It’s been a warm October, but with the end of daylight savings time the nights are suddenly darker and soon the city will start to freeze over.

Toronto chess players are celebrating the dark nights and sub-zero temperatures by playing in the ACC Sub-Zero Swiss. This club tournament runs on five Monday nights – November 7 to December 5 – in three sections: Crown, U1900, U1500. (Check the club page for more on how our regular tournaments work.)

Rounds in the tournament start at 7:30 pm each Monday, and new players are welcome to join in any round – or even to drop in for just one round – but please register by 7:00 pm to make sure you’re paired.

Round One – November 7

Thirty-two players are signed up for Round One, and more will probably join by Round Two. New players are welcome to join in any round!

In the Crown section, Michael Humphreys, William Li, and Jelvis Calvelo are victorious, and will enter Rd 2 with a full 1.0/1.

In U1900, Nika Akophyan, Hooshang Ab-Barin, Bharath Ramesh, and Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy earn the full point, and enter Rd 2 in a four-way tie.

And in U1500, Dragan Jevtic, Mark Patton, Kevin Li and Tal Zisckind are the four victors who will battle for the lead in Rd 2.

Round Two – November 14

Under a full moon and with the World Chess Championship in full swing, half a dozen new players join in Round 2, including three new players in the Crown section. On top board, Michael Humphreys beats William Li, while Jelvis Calvelo beats Peter McSherry. Humphreys and Calvelo enter Rd 3 tied for the lead at 2.0/2.

In U1900, Nika Akophyan beats Hoosang Ab-Barin, while Vigneswaramoorthy and Ramesh take byes, so Akophyan is alone in first with the only perfect 2-0 record.

And in U1500, Dragan Jevtic and Kevin Li earn a full point to head into Rd 3 tied at 2.0/2.

Round Three – November 21

Sunday is the Toronto Santa Claus parade, our first snow is perfect for the occasion, and the Sub-Zero Swiss finally lives up to its name! Only three players in the tournament are still perfect through three rounds, and they lead each of the three sections.

In the Crown, Michael Humphreys defeats Lambert Liu to make it a perfect 3.0/3, pulling ahead of Jelvis Calvelo, who takes a bye.

In U1900 play, Nika Akophyan beats Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy to maintain a perfect 3.0/3 and hold sole possession of first place.

And in U1500, it’s Kevin Li, with a win over co-leader Dragan Jevtic, who takes sole first with a perfect 3.0/3.

Two more rounds to go. Will the leaders take it all the way? Will they stay perfect through two more games?

Round Four – November 28

In the Crown, Michael Humphreys draws, but it’s still enough to stay in clear first at 3.5/4 as William Li stands alone in second with 3.0/4

In U1900, Bharath Ramesh takes out leader, Nika Akophyan, while Hooshang Ab-Barin defeats Bob Armstrong, so there is now a 3-way tie for first at 3.0/4.

Finally, in U1500, Kevin Li is mistakenly paired with a player who had withdrawn, so he takes a full-point bye to stay in first at 4.0/4. He earns it the hard way, though, by winning his game in the middle section, where he makes a cameo appearance.

Round Five – December 5

Round 5 is the last round! See final results below.

Games of the Week

A new tournament starts next week – the ACC New Year Swiss

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Final ranking cross-tables after Round 5

ACC Sub-Zero Swiss Crown

Rk.	Name	Rtg	FED	1.Rd	2.Rd	3.Rd	4.Rd	5.Rd	Pts.
1	Humphreys Michael	2329	CAN	4b1	2w1	13b1	5w½	3b½	4
2	Li William	2155	CAN	15w1	1b0	11w1	10b1	6w1	4
3	Calvelo Jelvis	2188	CAN	11b1	14w1	-½	-½	1w½	3.5
4	Malakhovets Sergey	2032	CAN	1w0	15b1	7w1	6b0	10w1	3
5	Noritsyn Sergey	2152	CAN	10b½	-½	8w1	1b½	7w½	3
6	England Max	2024	CAN	7b½	10w½	14b½	4w1	2b0	2.5
7	Southam David	2201	CAN	6w½	-½	4b0	13w1	5b½	2.5
8	Washimkar Arhant	1931	CAN	-½	9w½	5b0	11b½	14w1	2.5
9	Zotkin Daniel	2188	CAN	-½	8b½	-½	0	13w1	2.5
10	Qiao Cindy	1864	CAN	5w½	6b½	12w1	2w0	4b0	2
11	Fines John	2013	CAN	3w0	-1	2b0	8w½	12b½	2
12	Ugodnikov Arkadiy	1825	CAN	14b½	13w0	10b0	-1	11w½	2
13	Liu Zhanhe (lambert)	1959	CAN	-½	12b1	1w0	7b0	9b0	1.5
14	Mcsherry Peter	2135	CAN	12w½	3b0	6w½	-½	8b0	1.5
15	Mendoza Armand Jess	1923	CAN	2b0	4w0	0	0	0	0

Check latest results on the chess-results server.

ACC Sub-Zero Swiss U1900

Rk.	Name	Rtg	FED	1.Rd	2.Rd	3.Rd	4.Rd	5.Rd	Pts.
1	Akophyan Nika	1751	CAN	5w1	2b1	7w1	3b0	6w1	4
2	Ab-Barin Hooshang	1592	CAN	11w1	1w0	12b1	6b1	10w1	4
3	Ramesh Bharath	1675	CAN	4w1	-½	-½	1w1	0	3
4	Giffen Glenn	1538	CAN	3b0	5b1	-½	-½	7w½	2.5
5	Diemer Ulli	1626	CAN	1b0	4w0	11b1	8w0	12b1	2
6	Armstrong Robert J.	1646	CAN	12b½	13w1	-½	2w0	1b0	2
7	Vigneswaramoorthy Vinorth	1644	CAN	10w1	-½	1b0	9w0	4b½	2
8	David Jean-Marc	1417	CAN	-½	-½	0	5b1	0	2
9	Li Yun Hong (kevin)	1292	CAN	-½	-½	0	7b1	0	2
10	Zhang Henry Xianrui	1325	CAN	7b0	-1	-½	12w½	2b0	2
11	Belcadi Salim	1715	CAN	2b0	12w½	5w0	-½	-1	2
12	Qiao Joey	1446	CAN	6w½	11b½	2w0	10b½	5w0	1.5
13	Chen Harry (siqi)	1463	CAN	-½	6b0	-½	0	0	1

Check latest results on the chess-results server.

ACC Sub-Zero Swiss U1500

Rk.	Name	Rtg	FED	1.Rd	2.Rd	3.Rd	4.Rd	5.Rd	Pts.
1	Li Yun Hong (kevin)	1292	CAN	10w1	-1	2b1	-1	6b1	5
2	Jevtic Dragan	1336	CAN	11b1	12w1	1w0	3b1	4b0	3
3	Geddie Alex	1045	CAN	13b0	14w1	12b1	2w0	7b1	3
4	Supol George	1376	CAN	-½	-½	0	5b1	2w1	3
5	Kalmanson Evgeny	1045	CAN	12b0	11w1	8b0	4w0	10w1	2
6	Goldfarb Adam	1398	CAN	-½	-½	7b1	0	1w0	2
7	Teram Eli	1100	CAN	-½	-½	6w0	11b1	3w0	2
8	Ma Yue Ran	1263	CAN	-½	-½	5w1	0	0	2
9	Finkelstein Michael	1165	CAN	-½	-½	0	0	11w1	2
10	Noritsyn Ivan	941	CAN	1b0	-½	11w0	12w1	5b0	1.5
11	Souchko Larissa	979	CAN	2w0	5b0	10b1	7w0	9b0	1
12	Patton Mark A.	1390	CAN	5w1	2b0	3w0	10b0	0	1
13	Zisckind Tal	1367	CAN	3w1	0	0	0	0	1
14	Pancer Jeff	1072	CAN	-½	3b0	0	0	0	0.5

Check latest results on the chess-results server.