Pawn Sacrifice (see trailer) is coming to theatres September 25.
In a gripping true story set during the height of the Cold War, American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire) finds himself caught between two superpowers when he challenges the Soviet Empire. Also starring Liev Schreiber and Peter Sarsgaard, Pawn Sacrifice chronicles Fischer’s terrifying struggles with genius and madness, and the rise and fall of a kid from Brooklyn who captured the imagination of the world.
At Annex Chess Club, we’re marking the movie release with our Bobby Fischer Celebration Swiss. Running from August 17 to September 21 – just before the release – this regular club tournament is in three sections by CFC rating: Crown, Under-1900, and Under-1500.
Prizes
Thanks to Elevation Pictures and the House of Staunton, we have some great tournament prizes for this event!
The winner of the tournament (Crown section) will receive a beautiful luxury set that is a replica of the pieces used in the 1972 World Champonship.
Winners and runners up in all three sections will also receive double passes to the advance screening of the film at the Varsity theatre on Wednesday September 23, at 7:30 pm.
Please be aware that the advance screening will be oversold so ticket-holders must arrive an hour to 45 mintues in advance of the screening time to be admitted with the chance of getting a good seat.
Round One – August 17
In Round One action, the Crown section sees a number of draws. (Quite an achievement for the “David” in those David-versus-Goliath matchups!) As a result, Jon Yu with the only decisive game in the round is now in sole possession of first place with 1.0/1.
In U1900, Marcus Wilker, Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy, and George Supol are in a three-way tie for the lead with 1.0/1.
And in U1500, there’s a seven-way tie for first, with Rahul Gangolli scoring an upset win to join the other six leaders at 1.0/1.
Round Two – August 24
Famous for his unprecedented (and unduplicated) domination of the game in his era, Bobby Fischer won the 1963–64 US Chess Championship with a perfect score of 11/11. We’re only two rounds into our tournament but only three players still have perfect scores.
In the Crown section, there’s a four-tie for first as Jon Yu takes a bye, while Aahil Noorali, Dave Southam, and Michael Humphreys win their games to join him at 1.5/2.
In the U1900 section, George Supol, with a win over Marcus Wilker, has a perfect 2.0/2 score and sole possession of the lead. Hooshang Abbarin, with a win over Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy, is half a point behind with 1.5/2.
In the U1500 section, there’s a two-way tie for first as Michael Saltat and Richard Morrison have perfect 2.0/2 scores. Another five players are half a point behind with 1.5/2, including Mysha Gilani, one of the few female players in the tournament, and Justin Tanasijczuk, one of four unrated players playing their first ever CFC-rated tournament.
Games From Round Two
Here’s the game from the top board in the U1900 section. (Players are encouraged to submit .pgn files for their games for inclusion on the website!)
Round Three – August 31
In the Crown section, the games on the top two boards end in draws, resulting in a six-way tie for first. Michael Humphreys, Aahil Noorali, Dave Southam, Jon Yu, Sergey Malakhovets, and Joseph Bellissimo all have 2.0/3. It will be an exciting final two rounds to see who can take this event!
In the U1900 section, the battle between the top two players also ended in a draw. So George Supol remains in the lead with 2.5/3, while Hooshang Abbarin trails by half a point along with Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy and Max England at 2.0/3.
In the U1500, Michael Saltat takes a bye, while Mysha Gilani wins her game against Richard Morrison. First place in the section is split with two more players as Rahul Gangolli and Mark Gelowitz win their games to join the lead group at 2.5/3.
* Please note that we’ll be closed for Labour Day on Monday September 7. Rounds 4 and 5 are on September 14 and 21.
Round Four – September 14
With the grand prize beautiful luxury chess set on display at the front desk – and with many new students registered for their adult and childrens’ classes – the tournament round starts at 7:30.
In the Crown section, the big leader group is down to two as Michael Humphreys and David Southam win their games to rise to 3.0/4, while Jon Yu and Joseph Bellissimo draw.
In U1900 action, the three-way tie for second has become a three-way tie for first, as Hooshang Abbarin, Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy, and Max England all win their games to rise to 3.0/4. Ab-Barin’s game against Arkadiy Ugodnikov is included just below.
And in U1500, the four-way tie is down to a two-way tie, as Mysha Gilani and Michael Saltat win their games, moving up to 3.5/4 (the best scores in the tournament).
All three sections are going down to the wire, with ties for the lead going into the final round.
Games from Round Four
Round Five – September 21
In the Crown section, the two leaders win their final games to finish neck and neck at 4.0/5, and it comes down to tie breaks, with Michael Humphreys having played more games with black.
In U1900, the winner is Max England, defeating Hooshang Ab-Barin to rise to 4.0/5, while Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy is held to a draw by George Supol.
And in U1500, Mysha Gilani wins her game against Michael Saltat to take clear first with 4.5/5.
See complete final results below, ranked by points and then by better tie-break.
Congratulations to our winners, Michael Humphreys, Max England, and Mysha Gilani. Thanks to over 50 participants for helping celebrate Bobby Fischer, and thanks to our sponsors, Elevation Pictures and House of Staunton! Don’t miss Pawn Sacrifice, previewing on Wednesday (if you won tickets) and coming to theatres Friday.
A new tournament, which will be our 5th Anniversary Swiss, starts next Monday September 28 at 7:30 pm. Come help us celebrate five wonderful years of downtown Toronto chess at Annex Chess Club! Please arrive before 7:00 pm to register. New players are welcome to join!
Results after Round Five
SwissSys Standings. ACC Bobby Fischer Celebration Swiss: Crown
# | Name | ID | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Tot |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Michael Humphreys | 131628 | 2373 | D3 | W16 | D2 | W4 | W6 | 4.0 |
2 | David Southam | 102535 | 2228 | D16 | W3 | D1 | W5 | W10 | 4.0 |
3 | Nameer Issani | 154796 | 2044 | D1 | L2 | D8 | W9 | D5 | 2.5 |
4 | Aahil Noorali | 155015 | 1797 | D5 | W9 | D7 | L1 | D8 | 2.5 |
5 | Sergey Malakhovets | 158413 | 2098 | D4 | H— | W12 | L2 | D3 | 2.5 |
6 | Joseph Bellissimo | 147544 | 2224 | H— | H— | W14 | D7 | L1 | 2.5 |
7 | Jonathan Yu | 126131 | 2243 | W9 | H— | D4 | D6 | U— | 2.5 |
8 | Daniel Zotkin | 146857 | 2038 | H— | H— | D3 | D12 | D4 | 2.5 |
9 | Armand Jess Mendoza | 156958 | 1947 | L7 | L4 | W16 | L3 | B— | 2.0 |
10 | Alex T. Ferreira | 127516 | 2108 | H— | H— | U— | W15 | L2 | 2.0 |
11 | Hooshang Ab-barin | 152910 | 1660 | H— | H— | U— | W16 | U— | 2.0 |
12 | Brett Campbell | 101324 | 2216 | H— | H— | L5 | D8 | D13 | 2.0 |
13 | Jacob Stein | 108627 | 1882 | H— | H— | U— | U— | D12 | 1.5 |
14 | Bill Evans | 103309 | 2131 | H— | H— | L6 | U— | U— | 1.0 |
15 | Miroslav Stefanovic | 154500 | 1977 | H— | H— | U— | L10 | U— | 1.0 |
16 | Arkadiy Ugodnikov | 146626 | 1847 | D2 | L1 | L9 | L11 | U— | 0.5 |
SwissSys Standings. ACC Bobby Fischer Celebration Swiss: U1900
# | Name | ID | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Tot |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max England | 155135 | 1636 | H— | H— | W5 | W3 | W4 | 4.0 |
2 | Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy | 153938 | 1635 | W10 | L4 | W6 | W9 | D3 | 3.5 |
3 | George Supol | 152286 | 1431 | B— | W13 | D4 | L1 | D2 | 3.0 |
4 | Hooshang Ab-barin | 152910 | 1660 | H— | W2 | D3 | B— | L1 | 3.0 |
5 | Mark A. Patton | 104721 | 1472 | L13 | W7 | L1 | B— | D9 | 2.5 |
6 | Daniele Pirri | 132983 | 1505 | H— | H— | L2 | W14 | D7 | 2.5 |
7 | Ulli Diemer | 153538 | 1575 | D11 | L5 | D12 | W10 | D6 | 2.5 |
8 | Tigran Ghazarian | 155438 | 1517 | H— | H— | U— | U— | W11 | 2.0 |
9 | Jean-Marc David | 151900 | 1347 | H— | D10 | H— | L2 | D5 | 2.0 |
10 | Joshua Allen | 105802 | 1443 | L2 | D9 | B— | L7 | U— | 1.5 |
11 | Michael Sutton | 151225 | 1792 | D7 | H— | H— | U— | L8 | 1.5 |
12 | Claudio Sottile | 148499 | 1490 | H— | H— | D7 | U— | U— | 1.5 |
13 | Marcus Wilker | 102713 | 1641 | W5 | L3 | U— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
14 | Matthias Schuett | unr. | H— | H— | U— | L6 | U— | 1.0 |
SwissSys Standings. ACC Bobby Fischer Celebration Swiss: U1500
# | Name | ID | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Tot |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mysha Gilani | 155004 | 1247 | W4 | D2 | W10 | W9 | W3 | 4.5 |
2 | Mark A. Gelowitz | 126627 | 1389 | W11 | D1 | W5 | H— | W4 | 4.0 |
3 | Michael Saltat | 158633 | 1227 | W16 | W25 | H— | W10 | L1 | 3.5 |
4 | Benjamin Thalman | unr. | L1 | W7 | W11 | W8 | L2 | 3.0 | |
5 | Justin Tanasijczuk | unr. | H— | W17 | L2 | W11 | D8 | 3.0 | |
6 | Ryan Guo | 154346 | 1131 | H— | H— | U— | W17 | W10 | 3.0 |
7 | Christopher Field | 108098 | 1250 | L9 | L4 | W24 | W24 | W12 | 3.0 |
8 | Milan Cvetkovic | 150817 | 1303 | W24 | L10 | W20 | L4 | D5 | 2.5 |
9 | Rahul Gangolli | 156023 | 921 | W7 | H— | W19 | L1 | U— | 2.5 |
10 | Richard Morrison | 135889 | 1407 | W15 | W8 | L1 | L3 | L6 | 2.0 |
11 | Nick Jafari | 160405 | 1056 | L2 | W18 | L4 | L5 | W21 | 2.0 |
12 | Martin Pitt-Bradley | 158457 | 927 | H— | H— | W16 | U— | L7 | 2.0 |
13 | Jeff Pancer | 107543 | 1117 | H— | H— | U— | L18 | W24 | 2.0 |
14 | Bruce MacInnis | 149569 | 1294 | W23 | H— | H— | U— | U— | 2.0 |
15 | Eli Teram | 107314 | 1142 | L10 | L16 | H— | H— | W22 | 2.0 |
16 | Todd Westcott | unr. | L3 | W15 | L12 | H— | U— | 1.5 | |
17 | Paul Panayotou | unr. | H— | L5 | W18 | L6 | U— | 1.5 | |
18 | Howard Halim | 153419 | 1108 | D25 | L11 | L17 | W13 | U— | 1.5 |
19 | Adam Goldfarb | 153496 | 1328 | H— | H— | L9 | U— | U— | 1.0 |
20 | Keira Cuthbert | unr. | H— | H— | L8 | U— | U— | 1.0 | |
21 | Brendan Grady | 158392 | 1405 | H— | H— | U— | U— | L11 | 1.0 |
22 | Alex Moisseev | 160217 | 785 | H— | H— | U— | U— | L15 | 1.0 |
23 | Larissa Souchko | 145490 | 939 | L14 | H— | H— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
24 | Henry XianRui Zhang | 156492 | 1001 | L8 | H— | L7 | L7 | L13 | 0.5 |
25 | James Mourgelas | 108540 | 1396 | D18 | L3 | U— | U— | U— | 0.5 |
Legend
W = win (e.g., W9 means a win against player 9 – worth 1 point)
L = loss (0 pt)
D = draw (½ pt)
H = ½-pt bye (requested in advance or assigned on registration, max 2 per player, not in final round)
B = 1-pt bye (“forced bye” – e.g., odd number of players)
U = 0-pt bye (e.g., when max ½-pt byes previously awarded, or in final round)
F = forfeit loss (0 pt)
X = forfeit win (1 pt)
Hi, I was just wondering now if the Toronto Labour Day Open 2015 is going to happen.
The Toronto Labour Day Open has a long history. (Big thanks to Bryan Lamb, Randy Moysoski, and the Macedonian community in Toronto!) There have been past years where it’s been pulled off successfully at the last minute, so I hesitate to count it out entirely; but at this point the answer is no, there’s no 2015 Toronto Labour Day Open.
Evidently, we need a few more people to step forward and help organize chess in the city. It’s been a big job on the shoulders of just a few people for a long time.