Entry fee: $195
9 rounds, 3 sections: Open, U2000, U1600
Time control: 40/90, SD/30, + 30 s
David Cohen, the Chief Organizer of this year’s event, will be giving a lecture at the Annex Chess Club on Monday June 13, at 7:00 pm: “History of the Canadian Open Championship (with a game from its past)”
The tournament is under way! Check tournament results and watch LIVE webcast games at the MonRoi site. Rounds start at 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday, 2:00 pm Saturday, and 10:00 am Sunday.
Whether you’re playing in the tournament itself or not, there’s lots to do at the Canadian Open:
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
These paid events require pre-registration. Double check times (and check out the free lectures!) 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)
Canadian GM Mark Bluvshtein, our top FIDE-rated player, is back from Havana, Cuba, where he played in the Premier Section of the “Capablanca in Memoriam” Tournament. His section was a Category XIII event with an average rating of 2561.
Mark finished tied for first with GM Cordova from Peru, with 6/9: four wins, four draws, and only one loss! Check Mark’s blog (updated now) for his tournament analysis.
Round 1: GM Omar Almeida 2555 (CUB) vs GM Mark Bluvshtein :: 0-1
Round 2: GM Mark Bluvshtein vs GM Emilio Cordova 2561 (PER) :: ½-½
Round 3: GM Aramis Alvarez Pedraza 2538 (CUB) vs GM Mark Bluvshtein :: 0-1
Round 4: IM Reynaldo Ortiz Suarez Isan 2569 (CUB) vs GM Mark Bluvshtein :: ½-½
Round 5: GM Mark Bluvshtein vs Daniele Vocaturo 2561 (ITA) :: 0-1
Round 6: GM Manuel Leon Hoyos 2563 (MEX) vs GM Mark Bluvshtein :: 0-1
Round 7: GM Mark Bluvshtein vs GM Yuniesky Quesada Perez 2626 (CUB) :: ½-½
Round 8: FM Ermes Espinosa Veloz 2467 (CUB) vs GM Mark Bluvshtein :: 0-1
Round 9: GM Mark Bluvshtein vs GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez 2486 (CUB) :: ½-½
Visit the Official Site to see full results and to get the .pgn game file.
(If the games link’s not working, games are also posted on ChessTalk.)
“Campeonato Continental Absoluto de América” April 19-24
Canadian GM Mark Bluvshtein is back from the American Continental Chess Championship in Toluca, Mexico: 26 km from Mexico City – and 2.7 km above sea level! Over 200 players, representing countries from Canada to Chile, competed in this six-day, nine-round event.
At the end of the tournament, Mark Bluvshtein tied for first (four-way) with 7.5/9 (+6-0=3), qualifying for the World Cup! On tie-break, Mark came second. Check his blog(now updated!) for photos, commentary, and analysis of his games.
In the final round, Mark played white and defeated the Colombian IM, Sergio E. Barrientos (2499) – watch LIVE.
In round eight, Mark played black and drew the Cuban GM, Frank De La Paz Perdomo (2473) – watch LIVE
In round seven, Mark played white and defeated the Cuban GM, Luis Manuel Perez Rodriguez (2483).
In round six, Mark played black and defeated the Mexican IM, Roberto Martin Del Campo C. (2415).
White: Martin Del Campo C., Roberto (2415) MEX
Black: Bluvshtein, Mark (2589) CAN
2011.04.22 Campeonato Continental Absoluto (6)
B09 Pirc: Austrian Attack
In round five, Mark played white and drew against the Cuban GM, Aryam Abreu Delgado (2485).
White: Bluvshtein, Mark (2589) CAN
Black: Abreu Delgado, Aryam (2485) CUB
2011.04.22 Campeonato Continental Absoluto (5)
D97 Gruenfeld: Alekhine
In round four, Mark played black and defeated the Colombian IM, Henry Panesso Rivera (2351).
In round three, Mark played white and drew against the Cuban FM, Jose Yasser Quesada Perez (2421).
In round two, Mark played black and defeated Jomo Pitterson (2263) of Jamaica.
Jono Pitterson-Mark Bluvshtein, round 2
In round one, Mark defeated Fernando Martínez Ocampo (2106) from the white side of a King’s Indian (king-side attack, ending with a rook sac on h7 leading to forced mate!):
Bluvshtein-Martinez Ocampo, round 1
White: Bluvshtein, Mark (2589) CAN
Black: Martínez Ocampo, Fernando (2106) MEX
On February 28, GM Mark Bluvshtein delivered a chess lecture at the Annex Chess Club in downtown Toronto. He analyzed two games – M. Bluvshtein-I. Ivanisevic, 2011 Tata Steel (13); and K. Nikolaidis-M. Bluvshtein, 2010 Corsica Masters (5) – and shared compelling insights into grandmaster chess play.
In the first game, Mark discussed his and Ivanisevic’s transposition battle in the opening, where both players surprised each other: Mark was not expecting 2…c5, but he declined to walk into probable Benko preparation and switched to a 4.g3 Nimzo Indian, where he was surprised by a rare 6…Qc7 line. He also discussed Ivanisevic’s passion for wild positions (where Mark was more than willing to go), and his own choice to sacrifice a whole knight “for nothing” with 16.Bg2 – just to arrive at a possibly equal position, but one where it was easier for his opponent to go wrong, while he himself got to play “risk-free” with a safe king. Grandmasters, we learnt, make mistakes, too; they don’t drop pieces, but their games are still filled with mistakes. In this game, Ivanisevic completely missed the pretty tactic of 22.Ra4, while Mark later exposed his king unnecessarily with 31.f4.
White: Mark Bluvshtein (2590)
Black: Ivan Ivanisevic (2630)
2011.01.14 Tata Steel Chess (13)
E20 Nimzo Indian: 4.g3
White: Konstantinos Nikolaidis (2318)
Black: Mark Bluvshtein (2590)
2010.10.24 Corsica Masters (5)
A60 Benoni
In the second game, Mark showed us how to beat lower-rated players: how to create unbalanced positions where “the price of each move is high” and how to constrain the opponent’s pieces to maintain positional dominance after a sacrifice. He also showed how his opponent was “making it easy for him” by letting him have everything he wanted and not setting any difficult problems for him to solve.
During question-and-answer sessions after each game, Mark discussed his training (the necessity but also the down-side of extensive opening preparation, and the importance of physical exercise, regular sleep, and “tactics for breakfast”); he reflected on his year of professional chess so far (“a big learning experience in every way”); and he announced his upcoming chess plans. After another month or so in Toronto (“it’s good to be home”), he is heading to Mexico for the Continental Chess Championship of the Americas, April 19-24; then to Philadelphia for the World Open, June 28-July 4; and then back home for the Canadian Open, July 9-17. He also touched on a number of other chess-related topics, such as the inflation of FIDE ratings, the lack of gyms in European hotels, and the difference between A-group and C-group grandmasters at Wijk aan Zee.
It was especially nice to see such a large number of young people out for the lecture – offering tactical suggestions during analysis, and enjoying Mark’s chess rock-star status in the intermission. Evidently, Mark enjoyed himself, too. Check his blog.
Thank you again, Mark, for supporting our chess club and putting on such an entertaining show!
When: February 28, 2011 @ 7:30 pm
Where: Annex Chess Club, 918 Bathurst St (just N of Bloor)
Cost: $20 (free for ACC members) includes coffee and casual chess after the talk
GM Mark Bluvshtein is Canada’s top FIDE-rated grandmaster, but also a local hero: he grew up in North York, attending Newtonbrook Secondary School and York University.
Mark is currently back in town, after playing in the Aeroflot Open in Moscow. This was the latest stop on his tour of top international chess tournaments, which included the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee.
This coming Monday, he will be delivering a lecture at the Annex Chess Club, featuring games from his recent tour. Annex Chess Club members were asked to select two games from four possible options. On February 14, 2011, the vote took place.
The games, as selected by ACC members, are first (with 90% of the vote) M. Bluvshtein – I. Ivanisevic, 2011 Tata Steel (13) and second (with 80% of the vote) K. Nikolaidis – M. Bluvshtein, 2010 Corsica Masters (5).
Please feel free to print a flyer and help us promote the event.
(The event was a great success – read the review.)
