From Guy Fawkes celebrations to Irish Samhain to Indian Diwali, it’s a good time of year for a bonfire! Outdoor fires are illegal in the City of Toronto without a permit, but at Annex Chess Club we’re lighting up Monday evenings with our Bonfire Swiss chess tournament!
To accommodate our growing bottom section – and to make it more novice-friendly! – we’re lowering the cut-off between the two reserve sections and adding an extra round. (The extra round will also help with FIDE rating in the top section and with CFC bonus points!)
The Bonfire Swiss will be a six-round event from November 9 to December 14, in three sections: Crown (min. 1800 CFC), U1900 (min. 1300), and U1400.
Round One – November 9
Round One of a Swiss sees some of the most mismatched games of the tournament, as the top half of each section is paired against the bottom half. This time there is just one upset, but also three games where the underdog manages a draw.
In the Crown section, William Li (1958) scores an upset victory over Alex Ferreira (2120), while Daniel Wiebe (2041) holds last tournament’s winner and second seed, Joseph Bellissimo (2260), to a draw.
In U1900 action, Mark Gelowitz (1437) draws Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy (1662), while Daniel Pirri (1501) draws Greg Beal (1699).
Its also nice to see a couple brand new, unrated players participating. A big welcome to Denis Gaudreault and Volkan Eryildir!
Round 1 Game of the Week
Round Two – November 16
Through two rounds, there are only a few players in each section still with perfect records.
In the Crown section, there are just two players in the leader group: Michael Humphreys and Dave Southam have perfect 2.0/2 scores.
In U1900, the leader group consists of Tigran Ghazarian and Kamran Amirirad, with 2.0/2 records.
And in U1400, there are four players tied for the lead: Paul Panayotou, Chris Field, Howard Halim, and Nick Jafari have 2.0/2 through two rounds.
Round Three – November 23
Third round battles on the top boards are decisive, and a clear leader emerges in all three sections. Will these leaders be able to maintain their lead through three more rounds?
In the Crown section, Michael Humphreys defeats co-leader Dave Southam to gain sole possession of first place with a perfect 3.0/3. Meanwhile, Joseph Bellissimo stays just a half point behind with a win over another strong young player, Daniel Zotkin.
In U1900, Kamran Amirirad defeats the talented youngster Tigran Ghazarian to keep a perfect 3.0/3 score and take clear first, while Max England stays half a point behind with a win over Hooshang Abbarin.
And in U1400, it’s Chris Field in clear first with 3.0/3 after a win over Howard Halim. Half a point behind at 2.5/3 are Adam Goldfarb, with a win over Nick Jafari, and Paul Panayotou, with a bye.
Round Four – November 30
Round 4 sees the tournament leaders defend their positions and extend their leads!
In the Crown section, Michael Humphreys defeats Joseph Bellissimo to maintain a perfect score of 4.0/4. Dave Southam, with a win over Arkadiy Ugodnikov, stays just a point behind at 3.0/3.
In U1900, with a win over Max England, Kamran Amirirad also now leads by a full point at 4.0/4. And Tigran Ghazarian wins to stay close behind at 3.0/4.
In U1400, it’s Chris Field extending his perfect score to 4.0/4 with a win over Harry Chen. Adam Goldfarb and Paul Panayotou have 3.0/4.
Round 4 was also the last day of Movember, so don’t forget to help support our ACC Movember team, led by Michael Humphreys!
Round Five – December 7
Round 5 sees a shake-up in the top and bottom sections as the leaders are defeated allowing contenders to catch up. It all comes down to the last round – and possibly tie-breaks!
In the Crown section, it’s Daniel Wiebe who takes down Michael Humphreys, allowing Dave Southam (with a win over Joseph Bellissimo) to tie for the lead with Humphreys at 4.0/5.
In U1900, there’s no such shake-up. Kamran Amirirad confidently takes a bye and holds onto his lead at 4.5/5. England, Ghazarian, and Vigneswaramoorthy are still a full point behind at 3.5/5.
In U1400, it’s Paul Panayotou who checks Chris Field’s undefeated streak and pulls into a 3-way tie for first with Field and Goldfarb at 4.0/5.
Round Six – December 14
A site booking by another group sees Round 6 (the last round!) played beside a loud concert.
Unperturbed, leaders Michael Humphreys and Dave Southam both won their last-round games, so the tournament goes to Michael Humphreys on head-to-head tie-break! Congratulations, Michael!
In U1900, Kamran Amirirad had such a commanding lead that he was able to win the section without even playing the last round! Congratulations, Kamran!
Finally, in U1400, leaders Chris Field and Adam Goldfarb faced off, with Adam Goldfarb winning his game and the section. Congratulations, Adam!
See complete results below.
And don’t miss our last night of the year next week: a lecture, a blitz tournament, and a trip to the pub! Come on out and bring a friend!
Final Standings after Round 6
SwissSys Standings. ACC Bonfire Swiss: Crown section
| # | Name | ID | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 5 | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Humphreys | 131628 | 2342 | W3 (w) | W6 (b) | W2 (w) | W8 (w) | L4 (b) | W9 (b) | 5.0 |
| 2 | David Southam | 102535 | 2192 | W9 (w) | W5 (b) | L1 (b) | W12 (w) | W8 (b) | W4 (w) | 5.0 |
| 3 | Sergey Malakhovets | 158413 | 2092 | L1 (b) | D7 (w) | W9 (b) | W11 (w) | W5 (b) | D6 (w) | 4.0 |
| 4 | Daniel Wiebe | 132137 | 2041 | D8 (w) | H— (-) | D12 (b) | W5 (w) | W1 (w) | L2 (b) | 3.5 |
| 5 | William Li | 154677 | 1958 | W10 (w) | L2 (w) | W11 (b) | L4 (b) | L3 (w) | B— (-) | 3.0 |
| 6 | Daniel Zotkin | 146857 | 2093 | W7 (w) | L1 (w) | L8 (b) | D10 (b) | W12 (w) | D3 (b) | 3.0 |
| 7 | Armand Jess Mendoza | 156958 | 1872 | L6 (b) | D3 (b) | D10 (w) | L9 (w) | B— (-) | W8 (b) | 3.0 |
| 8 | Joseph Bellissimo | 147544 | 2260 | D4 (b) | W13 (w) | W6 (w) | L1 (b) | L2 (w) | L7 (w) | 2.5 |
| 9 | Erik Malmsten | 100196 | 1982 | L2 (b) | H— (-) | L3 (w) | W7 (b) | W10 (w) | L1 (w) | 2.5 |
| 10 | Alex T. Ferreira | 127516 | 2120 | L5 (b) | H— (-) | D7 (b) | D6 (w) | L9 (b) | D11 (w) | 2.0 |
| 11 | Miroslav Stefanovic | 154500 | 1968 | H— (-) | H— (-) | L5 (w) | L3 (b) | D14 (w) | D10 (b) | 2.0 |
| 12 | Arkadiy Ugodnikov | 146626 | 1824 | H— (-) | H— (-) | D4 (w) | L2 (b) | L6 (b) | U— (-) | 1.5 |
| 13 | Josh Guo | 105318 | 2257 | H— (-) | L8 (b) | H— (-) | H— (-) | U— (-) | U— (-) | 1.5 |
| 14 | Jonathan Yu | 126131 | 2241 | H— (-) | H— (-) | U— (-) | U— (-) | D11 (b) | U— (-) | 1.5 |
SwissSys Standings. ACC Bonfire Swiss: U1900 section
| # | Name | ID | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 5 | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kamran Amirirad | 158329 | 1758 | W3 (w) | W9 (b) | W2 (w) | W4 (b) | H— (-) | U— (-) | 4.5 |
| 2 | Tigran Ghazarian | 155438 | 1568 | W8 (w) | W11 (b) | L1 (b) | W13 (w) | H— (-) | W4 (b) | 4.5 |
| 3 | Ulli Diemer | 153538 | 1538 | L1 (b) | B— (-) | W8 (w) | L7 (b) | W13 (w) | W5 (w) | 4.0 |
| 4 | Max England | 155135 | 1657 | H— (-) | W10 (w) | W6 (b) | L1 (w) | W7 (b) | L2 (w) | 3.5 |
| 5 | Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy | 153938 | 1662 | D15 (w) | H— (-) | D13 (b) | W6 (w) | W9 (w) | L3 (b) | 3.5 |
| 6 | Hooshang Ab-barin | 152910 | 1640 | H— (-) | W15 (b) | L4 (w) | L5 (b) | W8 (b) | W9 (w) | 3.5 |
| 7 | Jean-Marc David | 151900 | 1344 | L9 (w) | H— (-) | W12 (b) | W3 (w) | L4 (w) | D11 (b) | 3.0 |
| 8 | Volkan Eryildir | unr. | L2 (b) | W12 (w) | L3 (b) | D14 (b) | L6 (w) | W17 (w) | 2.5 | |
| 9 | Richard Morrison | 135889 | 1456 | W7 (b) | L1 (w) | W11 (w) | H— (-) | L5 (b) | L6 (b) | 2.5 |
| 10 | Daniele Pirri | 132983 | 1501 | D14 (w) | L4 (b) | H— (-) | W11 (b) | H— (-) | U— (-) | 2.5 |
| 11 | Robert J. Armstrong | 100034 | 1570 | W12 (b) | L2 (w) | L9 (b) | L10 (w) | B— (-) | D7 (w) | 2.5 |
| 12 | Benjamin Thalman | 160474 | 1318 | L11 (w) | L8 (b) | L7 (w) | W15 (b) | H— (-) | W16 (w) | 2.5 |
| 13 | George Supol | 152286 | 1466 | H— (-) | W14 (b) | D5 (w) | L2 (b) | L3 (b) | U— (-) | 2.0 |
| 14 | Greg Beal | 101490 | 1699 | D10 (b) | L13 (w) | W15 (b) | D8 (w) | U— (-) | U— (-) | 2.0 |
| 15 | Mark A. Gelowitz | 126627 | 1437 | D5 (b) | L6 (w) | L14 (w) | L12 (w) | H— (-) | U— (-) | 1.0 |
| 16 | Joshua Allen | 105802 | 1436 | H— (-) | H— (-) | U— (-) | U— (-) | U— (-) | L12 (b) | 1.0 |
| 17 | Dragan Jevtic | unr. | H— (-) | H— (-) | U— (-) | U— (-) | U— (-) | L8 (b) | 1.0 |
SwissSys Standings. ACC Bonfire Swiss: U1400 section
| # | Name | ID | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 5 | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Goldfarb | 153496 | 1290 | W7 (b) | H— (-) | W2 (w) | H— (-) | W6 (b) | W4 (w) | 5.0 |
| 2 | Nick Jafari | 160405 | 1108 | W8 (w) | W5 (w) | L1 (b) | U— (-) | W12 (b) | W10 (w) | 4.0 |
| 3 | Paul Panayotou | 160475 | 1170 | W11 (w) | W16 (b) | H— (-) | H— (-) | W4 (w) | U— (-) | 4.0 |
| 4 | Christopher Field | 108098 | 1185 | W13 (b) | W9 (w) | W12 (b) | W5 (w) | L3 (b) | L1 (b) | 4.0 |
| 5 | Harry [Siqi] Chen | 159391 | 1248 | W6 (w) | L2 (b) | W11 (w) | L4 (b) | W15 (w) | W13 (b) | 4.0 |
| 6 | Michael Finkelstein | 158620 | 1017 | L5 (b) | H— (-) | W8 (w) | W17 (b) | L1 (w) | W14 (b) | 3.5 |
| 7 | Rahul Gangolli | 156023 | 1018 | L1 (w) | W20 (b) | W19 (w) | H— (-) | W13 (b) | U— (-) | 3.5 |
| 8 | Jacob Tobin | 160604 | 771 | L2 (b) | D13 (w) | L6 (b) | D18 (w) | W21 (b) | W21 (w) | 3.0 |
| 9 | Henry XianRui Zhang | 156492 | 1098 | W19 (w) | L4 (b) | H— (-) | L11 (b) | D14 (w) | W18 (b) | 3.0 |
| 10 | Zhong Zhao | 160523 | 1313 | H— (-) | H— (-) | U— (-) | W19 (b) | W11 (w) | L2 (b) | 3.0 |
| 11 | Piotr Jucha | 160602 | 945 | L3 (b) | W18 (w) | L5 (b) | W9 (w) | L10 (b) | D12 (w) | 2.5 |
| 12 | Howard Halim | 153419 | 1080 | W17 (w) | W14 (b) | L4 (w) | L15 (b) | L2 (w) | D11 (b) | 2.5 |
| 13 | Larissa Souchko | 145490 | 981 | L4 (w) | D8 (b) | W21 (w) | W14 (b) | L7 (w) | L5 (w) | 2.5 |
| 14 | Ryan Guo | 154346 | 1123 | W21 (b) | L12 (w) | D18 (b) | L13 (w) | D9 (b) | L6 (w) | 2.0 |
| 15 | Rose Tuong | 158024 | 816 | H— (-) | H— (-) | U— (-) | W12 (w) | L5 (b) | U— (-) | 2.0 |
| 16 | Jeff Pancer | 107543 | 1107 | W18 (b) | L3 (w) | H— (-) | H— (-) | U— (-) | U— (-) | 2.0 |
| 17 | Dylan Hickson | 160650 | 547 | L12 (b) | B— (-) | H— (-) | L6 (w) | H— (-) | U— (-) | 2.0 |
| 18 | Larry Tobin | 160603 | 650 | L16 (w) | L11 (b) | D14 (w) | D8 (b) | B— (-) | L9 (w) | 2.0 |
| 19 | Denis Gaudreault | unr. | L9 (b) | W21 (w) | L7 (b) | L10 (w) | U— (-) | U— (-) | 1.0 | |
| 20 | Alex Geddie | 155388 | 1093 | H— (-) | L7 (w) | H— (-) | U— (-) | U— (-) | U— (-) | 1.0 |
| 21 | Alex Moiseev | 160217 | 798 | L14 (w) | L19 (b) | L13 (b) | B— (-) | L8 (w) | L8 (b) | 1.0 |
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)
(b) = game played with black pieces
(w) = game played with white pieces
The bonfire image at the top is from the Cochrane Winter Carnival. Cochrane is in Northern Ontario, northeast of Timmins and south of Moosonee. (It’s Tim Horton’s hometown.) They hold a torchlight parade every February.
wouldn’t my win against alex ferreira be counted as an upset? just wondering
True enough, William. Sorry I missed that.
Can you send us a .pgn of your game?
i already gave you that yellow sheet that already mentioned my game, do you have it? if not, i can send you it
[Event “ACC Bonfire Swiss”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “2015.11.09”]
[Round “1”]
[White “Li, William”]
[Black “NM Ferreira, Alex T”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “C56”]
[WhiteElo “1955”]
[BlackElo “2120”]
[PlyCount “103”]
[EventDate “2015.11.09”]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 d5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8.
Nc3 Qh5 9. Nxe4 Be6 10. Neg5 O-O-O 11. Nxe6 fxe6 12. Rxe6 Bd6 13. Qd3 Rhf8 14. h3 Qd5 15. Re2
Bc5 16. a3 Qf5 17. Bg5 Rd5 18. Bh4 Qxd3 19. cxd3 Bd6 20. Ng5 h6 21. Ne4 Be5
22. Rae1 Kd7 23. Nd2 g5 24. Nc4 Bf4 25. Bg3 Bxg3 26. fxg3 a6 27. Re6 b5 28. Nd2
Rd6 29. R6e4 Rf5 30. b4 Rf8 31. Nb3 Kc8 32. Nc5 a5 33. Re8+ Rd8 34. Rxf8 Rxf8
35. Re6 axb4 36. Rxc6 bxa3 37. Ra6 Kb8 38. Rxa3 Rf5 39. Ne4 Kb7 40. g4 Re5 41.
Kf2 Kb6 42. Rb3 Ka5 43. Rb1 c5 44. Nd6 Re6 45. Nxb5 Rb6 46. Na3 Rxb1 47. Nxb1
Kb4 48. Nd2 Kc3 49. Ke2 Kc2 50. Ne4 c4 51. dxc4 d3+ 52. Ke3 1-0
Thanks, William!
no problem
Hi. I wonder why there aren’t any games of the week. At least put my game against miroslav on there :). i gave you the yellow sheet
Thanks for the encouragement, William. Let’s see if we can get someone to enter a few games for us every week from the yellow carbon copies we collect.
I think i can do it. I have a fair amount of spare time i could use on this instead of dying of boredom. The games would make this website more appealing.
Wow, that’d be great! Can you talk to Tyler next week?
Okay.
Also in the summer time of 2016, i would maybe want to be one of the officers of the ACC so i can have volunteer hour credits. Thanks!
a minor officer would be good.
Great, William. Talk to Ted about volunteer opportunities. There’s lots of community chess work to help out with!
is the omar shah lecture next monday free or do you have to pay money for it
Free for members. Otherwise, the usual drop-in fees apply.
like free for all ACC members? not only the people who paid for classes?
Yes, free for all members. http://annexchessclub.com/membership/