As chess players, we can all relate to Victor Frankenstein: we’ve all dedicated long hours to our arcane studies – and we’ve all been in a position where our own creation doesn’t work out as beautifully as we’d planned.
In honour of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the ACC Frankenstein Swiss runs on Monday nights through October, with the first round on Monday September 29, and the last round on Monday November 3. Note that the club is closed on October 13: don’t miss the 2014 Thanksgiving Open running all weekend long at St. Clement of Ohrid Macedonian Hall.
The image above is from a beautiful clothbound edition of Frankenstein illustrated by Bernie Wrightson.
Round 1 – September 29
The first round sees the most mismatched games as the top half of each section is Swiss-paired with the bottom half. And there are always a few upsets as underdogs find a way to defeat their monster opponents.
In the Crown section, Daniel Wiebe, in a reprise of the last-round game from the last tournament, takes down club champion Michael Humphreys – an almost 300-point upset. Wow!
Round 2 – October 6
The second round sees the top half (based on Round One results) play itself, and the lead group start to narrow. With a few draws, a 16- to 20-player section can get easily have only two or three players at the top with perfect scores.
In the Crown section, it’s a two-way tie between Armand Jess Mendoza, beating Bill Evans to rise to 2.0/2, and Joseph Bellissimo, beating Ian Mahoney to join Mendoza in the lead.
In the U1900, it’s a three-way tie among Max England, Marc Ben-Avraham, and Daniele Pirri, as all three players post perfect 2.0/2 records.
And in the U1500, there’s another three-way tie among Jean-Marc David, Kamran Amirirad, and Mark Gelowitz, all perfect through two.
Round 3 – October 20
In the top section, Joseph Bellissimo has rolled into clear first with a perfect 3.0/3 record. Next round he’ll face one of the experts in the 2.0-point group.

In U1900, there’s a two-way tie between Max England and Marc Ben-Avraham. Both have 3.0/3; they’ll be due to face off next round!
In U1500, Mark Gelowitz has sole possession of first with a perfect 3.0/3 record.
Round 4 – October 27
Round Four ends up with draws on all the top boards. Even Liza Orlova, making a cameo appearance at the club after a long hiatus, draws her game.

In the Crown section, the Board One showdown sees leader Joseph Bellissimo face Scarborough Chess Club Champion David Southam. With a draw in that game, Bellissimo holds onto first place with 3.5/4, a half-point ahead of Humphreys, Mendoza, and Oliveira.
In U1900, the tie-break match between co-leaders Max England and Marc Ben-Avraham ends in a draw, so England and Ben-Avraham remain tied for the lead with 3.5/4, a half-point ahead of Diemer and Pirri.
In U1500, leader Mark Gelowitz faces a challenge from Richard Morrison. After the draw, Gelowitz still leads with 3.5/4, ahead of Lin, Amirirad, Amirirad, and Cvetkovic, all tied for second at 3.0/4.
Next week is the last round. Can the leaders hold their half-point leads? Will the tie in U1900 be broken?
Round 5 – November 3
In the final round, there’s a showdown on Board One: tournament leader Joseph Bellissimo versus club champion Michael Humphreys. When the dust finally settles (153 moves later!) it’s Michael Humphreys with the full point and enough – at 4.0/5 – to win the tournament, edging out Armand Jess Mendoza on tie-break. Congratulations, Michael!

In U1900, the two leaders, Max England and Marc Ben-Avraham, play different opponents, as they already faced each other last round. Daniel Pirri spoils Ben-Avraham’s chances and finishes second with 4.0/5, but Max England is victorious over Ulli Diemer to take the section, with 4.5/5. Congratulations, Max!
Finally, in the closely-fought U1500 section, Mark Gelowitz enters the final round with a half-point lead, but is taken out of the running by Milan Cvetkovic. Meanwhile Kamran Amirirad, victorious over Richard Morrison, takes the section with 4.0/5, edging out Milan Cvetkovic and Raymond Lin on tiebreak. Congratulations, Kamran!
Complete results are posted below, and a new tournament starts up next week, Monday November 10 at 7:30 pm. New players are welcome. Arrive by 7:00 if you’re not pre-registered.
Final Results after Round Five
SwissSys Standings. Frankenstein Swiss: Crown
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Michael Humphreys | 131628 | 2323 | L8 | W11 | W5 | W13 | W3 | 4.0 |
2 | Armand Jess Mendoza | 156958 | 1982 | B— | W9 | L3 | W12 | W7 | 4.0 |
3 | Joseph Bellissimo | 147544 | 2209 | W17 | W14 | W2 | D4 | L1 | 3.5 |
4 | David Southam | 102535 | 2157 | H— | D15 | W19 | D3 | W16 | 3.5 |
5 | Hugh Siddeley | 120619 | 2047 | W11 | D12 | L1 | D9 | W18 | 3.0 |
6 | Ismail Ibrahim | 105228 | 1976 | L9 | H— | W11 | D14 | W12 | 3.0 |
7 | Rodrigo Oliveira | 152923 | 2140 | H— | W20 | H— | W8 | L2 | 3.0 |
8 | Daniel Wiebe | 132137 | 2046 | W1 | D16 | D12 | L7 | D9 | 2.5 |
9 | Bill Evans | 103309 | 2060 | W6 | L2 | D14 | D5 | D8 | 2.5 |
10 | Robert Bzikot | 132541 | 1844 | H— | H— | U— | D18 | W17 | 2.5 |
11 | Jacob Stein | 108627 | 1800 | L5 | L1 | L6 | B— | W19 | 2.0 |
12 | Daniel Zotkin | 146857 | 2060 | W19 | D5 | D8 | L2 | L6 | 2.0 |
13 | Matthew Struthers | 110170 | 2057 | H— | H— | W16 | L1 | U— | 2.0 |
14 | Ian Mahoney | 149124 | 1769 | B— | L3 | D9 | D6 | U— | 2.0 |
15 | Wajdy Shebetah | 148432 | 2028 | D16 | D4 | H— | H— | U— | 2.0 |
16 | Jonathan Yu | 126131 | 2217 | D15 | D8 | L13 | W19 | L4 | 2.0 |
17 | Arkadiy Ugodnikov | 146626 | 1990 | L3 | L19 | H— | W20 | L10 | 1.5 |
18 | Yelizaveta Orlova | 138247 | 2119 | H— | H— | U— | D10 | L5 | 1.5 |
19 | Chris Udrea | 155000 | 1902 | L12 | W17 | L4 | L16 | L11 | 1.0 |
20 | Pepin Manalo | 112277 | 1824 | H— | L7 | H— | L17 | U— | 1.0 |
SwissSys Standings. Frankenstein Swiss: U1900
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max England | 155135 | 1514 | W16 | W4 | W2 | D3 | W5 | 4.5 |
2 | Daniele Pirri | 132983 | 1441 | W7 | W6 | L1 | W4 | W3 | 4.0 |
3 | Marc Ben-Avraham | 145628 | 1456 | W17 | W5 | W13 | D1 | L2 | 3.5 |
4 | Tigran Ghazarian | 155438 | 1356 | W10 | L1 | W8 | L2 | W7 | 3.0 |
5 | Ulli Diemer | 153538 | 1542 | W12 | L3 | W14 | W6 | L1 | 3.0 |
6 | Robert J. Armstrong | 100034 | 1540 | W14 | L2 | W11 | L5 | W9 | 3.0 |
7 | Jack Maguire | 144604 | 1619 | L2 | L14 | W12 | W16 | L4 | 2.0 |
8 | Hooshang Ab-barin | 152910 | 1648 | H— | L13 | L4 | D12 | W11 | 2.0 |
9 | Heimo C. Haikala | 107606 | 1786 | H— | H— | U— | W13 | L6 | 2.0 |
10 | Adrian Chin | 155527 | 1604 | L4 | W12 | H— | H— | U— | 2.0 |
11 | Mark A. Patton | 104721 | 1576 | L15 | W16 | L6 | W14 | L8 | 2.0 |
12 | Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy | 153938 | 1694 | L5 | L10 | L7 | D8 | W16 | 1.5 |
13 | Qi Zhou | 158050 | 1480 | H— | W8 | L3 | L9 | U— | 1.5 |
14 | Antonios Valkanas | 158189 | 1678 | L6 | W7 | L5 | L11 | U— | 1.0 |
15 | Ian Mahoney | 149124 | 1769 | W11 | U— | U— | U— | U— | 1.0 |
16 | Nicholas Wu | 154991 | 1659 | L1 | L11 | H— | L7 | L12 | 0.5 |
17 | Bill Thornton | 131181 | 1632 | L3 | U— | U— | U— | U— | 0.0 |
SwissSys Standings. Frankenstein Swiss: U1500
# | Name | CFC ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kamran Amirirad | 158329 | 1386 | W17 | W15 | L4 | W11 | W6 | 4.0 |
2 | Raymond Lin | 150193 | 1218 | W11 | L4 | W9 | W5 | W8 | 4.0 |
3 | Milan Cvetkovic | 150817 | 1243 | H— | W20 | H— | W10 | W4 | 4.0 |
4 | Mark A. Gelowitz | 126627 | 1359 | W16 | W2 | W1 | D6 | L3 | 3.5 |
5 | Abdolreza Radpey | 149018 | 1355 | L10 | W14 | W13 | L2 | W12 | 3.0 |
6 | Richard Morrison | 135889 | 1388 | H— | W10 | W8 | D4 | L1 | 3.0 |
7 | Rahul Gangolli | 156023 | 971 | L8 | W17 | H— | D15 | W10 | 3.0 |
8 | Jean-Marc David | 151900 | 1358 | W7 | W9 | L6 | H— | L2 | 2.5 |
9 | Eli Teram | 107314 | 1134 | B— | L8 | L2 | D14 | W17 | 2.5 |
10 | Larissa Souchko | 145490 | 966 | W5 | L6 | W15 | L3 | L7 | 2.0 |
11 | Derek Chen | 156690 | 835 | L2 | W16 | W20 | L1 | U— | 2.0 |
12 | Brendan Grady | unr. | H— | H— | U— | W16 | L5 | 2.0 | |
13 | Hewitt Ho | unr. | H— | H— | L5 | L17 | B— | 2.0 | |
14 | Dylan Xiong | 152060 | 949 | H— | L5 | D17 | D9 | D15 | 2.0 |
15 | Dennis Li | 153129 | 1214 | W18 | L1 | L10 | D7 | D14 | 2.0 |
16 | Kaizen Liu | 152053 | 1019 | L4 | L11 | B— | L12 | W19 | 2.0 |
17 | Howard Halim | 153419 | 1107 | L1 | L7 | D14 | W13 | L9 | 1.5 |
18 | Salim Belcadi | unr. | L15 | H— | H— | U— | U— | 1.0 | |
19 | Rose Tuong | 158024 | unr. | H— | H— | U— | U— | L16 | 1.0 |
20 | Jian Rashid | 156998 | 1046 | H— | L3 | L11 | U— | U— | 0.5 |