THE DARK HORSE, a story of a brilliant but troubled New Zealand chess champion who finds purpose teaching underprivileged children about the rules of chess and life will be released at Cineplex Odeon Varsity Theatre in Toronto starting Friday, April 15th.
The film originally premiered in Canada at the Toronto International Film Festival and won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Score at the 2014 New Zealand Film Awards, Best Film at the 2015 Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), 2015 San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) and 2015 Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR), and was labeled by leading New Zealand critics as “One of the greatest New Zealand films ever made”.
Release Date – Friday, April 15, 2016 at the Cineplex Varsity Theatre in Toronto Cast: Cliff Curtis, James Rolleston, Kirk Torrence Synopsis: Based upon a powerful true story, The Dark Horse is the uplifting portrait of a man searching for the courage to lead, despite his struggles with mental illness. The film features a stunning, award-winning performance by Cliff Curtis (Whale Rider, Blow, “Fear the Walking Dead”) as Genesis “Gen” Potini, a brilliant but troubled New Zealand chess champion who finds purpose by teaching underprivileged children about the rules of chess and life. After years in and out of mental institutions, Genesis is released into the care of his estranged brother Ariki (Wayne Hapi) and thrust into his volatile gang lifestyle. Seeking to escape this toxic environment, Genesis finds solace by volunteering at the Eastern Knights chess club and sharing his gift with the disadvantaged Maori children of his community.
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)
Canadian Premiere
COUNTRY: Israel
YEAR: 2013
LANGUAGE: Russian / Hebrew / English
SUBTITLES: English
RUNNING TIME: 70 MIN
DIRECTOR: Halil Efrat
May 7 – 3:30PM Empress Walk
May 4 – 5:30PM Koffler House
Filmmaker Halil Efrat turns a chess competition into a moving and suspenseful spectacle where so much is at stake. Album 61 chronicles a twenty-day World Chess Championship through the eyes of one of its main competitors, Boris Gelfand, a Russian immigrant now living in Israel. Boris has spent his entire life getting ready for this moment. He was raised to become a champion since the age of six. At its heart, the film is a tender story about family relationships, as Boris’s father had to live his own dreams through his son under the Soviet regime. Efrat won the Best Documentary Director prize at last year’s Jerusalem Film Festival.
Watch the trailer. (The video ends abruptly; it’s not clear whether that’s intentional.)
Kali Holloway (Outreach Director for Brooklyn Castle) is inviting young players in Toronto to be a part of a special event before the screening on Tuesday. The event will take place on Tuesday, May 1 from 5 to 7 PM at Hart House, a beautiful space on the University of Toronto campus. Members of the college’s chess team will be on hand playing games and doing tandem simuls.
Chess parents, please contact Chess Institute of Canada (CIC) if your son or daughter would like to participate. CIC teaches life skills in Toronto schools through chess, and runs a Saturday Chess Club in the downtown “priority neighbourhood” of St. James Town.
Film Synopsis
Public school I.S. 318 is a chess powerhouse, producing national champions straight out of junior high. The secret to the school’s success? Coaches who hold leadership skills and divergent thinking above standings and trophies, and students eager to learn and improve. Brooklyn Castle follows the challenges and triumphs both on and off the chessboard as the financial crisis brings severe budget cuts to after-school programs. With three-quarters of the student body living under the poverty line, will the chess club survive the economic downturn? Will the students realize their goals? Will Rochelle become the first female African-American chess master? Will sixth-grade prodigy Justus conquer his stage fright? Will Patrick overcome his ADHD by honing his powers of concentration? In life, as in chess, the answers aren’t clear. The truth is not about right and wrong, it’s about infinite moves and the choices we make. Angie Driscoll (Hot Docs Programmer)
Rochelle Ballantyne (1970 USCF),
one of five players featured in the film
Brooklyn Castle is a documentary film depicting a year in the lives of chess team members from Intermediate School 318 in Brooklyn, New York. The film is currently in postproduction.