Club Championship starts February 27
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 2017 Club Champion! Michael Humphreys has held the honour for quite some time now – five years in a row! – but this could be the year he’s unseated. The minimum rating to enter the section is 1700.

The Reserve section sees players rated under 1800 compete for the title of 2017 Reserve Champion. Last year it was Max England. (Note that players rated 1700 to 1799 are normally placed in the Reserve section, but they can also opt to play up in the Championship section.)
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 27 and running to April 3. New players are asked to please register by 7:00 to make sure that you’re paired for the night’s round.
Round One – February 27
The Club Championship starts with just 15 players in the Championship section – and 28 players in the Reserve.
First-round David vs. Goliath upsets include Max England (2066) defeating Daniel Zotkin (2202) and John Fines (1903) scoring a draw against William Li (2179). In the last game to finish, Miroslav Stefanovic (2136) stubbornly defends to score a draw against top seed and five-time Club Champion Michael Humphreys (2318).
In the Reserve Sasha Chapin (1172) defeats Harry Chen (1465), Dragan Jevtic (1363) defeats Michael Sharpe (1662) and Evgeny Kalmanson (1141) defeats Shabnam Abbarin (1458).
Rd 1 Games of the Week
Here are a few select games – thanks to Keith Denning for entering them!
And finally, a game from the reserve section.
Round Two – March 6
A few new players join the tournament, including some brand new unrated players in the Reserve section who just finished a session of Artiom’s adult chess classes: Bill Randle, Alan McMillan, and Doug Caplan. Meanwhile the Championship section gets a bit tougher as a couple new 2200+ players join: Joseph Bellissimo (2291) and Ochuko Emuakpeje (2211 FIDE). And at the end of the night, Bill Randle, Joseph Bellissimo, and Ochuko Emuakpeje are victorious!
Early leaders with perfect scores through two rounds are Sergey Noritsyn and Dave Southam in the Championship section and five players in the Reserve section: Ulli Diemer, Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy, Salim Belcadi, Kevin Li, and Mark Gelowitz!
Rd 2 Games of the Week
Round Three – March 13
It’s the halfway point. Through three rounds, the leader – with a perfect 3.0/3 score – is Dave Southam. Half a point behind with 2.5/3 are Ochuko Emuakpeje and Michael Humphreys.
Rd 3 Games of the Week
Reserve Section
In the Reserve section, there’s a two-way tie for first: Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy and Ulli Diemer both have perfect 3.0/3 scores through three rounds. Another five players are tied for third with 2.5/3.
Here are the games from the top two boards:
Round Four – March 20
Through four rounds, there is a clear leader in each section. In the Championship section, with a perfect 4.0/4 score, Dave Southam has sole possession of first place. Trailing by just half a point with 3.5/4 is defending champion, Michael Humphreys.
In the Reserve section, it’s Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy with a perfect 4.0/4 score and sole possession of first. Javier Dixon trails by half a point with 3.5/4.
There will be showdowns next week as each second-place player will have their chance to take the lead with a win over the leader.
Round Five – March 27
In the Reserve section, Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy is a juggernaut, as he takes out his fifth opponent in a row to post a 5-0 record through five rounds. Ulli Diemer, Kevin Li, and Eric Pei are a point behind at 4.0.
In the Championship section, things get interesting as defending champion Michael Humphreys defeats leader Dave Southam, to rise to 4.5/5, half a point ahead of Southam, who falls to 4.0/5, as Noritsyn and Emuakpeje stay within a point at 3.5.
Round Six – April 3
There are big dramatics in the final round as Ochuko Emuakpeje takes out Humphreys, holding him to 4.5/6 while rising to 4.5 himself. Meanwhile, Sergey Noritsyn beats Malakhovets to join them at 4.5. At this point, Dave Southam, coming into the round with 4.0, can take a clear lead and the 2017 Championship title with a win over Stefanovic. Here’s the game – with commentary by Stefanovic (Southam is black):
So the tournament ends with four players at 4.5, and it comes down to tiebreaks. With four players tied, nobody can win head-to-head. Number of wins and number of blacks eliminate Humphreys and Noritsyn, and finally Southam has a better Buchholz Cut 1 score than Emuakpeje. So Dave Southam wins it in the end on the fourth tiebreak, and ACC has a new Club Champion. Congratulations, Dave!

An interesting twist arises in the Reserves when leader Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy, ahead by a full point, decides to coast to the finish with a zero-point bye in the last round, counting on better tie breaks against Diemer (head-to-head), Li (more blacks), and Pei (more wins) if any of them should get a full point in the final round.
In probably the worst case scenario for Vigneswaramoorthy, Ulli Diemer defeats Eric Pei and Kevin Li pulls off a 150-rating-point upset win over Salim Belcadi – with black! Vigneswaramoorthy had the head-to-head tiebreak secured over just Diemer, but it doesn’t help in a three-way tie with Diemer and Li. And all three now have 5 wins and 3 blacks, so it comes down to the fourth tiebreak, Buchholz Cut 1 scores – and Vigneswaramoorthy has 20.5, half a point ahead of Diemer’s 20. So Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy gets his name on the trophy and goes down in ACC history with the most impressive finish of all time in the Club Championship Reserve, winning the section with a round to spare. Congratulations, Vinorth!
Ranking cross-tables after Round 5
ACC Club Championship
Rk. | Name | Rtg | FED | 1.Rd | 2.Rd | 3.Rd | 4.Rd | 5.Rd | Pts. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Humphreys Michael | 2318 | CAN | 6w½ | 10b1 | -1 | 5w1 | 2b1 | 4.5 |
2 | Southam David | 2233 | CAN | 5b1 | 14w1 | 3b1 | 4w1 | 1w0 | 4 |
3 | Noritsyn Sergey | 2265 | CAN | 19w1 | 8b1 | 2w0 | -½ | 9b1 | 3.5 |
4 | Emuakpeje Ochuko | 2211 | NGR | -½ | 18b1 | 6w1 | 2b0 | 7w1 | 3.5 |
5 | Malakhovets Sergey | 2067 | CAN | 2w0 | 19b1 | 12w1 | 1b0 | 13w1 | 3 |
6 | Stefanovic Miroslav | 2136 | CAN | 1b½ | 15w1 | 4b0 | 8w½ | 11b1 | 3 |
7 | Bellissimo Joseph | 2291 | CAN | -½ | 11b1 | -½ | 10w1 | 4b0 | 3 |
8 | Liu Zhanhe (lambert) | 2185 | CAN | 12b1 | 3w0 | -½ | 6b½ | 10w1 | 3 |
9 | Zotkin Daniel | 2202 | CAN | 10w0 | 17w1 | 11b0 | 15b1 | 3w0 | 2 |
10 | England Max | 2066 | CAN | 9b1 | 1w0 | 14b+ | 7b0 | 8b0 | 2 |
11 | Fines John | 1903 | CAN | 17b½ | 7w0 | 9w1 | 12b½ | 6w0 | 2 |
12 | Mcsherry Peter | 2041 | CAN | 8w0 | -1 | 5b0 | 11w½ | 14b½ | 2 |
13 | Talsma Shawn | 1925 | CAN | -½ | -½ | 0 | -1 | 5b0 | 2 |
14 | Akophyan Nika | 1810 | CAN | -1 | 2b0 | 10w- | 16w½ | 12w½ | 2 |
15 | Ugodnikov Arkadiy | 1777 | CAN | -½ | 6b0 | -½ | 9w0 | -1 | 2 |
16 | Guo Josh | 2232 | CAN | -½ | -½ | 0 | 14b½ | 0 | 1.5 |
17 | Li William | 2179 | CAN | 11w½ | 9b0 | -½ | -½ | 0 | 1.5 |
18 | Qiao Cindy | 1885 | CAN | -½ | 4w0 | 19b½ | -½ | 0 | 1.5 |
19 | Ab-Barin Hooshang | 1722 | CAN | 3b0 | 5w0 | 18w½ | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
20 | Calvelo Jelvis | 2155 | PHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Check updated results on chess-results.
ACC Club Championship – Reserve Section
Rk. | Name | Rtg | FED | 1.Rd | 2.Rd | 3.Rd | 4.Rd | 5.Rd | Pts. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vigneswaramoorthy Vinorth | 1635 | CAN | 35b1 | 10w1 | 13b1 | 2w1 | 7b1 | 5 |
2 | Diemer Ulli | 1648 | CAN | 18w1 | 22b1 | 5w1 | 1b0 | 8w1 | 4 |
3 | Li Kevin Yunhong | 1448 | CAN | 39w1 | 20b1 | 14w0 | 15b1 | 12w1 | 4 |
4 | Pei Eric | 1562 | CAN | -½ | 29b1 | 23w1 | -½ | 9b1 | 4 |
5 | Belcadi Salim | 1617 | CAN | 19w1 | 31b1 | 2b0 | -½ | 17w1 | 3.5 |
6 | Abbarin Shabnam | 1458 | CAN | 22w0 | 19b1 | 36w1 | -½ | 10b1 | 3.5 |
7 | Dixon Javier | 1195 | CAN | -½ | 28b1 | 24w1 | 14b1 | 1w0 | 3.5 |
8 | Kingsbury Brett | 1406 | CAN | 12b0 | 35w1 | 27b1 | 13w1 | 2b0 | 3 |
9 | Zhang Henry Xianrui | 1424 | CAN | 20w0 | 37b1 | 31w1 | 11b1 | 4w0 | 3 |
10 | Jevtic Dragan | 1363 | CAN | 33w1 | 1b0 | 25w1 | 17b1 | 6w0 | 3 |
11 | Chapin Sasha | 1172 | CAN | 16w1 | 13b- | 34b1 | 9w0 | 25b1 | 3 |
12 | Hanratty Brian | 1686 | CAN | 8w1 | 17b½ | 20w1 | -½ | 3b0 | 3 |
13 | Gelowitz Mark A. | 1450 | CAN | 21b1 | 11w+ | 1w0 | 8b0 | 23w1 | 3 |
14 | Sutton Michael | 1716 | CAN | -½ | 32w1 | 3b1 | 7w0 | -½ | 3 |
15 | Denning Keith | 1298 | CAN | -½ | -½ | 38b1 | 3w0 | 21w1 | 3 |
16 | Chen Harry (siqi) | 1465 | CAN | 11b0 | 30w0 | 19b½ | 32w1 | 31b1 | 2.5 |
17 | David Jean-Marc | 1438 | CAN | 40b1 | 12w½ | 30b1 | 10w0 | 5b0 | 2.5 |
18 | Patton Mark A. | 1319 | CAN | 2b0 | 21w0 | 37b1 | 29w1 | 22b½ | 2.5 |
19 | Chodoriwsky David | 1212 | CAN | 5b0 | 6w0 | 16w½ | 34b1 | 29b1 | 2.5 |
20 | Armstrong Robert J. | 1715 | CAN | 9b1 | 3w0 | 12b0 | 28w1 | -½ | 2.5 |
21 | Geddie Alex | 1121 | CAN | 13w0 | 18b1 | -½ | 30w1 | 15b0 | 2.5 |
22 | Kalmanson Evgeny | 1141 | CAN | 6b1 | 2w0 | -½ | 23b½ | 18w½ | 2.5 |
23 | Ai Amy | 1049 | CAN | -½ | 34w1 | 4b0 | 22w½ | 13b0 | 2 |
24 | Ramesh Bharath | 1660 | CAN | -½ | 27w1 | 7b0 | -½ | 0 | 2 |
25 | Ellis Cody | 0 | CAN | -½ | -½ | 10b0 | 27w1 | 11w0 | 2 |
26 | Ali Shafkat | 1668 | CAN | -½ | -½ | 0 | 0 | 30b1 | 2 |
27 | Souchko Larissa | 1006 | CAN | 37w1 | 24b0 | 8w0 | 25b0 | 32b½ | 1.5 |
28 | Caplan Doug | 0 | CAN | -½ | 7w0 | 0 | 20b0 | 39b1 | 1.5 |
29 | McMillan Alan | 0 | CAN | -½ | 4w0 | 32b1 | 18b0 | 19w0 | 1.5 |
30 | Randle Bill | 0 | CAN | -½ | 16b1 | 17w0 | 21b0 | 26w0 | 1.5 |
31 | Teram Eli | 1005 | CAN | -1 | 5w0 | 9b0 | -½ | 16w0 | 1.5 |
32 | Anghaie Reza | 712 | CAN | -½ | 14b0 | 29w0 | 16b0 | 27w½ | 1 |
33 | Sharpe Michael D. | 1662 | CAN | 10b0 | -½ | -½ | 0 | 0 | 1 |
34 | Supol George | 1398 | CAN | -½ | 23b0 | 11w0 | 19w0 | -½ | 1 |
35 | Finkelstein Michael | 1301 | CAN | 1w0 | 8b0 | -½ | -½ | 0 | 1 |
36 | Vaz Jake | 1175 | CAN | -½ | -½ | 6b0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
37 | Noritsyn Ivan | 933 | CAN | 27b0 | 9w0 | 18w0 | -½ | -½ | 1 |
38 | Noftle Madisin | 0 | CAN | -½ | -½ | 15w0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
39 | Pancer Jeff | 1016 | CAN | 3b0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28w0 | 0 |
40 | Stahlbrand Kevin | 983 | CAN | 17w0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Check updated results on chess-results.