamran Amirirad and Marc Flores draw their game, while Michael Sutton, with a win over Greg Beal, catches up to the lead group – all three now with 2.5/3. A tight race is heating up in this section!

In U1500, Mark Gelowitz takes sole possession of first place with a win over Jean-Marc David, as Raymond Lin takes out Milan Cvetkovic.

Round 4 – January 26

Crown section leader Michael Humphreys takes a bye in Round 4. Still, with 3.5/4, Humphreys remains ahead of Wajdy Shebetah, Sergey Malakhovets, and Ismail Ibrahim, all with 3.0/4.

In U1900, co-leaders Kamran Amirirad and Marc Flores are both victorious, while Michael Sutton falls to young Tigran Ghazarian. Amirirad and Flores have 3.5/4 going into the last round.

In U1500, Mark Gelowitz wins again! Ahead by a full point in his section, Gelowitz is the only player in the tournament with a perfect 4.0/4 record. Can he make it 5.0/5 with another win in Round Five?

Round 5 – February 2

The final round comes, fittingly, just after a big snow storm. But in the morning Wiarton Willie did not see his shadow, meaning that an early spring is predicted.

In the Crown section, Michael Humphreys wins again, taking the section with 4.5/5, having defeated all the other players in the top 6 except Wajdy Shebetah. The annual Club Championship starts next week, and Humphreys looks like a favourite to repeat as the winner.

In the U1900 section, unrated newcomer Marc Flores defeats Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy to take the section with 4.5/5. Flores will now have his chance to play against the big guns in the top section!

In the U1500 section, Mark Gelowitz makes it a perfect 5.0/5, with a win over Dylan Xiong. Gelowitz wins the section by a full point and a half!

Congratulations, Michael, Marc, and Mark!

Next week, February 9, we’re launching the 2015 Annex Chess Club Championship: two sections, six rounds. Arrive before 7:00 pm to register!

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Final Results after Round Five

SwissSys Standings. Snow Squall Swiss: Crown

#	Name	CFC ID	Rating	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Total
1	Michael Humphreys	131628	2362	W4	W6	W2	H—	W7	4.5
2	Sergey Malakhovets	158413	1937	W11	W12	L1	W5	W4	4.0
3	Wajdy Shebetah	148432	1983	H—	W11	W9	H—	U—	3.0
4	Ismail Ibrahim	105228	2000	L1	W16	W8	W10	L2	3.0
5	Jacob Stein	108627	1800	D8	W7	D10	L2	B—	3.0
6	David Southam	102535	2184	W16	L1	H—	H—	W11	3.0
7	Robert Bzikot	132541	2055	D14	L5	W15	X9	L1	2.5
8	Miroslav Stefanovic	154500	2002	D5	D13	L4	H—	W14	2.5
9	Daniel Wiebe	132137	2035	H—	W17	L3	F7	W12	2.5
10	Barry Nash	120160	2059	H—	W14	D5	L4	U—	2.0
11	Alex T. Ferreira	127516	2044	L2	L3	W16	W12	L6	2.0
12	Armand Jess Mendoza	156958	1986	D17	L2	W14	L11	L9	1.5
13	Bill Evans	103309	2077	H—	D8	H—	U—	U—	1.5
14	Arkadiy Ugodnikov	146626	1955	D7	L10	L12	W16	L8	1.5
15	Ian Mahoney	149124	1808	H—	H—	L7	U—	U—	1.0
16	Daniel Zotkin	146857	1976	L6	L4	L11	L14	B—	1.0
17	Jonathan Yu	126131	2223	D12	L9	U—	U—	U—	0.5

SwissSys Standings. Snow Squall Swiss: U1900

#	Name	CFC ID	Rating	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Total
1	Marc Flores		unr.	W4	W6	D2	W5	W10	4.5
2	Kamran Amirirad	158329	1463	W12	W16	D1	W8	D3	4.0
3	Tigran Ghazarian	155438	1500	W14	D5	D4	W6	D2	3.5
4	Hooshang Ab-barin	152910	1602	L1	W12	D3	W15	W5	3.5
5	Michael Sutton	151225	1808	W11	D3	W9	L1	L4	2.5
6	Daniele Pirri	132983	1525	W15	L1	W11	L3	D7	2.5
7	Jack Maguire	144604	1590	H—	D15	L8	W14	D6	2.5
8	Michael D. Sharpe	100280	1556	H—	H—	W7	L2	U—	2.0
9	Greg Beal	101490	1701	H—	D13	L5	W12	U—	2.0
10	Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy	153938	1604	H—	H—	U—	W11	L1	2.0
11	Mark A. Patton	104721	1578	L5	W14	L6	L10	B—	2.0
12	Ulli Diemer	153538	1603	L2	L4	B—	L9	W15	2.0
13	Joshua Harmon	158489	unr.	H—	D9	U—	U—	U—	1.0
14	Nicholas Wu	154991	1632	L3	L11	W16	L7	U—	1.0
15	Robert J. Armstrong	100034	1641	L6	D7	H—	L4	L12	1.0
16	Heimo C. Haikala	107606	1788	H—	L2	L14	U—	U—	0.5

SwissSys Standings. Snow Squall Swiss: U1500

#	Name	CFC ID	Rating	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Total
1	Mark A. Gelowitz	126627	1363	W5	W3	W2	W12	W7	5.0
2	Jean-Marc David	151900	1397	W15	W6	L1	W9	D3	3.5
3	Brendan Grady	158392	1222	W4	L1	H—	W6	D2	3.0
4	Henry XianRui Zhang	156492	785	L3	W8	W5	L7	W11	3.0
5	Derek Chen	156690	1078	L1	W11	L4	W14	W10	3.0
6	Howard Halim	153419	1066	W8	L2	H—	L3	W14	2.5
7	Dylan Xiong	152060	1140	H—	H—	D13	W4	L1	2.5
8	Richard Morrison	135889	1332	L6	L4	H—	W15	W13	2.5
9	Raymond Lin	150193	1311	H—	H—	W12	L2	U—	2.0
10	Rahul Gangolli	156023	1053	H—	H—	W14	U—	L5	2.0
11	Alex Geddie	155388	1141	L14	L5	W15	W13	L4	2.0
12	Milan Cvetkovic	150817	1261	W13	W14	L9	L1	U—	2.0
13	Larissa Souchko	145490	1004	L12	W15	D7	L11	L8	1.5
14	Michael Finkelstein		unr.	W11	L12	L10	L5	L6	1.0
15	Teresa Lee	154501	1091	L2	L13	L11	L8	U—	0.0