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!
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 |
Hi Tyler I need to take a bye for round 3 I hope this is the right place to post this? Will leave a message on fb as well Thx Bill