Spring is here! Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages… And specially from every shires ende of Toronto, to the Annex they wende – to play in the ACC Spring Swiss!
Round 5 (April 30)
In the top section, leaders Pavel Peev and Rob Bikot both withdrew, allowing Wajdy Shebetah to surge into first with 3.5/5, defeating ACC super-volunteer Adrian Valencia for the win. Congratulations, Wajdy – ACC Spring Swiss champion!
In the U1900 section, leader Olof Bergenstam had to miss the last round, and with Omid Nemati and Adie Todd drawing – and with Bill Thornton scoring a full point with huge upset win over Nick O’Bumsawin – it ended in a big four-way tie at 3.5/5. Omid Nemati emerged with the best tie-break to win the section. Congratulations, Omid!
In the U1500 section, George Supol held his lead with another win, finishing first in fine style with an undefeated record of 4.5/5. Congratulations, George!
There’s a new tournament this coming Monday May 7, the “Patio Weather” Swiss, starting at 7:30 pm. Please contact us if you would like to join the tournament (current CFC membership is required, and can be purchased at the club). Arrive by 7:00 pm to register on site. Let us know, too, if you’ve already registered and can’t make it this Monday. Email info@annexchessclub.com
Final Results
SwissSys Standings. Annex Spring Swiss: Top
#
Name
ID
Rtng
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 3
Rd 4
Rd 5
Tot
1
Wajdy Shebetah
148432
2071
H—
W9
D2
H—
W8
3.5
2
Pavel Peev
122223
2082
W12
D7
D1
W3
U—
3.0
3
Edy Dell'Ambrogio
1983
D8
D6
W11
L2
W12
3.0
4
Robert Bzikot
132541
1930
H—
H—
W8
W5
U—
3.0
5
Daniel Wiebe
132137
1909
D6
D8
H—
L4
W13
2.5
6
Melissa Greeff
2067
D5
D3
H—
W13
U—
2.5
7
Alex T. Ferreira
127516
2042
W11
D2
H—
H—
U—
2.5
8
Adrian David Valencia
153521
2075
D3
D5
L4
W11
L1
2.0
9
Sahir Abbas
1870
H—
L1
W14
U—
D11
2.0
10
Andrew Pastor
127521
1931
H—
H—
U—
U—
W14
2.0
11
Carlos Romero Alfonso
153128
1916
L7
W14
L3
L8
D9
1.5
12
Hugh Siddeley
120619
2026
L2
H—
D13
H—
L3
1.5
13
Bruce McKendry
111714
1885
H—
H—
D12
L6
L5
1.5
14
Pepin Manalo
112277
1857
H—
L11
L9
H—
L10
1.0
SwissSys Standings. Annex Spring Swiss: U1900
#
Name
ID
Rtng
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 3
Rd 4
Rd 5
Tot
1
Omid Nemati
130676
1762
W5
L2
W10
W8
D4
3.5
2
Olof Bergenstam
unr.
W10
W1
D8
W7
U—
3.5
3
Bill Thornton
131181
1500
W9
H—
L7
W11
W16
3.5
4
Adie Todd
125156
1701
H—
H—
W5
W12
D1
3.5
5
Hayk Oganesyan
152587
1622
L1
W9
L4
W15
W7
3.0
6
Chris Wehrfritz
151679
1596
H—
H—
U—
W10
W9
3.0
7
Ulli Diemer
1668
H—
W17
W3
L2
L5
2.5
8
Michael Sutton
151225
1644
W15
W13
D2
L1
U—
2.5
9
Hooshang Abbarin
152910
1477
L3
L5
W18
W13
L6
2.0
10
Marcus Wilker
102713
1642
L2
W15
L1
L6
W14
2.0
11
Michael D. Sharpe
100280
1602
H—
H—
W13
L3
U—
2.0
12
Yakos Spiliotopoulos
151471
1693
H—
W14
H—
L4
U—
2.0
13
Arkadiy Ugodnikov
146626
1830
H—
L8
L11
L9
W15
1.5
14
Jack Maguire
144604
1528
D17
L12
L15
B—
L10
1.5
15
Josep Sobrepere
152976
1506
L8
L10
W14
L5
L13
1.0
16
Nicholas O'Bumsawin
151261
1799
H—
H—
U—
U—
L3
1.0
17
Mohammad Zaki Uddin
152024
1702
D14
L7
U—
U—
U—
0.5
18
Milan Cvetkovic
150817
1255
U—
U—
L9
U—
U—
0.0
SwissSys Standings. Annex Spring Swiss: U1500
#
Name
ID
Rtng
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 3
Rd 4
Rd 5
Tot
1
George Supol
152286
1327
W6
D4
W10
W2
W5
4.5
2
Shabnam Abbarin
151181
1302
W15
W3
W4
L1
D13
3.5
3
Nicole Birarov
150335
1179
W5
L2
W12
H—
W4
3.5
4
Abdolreza Radpey
149018
1480
W8
D1
L2
W10
L3
2.5
5
James Mourgelas
108540
1445
L3
D11
W6
W7
L1
2.5
6
Larissa Souchko
145490
1054
L1
D14
L5
D11
W10
2.0
7
Christopher Field
108098
1280
L10
W8
W11
L5
U—
2.0
8
Milan Cvetkovic
150817
1247
L4
L7
B—
W15
U—
2.0
9
Ian Prittie
1039
H—
H—
U—
U—
W16
2.0
10
Dennis Li
954
W7
D12
L1
L4
L6
1.5
11
Raymond Lin
150193
918
D12
D5
L7
D6
U—
1.5
12
Stefan Catona
129405
1180
D11
D10
L3
H—
U—
1.5
13
Jacques Katz
unr.
H—
H—
U—
U—
D2
1.5
14
Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy
unr.
H—
D6
H—
U—
U—
1.5
15
Dave Rutt
153519
992
L2
H—
H—
L8
U—
1.0
16
Francis He
153130
925
H—
H—
U—
U—
L9
1.0
17
Anton Zverev
150115
1342
H—
H—
U—
U—
U—
1.0
Round 1 (March 26)
Thirty players (one more than the fabled nyne and twenty) joined the tournament in Round 1. The top of each section played the bottom (as per the Swiss pairing system), and naturally the favourites won most of the games.
However, there were a couple of upset wins by a couple of youngsters in the bottom section: Dennis Li defeated Chris Field, and Nicole Birarov took down Jim Mourgelas. (Actually, it was a good night for the Birarovs – Nicole’s father, Vlad Birarov, also won his game in the Toronto Closed.)
Round 2 (April 2)
Several new players joined the tournament this round. After two rounds of play, our intrepid interim tournament director Alex Ferreira is tied for the lead in the top section, with 1.5/2 – and this, while running two tournaments (the Spring Swiss and the Toronto Closed)!
In the middle section, newcomer Olof Bergenstam is undefeated, and tied for the lead with Michael Sutton – both have perfect 2.0/2 scores.
And in the under-1500 section, Shabnam Abbarin is now in clear first as the only player with a perfect score. George Supol, Abdolreza Radpey, and Dennis Li are half a point behind her with 1.5/2.
Round 3 (April 16)
In the top section, TD Alex Ferreira gave himself a bye, while Wajdy Shebetah and Pavel Peev drew, which allowed two more players, Edy Dell'Ambrogio and Rob Bzikot, to join the leader group. The section now has a five-way tie for the lead, at 2.0/3!
In the middle section, Olof Bergenstam drew Michael Sutton. With Ulli Diemer winning his game, there is now a three-way tie for the lead there, at 2.5/3.
Finally, in the bottom section, Shabnam Abbarin remains in sole possession of the lead, perfect through three rounds with 3.0/3. Only half a point behind her, with two wins and a draw, is George Supol. The two are due to meet in Round 4.
Round 4 (April 23)
In the top section, it’s down to a two-way tie between Pavel Peev and Rob Bzikot. Pavel and Rob will face each other in the last round; there can be only one ACC Spring Swiss champion!
In the U1900 section, Olof Bergenstam defeated Ulli Diemer to take sole first (since Michael Sutton also lost his game to Omid Nemati). This is Olof’s first tournament at ACC (and indeed in Canada, as he’s here from Sweden) so he’s off to a great start at the club! Adie Todd is half a point behind the lead, and has yet to face Olof, so she’s due to be his last-round opponent.
In the U1500 group, George Supol has taken the lead, with a win over Shabnam Abbarin. George is alone in first, going into the last round, but Shabnam remains just half a point behind.
New International Players
We are pleased to welcome to the club a couple of international players, whose travels in sondry londes have brought them to Toronto: Edy Dell’Ambrogio is from Switzerland, and WGM Melissa Greeff is from South Africa.
WGM Melissa Greeff (RSA)
Edy Dell'Ambrogio (SUI)
Cherry Blossoms
One of Toronto’s rites of spring is a pilgrimage to see the beautiful cherry trees in High Park. The trees usually blossom in late April, but came into bloom earlier this year with the warm spring weather. Check cherry blossom walk details, and High Park forum updates.
Our second annual (Steve Fairbairn won the last one) ACC Fall Swiss is all wrapped up, and Michael Humphreys has won the Premier section with a perfect 5.0/5! Greg Beal and Dan Geambasu are the Reserve A and B winners.
A new club tournament, the Holiday Swiss, starts at 7:30 pm next Monday, December 12. Pre-register now!
Check complete final results from the Fall Swiss on the cross-tables, below.
Final Results through Round 5:
Premier (>1900)
#
Name
ID
Rating
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 3
Rd 4
Rd 5
Total
1
Michael Humphreys
131628
2299
W4
W5
W2
W6
W8
5.0
2
David Southam
102535
2154
W11
W7
L1
W5
W4
4.0
3
Robert Bzikot
132541
1949
H—
L10
H—
W13
W9
3.0
4
Pavel Peev
122223
2146
L1
W13
D7
W10
L2
2.5
5
Rolando Renteria
152626
2289
W13
L1
H—
L2
W6
2.5
6
Juliaan Posaratnanathan
146059
1878
H—
W11
W10
L1
L5
2.5
7
Wajdy Shebetah
148432
2086
H—
L2
D4
H—
W10
2.5
8
Alex T. Ferreira
127516
2025
H—
H—
H—
W12
L1
2.5
9
Manuela Renteria
152627
1743
H—
H—
H—
H—
L3
2.0
10
Hugh Siddeley
120619
1982
H—
W3
L6
L4
L7
1.5
11
Carlos Romero Alfonso
153128
2360
L2
L6
L13
H—
W12
1.5
12
Venci Ivanov
153031
1862
H—
H—
H—
L8
L11
1.5
13
Bruce McKendry
111714
1903
L5
L4
W11
L3
U—
1.0
Reserve A (>1500)
#
Name
ID
Rating
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 3
Rd 4
Rd 5
Total
1
Greg Beal
101490
1708
W9
W4
W3
W10
L2
4.0
2
Nicholas O'Bumsawin
151261
1781
H—
D7
D9
W3
W1
3.5
3
Edmond Jodhi
150171
1693
W15
W10
L1
L2
W9
3.0
4
Marcus Wilker
102713
1679
W12
L1
L8
W15
W10
3.0
5
Zehn Nasir
148198
1843
H—
H—
H—
H—
W7
3.0
6
Arkadiy Ugodnikov
146626
1814
L10
L13
W12
D9
W11
2.5
7
Yakos Spiliotopoulos
151471
1689
H—
D2
W14
H—
L5
2.5
8
Erik Malmsten
100196
1852
H—
H—
W4
H—
U—
2.5
9
Josep Sobrepere
152976
1475
L1
W12
D2
D6
L3
2.0
10
Jack Maguire
144604
1528
W6
L3
W15
L1
L4
2.0
11
Adie Todd
125156
1667
H—
H—
H—
H—
L6
2.0
12
Mohammad Zaki Uddin
152024
1826
L4
L9
L6
H—
W15
1.5
13
Alex T. Ferreira
127516
2025
H—
W6
U—
U—
U—
1.5
14
Daniel Zotkin
146857
1673
H—
H—
L7
U—
U—
1.0
15
Bazil Whitehead
153156
unr.
L3
H—
L10
L4
L12
0.5
Reserve B (U1500)
#
Name
ID
Rating
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 3
Rd 4
Rd 5
Total
1
Dan Geambasu
134119
1395
W9
W2
W7
W8
W6
5.0
2
Bill Thornton
131181
1290
W13
L1
W3
W7
W8
4.0
3
Milan Cvetkovic
150817
1190
L11
W4
L2
W10
W7
3.0
4
Adam Palmer
153127
1060
L5
L3
W10
W13
W12
3.0
5
Christopher Field
108098
1298
W4
L7
W11
W9
U—
3.0
6
Larissa Souchko
145490
1157
H—
L13
W15
W12
L1
2.5
7
George Supol
152286
1363
W15
W5
L1
L2
L3
2.0
8
Alexandre Johnson
109239
1449
W16
H—
H—
L1
L2
2.0
9
Jean-Marc David
151900
1116
L1
W15
W13
L5
U—
2.0
10
Hooshang Abbarin
152910
1470
H—
H—
L4
L3
W15
2.0
11
Francis He
153130
713
W3
H—
L5
U—
U—
1.5
12
Jason Waugh
152118
938
H—
H—
H—
L6
L4
1.5
13
Raymond Lin
150193
951
L2
W6
L9
L4
U—
1.0
14
Alan Yulun He
141522
1016
U—
U—
U—
W15
U—
1.0
15
Dennis Li
153129
1077
L7
L9
L6
L14
L10
0.0
16
Jennifer Ugodnikov
151196
1155
L8
U—
U—
U—
U—
0.0
Round 1 (November 7)
Week one of a Swiss always sees mismatched games, but it’s exciting to see the underdog win some of them. In the top (Premier) section, Dave Southam beat a 2300, but Carlos Romero Alfonso’s 2360 rating is provisional – based on only two games. In the bottom (Reserve B) section, young Francis He defeated Milan Cvetkovic. Finally, there were two big upsets in the middle (Reserve A) section: Marcus Wilker beat top seed Mohammad Zaki Uddin, and the wily Jack Maguire miniatured Arkadiy Ugodnikov!
And check out the upset of the week – Jack Maguire, known for his straight-for-the-jugular opening play, takes down one of our club’s giants in 17 moves!
White: Maguire, Jack (1528)
Black: Ugodnikov, Arkadiy (1814)
ACC Fall Swiss (1)
2011.11.07
Toronto, ON
D01 Veresov Attack
Round 2 (November 14)
After two rounds, all three sections have two-way ties for the lead. In the Premier section, it’s Michael Humphreys (with a win over Rolado Renteria) and David Southam (with a win over Wajdy Shebetah). In Reserve A, it’s Edmond Jodhi and Greg Beal. And in Reserve B, it’s Dan Geambasu and George Supol. All three pairs of co-leaders are due to face off in Round 3.
Take a copy of Mohammad Zaki Uddin’s November 14 chess talk, “Saving a Lost Game”.
Here are a few selected second-round battles:
White: Renteria, Rolando (2289)
Black: Humphreys, Michael (2299)
ACC Fall Swiss (2)
2011.11.14
Toronto, ON
B12 Caro Kann: Fantasy
White: Shebetah, Wajdy (2086)
Black: Southam, Dave (2154)
2011.11.14 ACC Fall Swiss (2)
Toronto, ON
C11 French Defence: Two Knights
White: Siddeley, Hugh (1982)
Black: Bzikot, Robert (1949)
ACC Fall Swiss (2)
2011.11.14
Toronto, ON
B33 Sicilian: Sveshnikov
Round 3 (November 21)
After three rounds, a clear leader has emerged in each of the three sections. In Reserve A, Greg Beal is in clear first, after defeating Edmond Jodhi. In Reserve B, it’s Dan Geambasu, with a win against George Supol. And in the Premier section, Michael Humphreys has the top spot, after beating David Southam.
Here’s the game from board 1:
White: Humphreys, Michael (2298)
Black: Southam, David (2154)
ACC Fall Swiss (3)
2011.11.21
Toronto, ON
A41 Modern Defence
Round 4 (November 28)
The leaders are undefeated! In Reserve A, Greg Beal is running away with the tournament. Going into the last round, he is in clear first – and out of reach, at a point and a half ahead of the competition! In Reserve B, Dan Geambasu is perfect and a full point ahead. And in the Premier section, Michael Humphreys is still perfect, a point ahead of his closest rival, David Southam.
Round 5 starts at 7:30 pm on Monday December 5. Remember, it’s never too late to join an ongoing club tournament. The Holiday Swiss starts the following Monday December 12.
Check full Round 4 results on the cross-tables, below.
Here are a couple selected games:
White: Southam, David (2154)
Black: Renteria, Rolando (2289)
ACC Fall Swiss (4)
2011.11.28
Toronto, ON
E94 King’s Indian: Orthodox
White: Siddely, Hugh (1982)
Black: Peev, Pavel (2146)
ACC Fall Swiss (4)
2011.11.28
Toronto, ON
B52 Sicillian: Rossolimo
Round 5 (December 5)
In Reserve A, going into the last round, Greg Beal had already clinched the section, leading by a point and a half. After a last-round loss to Nick O’Bumsawin, he still wins clear first with 4.0/5. Nick finishes second, with 3.5/5.
In Reserve B, Dan Geambasu remained perfect, finishing with 5.0/5. Bill Thornton came second, with 4.0/5.
And in the Premier section, Michael Humphreys finished with a fifth win. (Alex Ferreira, making a third cameo appearance in the tournament, was his unlucky opponent this time.) Michael’s perfect result leaves him a point ahead of David Southam, who finished in clear second, with 4.0/5.
Here are Michael’s and Dave’s last-round games:
White: Ferreira, Alex (2025)
Black: Humphreys, Michael (2298)
2011.12.05 ACC Fall Swiss (5)
Toronto, ON
A45 Trompowski
White: Peev, Pavel (2146)
Black: Southam, David (2154)
2011.12.05 ACC Fall Swiss (5)
Toronto, ON
C06 French: Tarrasch
Besides winning the tournament, Michael also gave our weekly chess lecture. Michael’s lecture (Coffee’s for Closers, Part One?) was on the King’s Indian Defence, Orthodox variation. He showed an array of plans for both sides, and explained the tempo battles that are involved in the execution of plans in closed positions. We saw these positional struggles in action in the illustrative game, Mikhahil Tal v. Bobby Fischer (from the 1959 World Championship Candidates Tournament) – and we saw why Black needs his dark-squared bishop in these closed King’s Indian positions, even though it’s his bad bishop!
Here’s the illustrative game from Michael’s lecture:
Dozens of ACC members were among the hundreds of players competing in the tournament.
Here are some highlights:
In the end, it is the Annex Chess Club women who are taking home most of the prizes for the club: Aleksandra Milicevic tied for top female in the U1600 section, with 5.0/9; and Manuela Renteria, Adie Todd, and Zhanna Sametova – all from ACC! – split top female in U2000, with 4.0/9. We even get a prize in the Open section – thanks to Liza Orlova, who wins the best dresssed prize!
The men are not completely unrepresented, though – Jason Waugh takes the best dressed prize in U1600. What fine players we have in our club!
A couple ACC players just miss prize money: Hugh Siddeley, with 6.5/9, is half a point out of a 4-way tie for first in the U2000 section; and George Supol, with 6.0/9, is one point out of a 3-way tie for second in the U1600 section.
In round 7, Rolando Renteria takes on his second GM – this time it’s Israeli GM Vitali Golod (2576)
2011.07.11 Pinnacle 48th Canadian Open (7)
Toronto, ON
AO7 Reti: KIA
After 6 rounds, Rolando Renteria, with 4.0/6, is the top ACC player in the Open section. He’s tied with 14 other players (including three GMs) for 22nd to 36th, a point and a half out of first place. Brian Fiedler and FM Brett Campbell are half a point behind him with 3.5/6.
After 6 rounds, Jack Maguire is tied for third (5-way) in the U1600 section with 4.5/6. George Supol and Aleksandra Milicevic are half a point behind him with 4.0/6.
After 5 rounds, Hugh Siddeley is tied for first (3-way) in the U2000 section with 4.5/5. Zehn Nasir and Nick O’Bumsawin are half a point behind with 4.0/5.
Here is Hugh’s round-4 game:
White: Siddeley, Hugh (1996)
Black: Strugach, Alexander (1963)
2011.07.12 Pinnacle 48th Canadian Open (4)
Toronto, ON
C43 Petrov
Liza Orlova receives her WCM certificate from the CFC – but they misspell her name! WCM Liza 'Ortlova' with new CFC president, Michael von Keitz
Daniel Zotkin defeats Dalia Kagramanov (2027) in round 3
Rolando Renteria takes on American GM Joel Benjamin (2641) in round 3
White: Renteria, Rolando (2346)
Black: GM Benjamin, Joel (2641)
2011.07.11 Pinnacle 48th Canadian Open (3)
Toronto, ON
B10 Caro Kann: 2.d3
Geordie Derraugh defeats IM Arthur Calugar (2437) in round 2.
White: Derraugh, Geordie (2140)
Black: IM Calugar, Arthur (2437)
2011.07.10 Pinnacle 48th Canadian Open (2)
Toronto, ON
B22 Sicilian: 2.c3
Lots to see and do…
The Canadian Open was not just a tournament, but a celebration of chess in Canada. Visitors, whether they were playing in the tournament or not, found lots to see and do:
watch grandmaster games
register kids for the children’s day camp
watch free chess lectures
play grandmasters in simultaneous exhibitions
play blitz, double chess, and chess 960 championships
shop for books and equipment
attend the closing dinner and awards ceremony
Here’s some of what was on offer: More events (including free grandmaster lectures!) are listed on the official schedule
GM Mark Bluvshtein Simul – Fri July 8 @ 8:00 pm – players $10 ($20 for the public)
Chess 960 Championship Tournament – Sat July 9 @ 1:00 pm – $10 ($20)
GM Ben Finegold Blindfold Simul – Sun July 10 @ 10:00 am – $10 ($20)
Blitz Chess Championship Tournament – Sun July 10 @ 12:00 pm – $20 ($30)
GM Shabalov / WIM Zenyuk Tandem Simul – Mon July 11 @ 12:00 pm – $10 ($20)
GM Bator Sambuev Simul – Tue July 12 @ 12:00 pm – $10 ($20)
GM John Fedorowicz Simul – Wed July 13 @ 12:00 pm – $10 ($20)
IM Meszaros / IM Macak Tandem Simul – Thu July 14 @ 12:00 pm – $10 ($20)
Double Chess Championship – Sat July 16 @ 8:00 pm – per team: $20 ($40)
Closing Dinner – Sun July 17 @ 4:00 pm – players & guests: $35 ea. ($75 for the public)