It’s time for another edition of our annual Club Championship! (Check out the club championship tag for past editions!)
The format for the Club Championship is a little different than our regular Swisses: six rounds and just two sections, Championship and Reserve.
The Championship section sees the top players at our club vie for the title of 2019 Club Champion! Sergey Noritsyn is the defending champion. The minimum rating to enter the section is 1700.
The Reserve section sees players rated under 1800 compete for the title of 2019 Reserve Champion. Last year it was Michael Saltat.
All are welcome!
All are welcome to join us for the event, but only full-year members are eligible to win the Club Champion and Reserve Champion titles. Winners’ names will be engraved on permanent trophies at the club.
Rounds are at 7:30 pm on six Monday evenings, starting February 11 and running to March 25 (no round on Family Day, February 18). Registered players may request a bye by email before 6:00 pm. New players are asked to please register on site by 7:00 to make sure that you’re paired for the night’s round.
Round One – February 11
The tournament gets under way with 9 players in the Championship section and 28 in the Reserves. We’re off next week for Family Day, but new players are welcome to join in Round Two.
See full results below
CLOSED – February 18
We’re closed for Family Day, so it’s an off-week for the tournament, but don’t miss the Hart House Reading Week Open!
August is a great time to relax and unwind. Chess can be a stressful game, but the opportunity to completely focus on the flow (and stress) of the game, while setting everything else aside, can also be very relaxing.
ACC Relax and Unwind Swiss is a five-round CFC-rated tournament in three sections, Crown, U1800, and U1400. Time control is 90 min/side with a 30-s increment. The round starts at 7:30 pm on Monday nights July 30 to September 10. (Off August 6 for Simcoe Day and September 3 for Labour Day.) New players can register on site each round by 7 pm. Email registration or bye requests before 6pm.
Round One – July 30
In Round One U1400 action, Carina d’Souza gets her first draw since joining the club, sacking a rook to get a perpetual. Way to go, Carina! In U1800, unrated Josh Scott scores his first victory in an official game. And in the Crown, the last game of the night is a tough match between David Cohen and Josh Guo.
Off-week – August 6
We’re off for Simcoe Day. Get away from the city to “relax and unwind” for the long weekend. Or alternatively, stay and take part in Toronto’s annual Caribana festival – where di gyal dem whine up! A million tourists can’t be wrong. The Grand Parade is on Saturday August 4.
Round Two – August 13
Big thanks to Keith Denning for filling in behind the desk, and Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy for helping out! Results may not be available till next week.
Round Three – August 20
In the Crown section, Dave Southam has sole first with a perfect 3.0/3.
In U1800, Bharath Ramesh is defeated on top board, leaving a tie for first between Charlie Grisar and Dragan Jevtic with 2.5/3.
Meanwhile, in U1400, Peter Lambert is alone in first with a perfect 3.0/3.
Round Four – August 27
Through four rounds, it’s Dave Southam in the lead with 4.0/4, after we apparently missed his opponent’s bye request. In U1800, it’s Dragan Jevtic in clear first with 3.5/4. And in U1400, it’s Peter Lambert in the lead with 4.0/4. One more round to go, after a break for the 2018 Toronto Open.
Round Five – September 10
The final results see Dave Southam taking another ACC tournament, with a perfect 5.0/5. In U1800, Dragan Jevtic coasts into the lead with 3.5/5 and a better second tie break (more wins) than Arthur Terra Schneider. And in U1400, Peter Lambert posts a perfect 5.0/5 and gains almost 150 rating points. Congratulations to all the winners!
June is the Strawberry Moon – Dewmin-Giizis (or Ode’min-Giizis) in the local Nishnaabe language. It’s strawberry season in Ontario, and farms outside the city will soon have pick-your-own available. Meanwhile, downtown Toronto chess players are playing in the ACC Strawberry Season Swiss.
ACC Strawberry Season Swiss is a five-round CFC-rated tournament in three sections, Crown, U1800, and U1400. Time control is 90 min/side with a 30-s increment. The round starts at 7:30 pm on Monday nights June 11 to July 23. (Off June 18 for the GTCL Cup and July 2 for Canada Day.) Register on site each round by 7 pm. Email registration or bye requests before 6pm.
Round One – June 11
We’re off and running. Dave Southam gives up a Rd-1 draw to fall to third behind the top two seeds, Sergey Noritsyn and Sergey Malakhovets. See full results on the cross-table.
Off-week – June 18
Don’t miss the GTCL Cup, Toronto’s Rapid Team Chess Championship. $20 per team, or $5 per player – free for ACC players. Put your team together and email it in, or we’ll put teams together between 6 pm and 7 pm on site.
Round Two – June 25
Sergey Malakhovets wins with black on top board to take a lead in the Crown section with 2.0/2 as Southam and Liao are tied for second at 1.5/2.
In U1800, it’s Robert Wagner and Hooshang Ab-Barin who are tied for the lead at 2.0/2.
And finally, in U1400, as one game runs late, nobody is perfect, but there’s a big tie for the lead at 1.5/2.
Off-week – July 2
It’s a Canada Day long weekend! The club will be closed.
Round Three – July 9
We’re back up and running on July 9. It’s a bit of a strange night as many of our regulars are away for one reason or another, while quite a few new players drop in, especially in the casual section. If you’re in Toronto for whatever reason this summer, come check us out on a Monday night!
In the Crown, Dave Southam scores a win on Board 1 to take a share of the lead at 2.5/3 with Sergey Malakhovets.
In U1800, Toy Chack Kwan scores a win to take a share of the lead at 2.5/3 with Hooshang Ab-Barrin.
And in U1400, there’s a three-way tie for the lead with Ivan Noritsyn, Charlie Grisar, and Peter Lambert all sharing first with 2.5/3.
Round Four – July 16
In U1400, Charlie Grisar takes sole possession of first place, rising to 3.5/4 with a win over Peter Lambert.
In U1800 play, Bharath Ramesh is proud of his miniature against the higher-rated Arkadiy Ugodnikov, while Hooshang Abbarin with a win over Toy Chack Kwan who takes sole first with 3.5/4.
And in the Crown, it’s Sergey Noritsyn in first with 3.0/4 with a win over Dave Southam.
Round Five – July 23
With a win on top board, Sergey Noritsyn takes the tournament with a score of 4.0/5.
In U1800, Hooshang Ab-Barin wins his last-round game to take the section with 4.5/5.
And in U1400, Charlie Grisar scores a final win to take the section with 4.5/5.
Congratulation to the winners! See full results below.
Join us for a new club tournament starting July 30 – next week! New players are always welcome. Please email before 6:00, or register on site before 7:00 pm to sign up. You need both CFC and club membership, but both can be purchased from us, and we have a variety of club membership options available. If you’re already signed up, but you can’t make it, again please email before 6:00 pm to let us know so we don’t put you in the pairings.
The 2018 Toronto Blitz Championship is Sunday June 10, 1:00 to 5:00 pm – part of Harbourfront Centre Chessfest Round 6 games on the top boards (photo: John Upper)
This Year’s Winner
Artiom Samsonkin is 2018 Toronto Blitz Champion (photo: John Upper)
A promotional flyer (PDF) is available to download here.
Details
Style: 7 double-round Swiss, FIDE and CFC-rated
Time Control: 3 minutes each, plus 2 seconds per move
Registration: https://guestli.st/563637 – late entry tickets are still available, or register on site.
Entry Fees: $50 before June 4 / $60 after or on site
Junior/Senior: Less $10 for 18 & under or 60+ (as of June 1)
Membership: Up-to-date CFC membership required
Chief Arbiter: Alex Ferreira
As summer comes to Toronto, we have fond memories of summer street chess from the past. The spot in the 1970s and 80s used to be beside Sam the Record Man on Yonge, and one of the celebrities from those days was Josef Smolij. His favourite opening was the “Smash-Crash Gambit.” So our current club tournament is named Smash Crash in his honour.
ACC Smash Crash Swiss is a five-round CFC-rated tournament in two sections, Top and U1400. (We usually have three sections, but many of our top players are currently participating in the concurrent Toronto Closed Chess Championship.) Time control is 90 min/side with a 30-s increment. The round starts at 7:30 pm on Monday nights April 30 to Jun 4. Register on site each round by 7 pm. Email registration or bye requests before 6pm.
Round One – April 30
Round One players include a four-player contingent from Ryerson Chess Club, and Ryerson’s Tony Yueh (1390) scores an upset victory over Bharath Ramesh (1638) to join the U1800 lead group at 1.0/1.
In U1400 action, father-son team Valery Stroganov and Victor Stroganov are both victorious, joining the 5-way tie for first with 1.0/1.
Round Two – May 7
The leader group in the Top section is down to four players as Arkadiy Ugodnikov, Dragan Jevtic, Salim Belcadi, and Erdem Daldal all win their games.
In U1400, only two players are still perfect. Dennis Tran and Valery Stroganov have 2.0/2.
Round Three – May 14
In the Top section, just two players are perfect through 3 rounds, Salim Belcadi and Dragan Jevtic.
In U1400, Dennis Tran wins the playoff on Board 1 to take sole possession of the lead at 3.0/3. Six players trail him at 2.0/3.
Off week – May 21
The tournament is taking a break for the Victoria Day long weekend – but don’t miss the 2018 Ontario Open.
Round Four – May 28
As the U1400 leader takes the night off, Alex Moiseev climbs to a share of first place with 3.0/4.
Meanwhile, in the Top section show-down, it’s the “young up-and-coming player,” Dragan Jevtic over Salim Belcadi to take sole first at 4.0/4.
Round Five – June 4
In the final round, Dragan Jevtic loses his game, but he still finishes with 4.0/5, and with the best tie-break, to take the tournament. Congratulations, Dragan! In U1400, it’s Alex Moiseev with the win, to take clear first with 4.0/5. Congratulations, Alex!
