“Let us say that a game may be continued in two ways: one of them is a beautiful tactical blow that gives rise to variations that don’t yield to precise calculations; the other is clear positional pressure that leads to an endgame with microscopic chances of victory. I would choose the latter without thinking twice. If the opponent offers keen play I don’t object; but in such cases I get less satisfaction, even if I win, than from a game conducted according to all the rules of strategy with its ruthless logic.”
~ Anatoly Karpov
Despite his reputation for “boring” play, in this masterpiece, Karpov uses his queen like a magnet and essentially moves the enemy pieces.
Here are the PDF notes for The Magnetic Queen, a lecture given on February 13, 2017 at Annex Chess Club (just before Round Two of the What’s My Name Swiss).
And here is the featured Karpov game:
The featured image is from the tomb of Queen Nefertari (1295-1255 BCE). She was known by many titles, including Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt), Sweet of Love (bnrt-mrwt), Lady of Grace (nbt-im3t), Lady of The Two Lands (nbt-t3wy), and in the words of her husband Ramses II, ‘The one for whom the sun shines.’ There is no record of her ever having been known as The Magnetic Queen.
…a lecture on losing inspired by the following quote:
“What we shouldn’t forget is that it takes two very good players to create a brilliant game. I always feel the role of the loser in a brilliancy is underestimated. I always thought the loser should really get the money for the brilliancy prize. The winner’s happy anyway.”
– Bill Hartston
6:50-7:20 pm
918 Bathurst
Mon March 23
$5 casual drop-in fee
Free for ACC members and chess students
If you missed the lecture, here is a great article version (pdf) of the lecture: Role_of_the_Loser
Rhys plays chess for the beauty of the game. Every chess player celebrates a good result against a strong opponent, but Rhys looks beyond ratings and results to the rigour and creativity behind the moves: “I am always hoping,” he says, “for a great game featuring inspiring ideas combined with impeccable logic.”
Rhys first learned the game in Vancouver, where he grew up. As a curious seven-year-old, he was watching a child and an adult playing chess at a community centre. Seeing his interest, they called him over and taught him the basics. His parents then bought him his first chess set, and many of his early games were played at home with his father. While not a strong competitive player, Rhys’ father was a great teacher who tailored his games with his son to illustrate tactical and strategic themes: skewers, forks, mate with two rooks, etc. – things Rhys could use in his games against his friends.
inspiring ideas combined with impeccable logic
It was not until high school, however, that Rhys started playing regularly. He and his high-school chess club friends played almost every day: at lunch, after school, sometimes even in class (“passing a sheet of paper back and forth with a board drawn in pen and the pieces scribbled over top in pencil”). These high-school games led to lasting friendships. Indeed, the first person Rhys played at his high-school chess club – Rhys remembers his friend “fell for the four-move mate” in their first game – became the best man at his wedding.
Family life
The demands of family (Rhys and his wife have a young son) and professional life (Rhys investigates applications of architectural computer modelling for improved energy efficiency) haven’t kept Rhys away from chess. He still plays and lectures at Annex Chess Club. While his wife is “indifferent” to chess, he does play the occassional game with his one-year-old son, who likes “to smash through the king’s defenses with both hands.”
Just as every young hockey player dreams of playing in the NHL, every young chess player wants to become a grandmaster. Rhys, however, at 33, is old enough to have more modest goals: “It would be nice to get to 2200 [master level] one day, but I am not in any rush. For the time being, my goal is to slowly improve in the areas where I am weak, which include playing open positions, managing the clock, and not blundering so often!”
Chess at Annex Chess Club
Rhys likes a lot about the ACC, starting with its welcoming atmosphere. “Some clubs make you feel like an outsider when you first walk in the door. That’s not the case with the Annex Chess Club, where it’s easy to meet someone and start playing a casual game.” He is also impressed with the number of tournament players who come out regularly on Monday nights, with the range of playing strengths at the club, and (as a computer programmer) with the “terrific website.” Given the need for silence during tournament play, he thinks an online forum is an important place for ongoing conversations.
chess should be fun
Rhys not only plays at ACC; he is also one of our most regular lecturers. Like his father, he loves teaching chess: lecturing and writing articles, he says, “can be more rewarding than actually playing the game.”
In the end, the highest praise he gives ACC is personal and very simple. He credits the club for his own return to competitive chess after a decade-long hiatus: “The Annex Club is the reason I started playing chess again.”
Chess for fun
At ACC, where we promote chess for everyone,™ it’s music to our ears when we hear that we’ve brought a player to the game – or brought one back. On this point, however, Rhys might not subscribe to full ACC orthodoxy.
Should everyone play chess? We say yes, but Rhys is not out to convert the nonbelievers. “Maybe everyone should try chess once or twice in their life, but only those that enjoy it should keep playing.”
you must have the courage to play the move you think is best
Rhys’ first rule is that “chess should be fun,” but he admits it is not always fun, even for him: sometimes chess can become “more frustrating than entertaining.” When that happens, he takes a different tack in his games until he starts “learning new things and having fun again.”
For Rhys, also, there are limits to the educational value of chess. “The worst thing about chess is that, when you’re playing a game, you’re not really learning how to cooperate with other people. Team sports are a little better that way. At the moment I am playing both chess and soccer, and they complement each other well.”
Tips and advice
Apart from his advice that chess should be fun, and his suggestion to mix it with cooperative team activies, Rhys has two tips for the developing chess player. The first is to practise chess puzzles: “If your goal is to improve your rating as quickly as possible, then buy a book with hundreds of chess puzzles that you can solve in your head in less than one minute.”
With his second piece of advice, Rhys returns to the theme that chess is about the ideas behind the moves: “I agree with Capablanca that the beginner or average player must develop their imagination. According to the legendary world champion, this means you must attack when possible, and you must have the courage to play the move you think is best regardless of what other people might say. For inspiration, I recommend books of historical games annotated by passionate authors. The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played, by Irving Chernev, will do nicely.”
Susan Polgar asks, “What movie is this chess scene from?”
“Summer lovin’, had me a blast. Summer lovin’, happened so fast!”
Annex Chess Club – Summer Love Swiss Tournament
To celebrate the end of a fantastic summer in Toronto – and before the summer days drift away – we’re launching another CFC-rated club tournament on August 20 (the week after the last round of our Beach Blanket Swiss). As per usual, it’s a 5-round Swiss in 3 sections: Premier (>1900), Reserve A (1500-1900), and Reserve B (U1500). And as per usual, the Premier section is also FIDE-rated.
In the Premier section, Dave Southam, with the better tie-break, needed only a draw against rival Pavel Peev in the last round to secure first place. Dave did just that and finished first with 4.0/5. Congratulations, Dave!
Dave Southam
In the U1900 section, Arkadiy Ugodnikov, with a last-round win over Zaki Uddin, finished alone in first with 4.0/5. Congratulations, Arkadiy!
Arkadiy Ugodnikov
Finally, in the U1500 section, six-year-old Harmony Zhu, with a win against Shabnam Abbarin, took first place, finishing undefeated at 4.5/5. Harmony will be playing in the U1900 section next tournament. Way to go, Harmony!
Harmony Zhu, analysing her final-round game with her dad and her opponent
Next week, Monday October 1, we’ll be starting a new tournament, the Autumn Colours Swiss. The first round starts at 7:30 pm, but please arrive by 7:00 pm to register if you haven’t already.
Final Results
SwissSys Standings. Summer Love: Premier
#
Name
ID
Rating
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 3
Rd 4
Rd 5
Total
1
David Southam
102535
2176
W8
W9
W13
D3
D2
4.0
2
Pavel Peev
122223
2209
W7
B—
W3
H—
D1
4.0
3
Wajdy Shebetah
148432
2132
W18
W6
L2
D1
W5
3.5
4
Daniel Wiebe
132137
2012
W5
H—
H—
U—
W7
3.0
5
Hayk Oganesyan
152587
1827
L4
D8
W18
W12
L3
2.5
6
Rolando Renteria
152626
2249
H—
L3
L8
W18
W16
2.5
7
David Cohen
100234
1812
L2
W18
L11
W17
L4
2.0
8
Zehn Nasir
148198
1878
L1
D5
W6
D14
U—
2.0
9
Geordie Derraugh
132393
2242
W15
L1
H—
H—
U—
2.0
10
Melissa Greeff
153598
2112
W19
H—
H—
U—
U—
2.0
11
Morgon Mills
127517
2206
H—
H—
W7
U—
U—
2.0
12
Adrian David Valencia
153521
1967
H—
W15
U—
L5
U—
1.5
13
Pepin Manalo
112277
1845
H—
H—
L1
U—
D18
1.5
14
Alex T. Ferreira
127516
2051
H—
H—
U—
D8
U—
1.5
15
Andrew Pastor
127521
1926
L9
L12
H—
H—
U—
1.0
16
Scott Cliff
137007
1989
H—
H—
U—
U—
L6
1.0
17
David Krupka
102648
1943
H—
H—
U—
L7
U—
1.0
18
Daniel Zotkin
146857
1920
L3
L7
L5
L6
D13
0.5
19
Adie Todd
125156
1718
L10
U—
U—
U—
U—
0.0
SwissSys Standings. Summer Love: U1900
#
Name
ID
Rating
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 3
Rd 4
Rd 5
Total
1
Arkadiy Ugodnikov
146626
1679
D13
H—
W11
W2
W4
4.0
2
Ulli Diemer
153538
1576
W4
W10
W3
L1
D5
3.5
3
Manuela Renteria
152627
1654
H—
W13
L2
W7
W11
3.5
4
Mohammad Zaki Uddin
152024
1631
L2
W20
W15
W10
L1
3.0
5
Hooshang Ab-barin
152910
1669
L12
W19
D7
W8
D2
3.0
6
Josep Sobrepere
152976
1503
H—
H—
U—
W14
W10
3.0
7
Jack Maguire
144604
1514
W8
L9
D5
L3
W19
2.5
8
Marcus Wilker
102713
1667
L7
H—
W13
L5
W14
2.5
9
Adie Todd
125156
1726
B—
W7
H—
U—
U—
2.5
10
Abdolreza Radpey
149018
1424
W19
L2
W14
L4
L6
2.0
11
Daniel Sirkovich
145096
1541
H—
H—
L1
B—
L3
2.0
12
Chris Wehrfritz
151679
1660
W5
L16
H—
H—
U—
2.0
13
Kevin Gaffney
102701
1596
D1
L3
L8
W19
U—
1.5
14
Peter McNelly
106141
1645
H—
H—
L10
L6
L8
1.0
15
Nicholas O'Bumsawin
151261
1756
H—
H—
L4
U—
U—
1.0
16
Ian Prittie
153588
1135
U—
W12
U—
U—
U—
1.0
17
David Tolnai
126875
1571
W20
F—
U—
U—
U—
1.0
18
George Supol
152286
1393
U—
U—
W19
U—
U—
1.0
19
Bill Thornton
131181
1641
L10
L5
L18
L13
L7
0.0
20
Edmond Jodhi
150171
1679
L17
L4
U—
U—
U—
0.0
SwissSys Standings. Summer Love: U1500
#
Name
ID
Rating
Rd 1
Rd 2
Rd 3
Rd 4
Rd 5
Total
1
Harmony Zhu
151635
948
D10
W16
W14
W9
W4
4.5
2
Ian Prittie
153588
1135
L9
B—
W17
W11
W8
4.0
3
Kuhan Jeyapragasan
147906
1467
H—
H—
W10
W14
W5
4.0
4
Shabnam Abbarin
151181
1385
W22
W11
D9
W6
L1
3.5
5
Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy
153938
1349
W18
L9
W15
W7
L3
3.0
6
George Supol
152286
1393
W7
L14
B—
L4
W10
3.0
7
Jean-Marc David
151900
1203
L6
W12
W16
L5
W14
3.0
8
Alejandro Renteria
152628
1379
H—
H—
W19
W13
L2
3.0
9
Yanfeng Zhao
154318
unr.
W2
W5
D4
L1
U—
2.5
10
James Mourgelas
108540
1393
D1
W15
L3
W19
L6
2.5
11
Marc Antonio Nunes
154427
1034
W19
L4
H—
L2
W20
2.5
12
Enrique Rodriguez
154428
1433
L14
L7
W18
W15
D13
2.5
13
Nick Harding
154309
1234
H—
W21
H—
L8
D12
2.5
14
Christopher Field
108098
1244
W12
W6
L1
L3
L7
2.0
15
Raymond Lin
150193
960
X23
L10
L5
L12
D17
1.5
16
Milan Cvetkovic
150817
1286
H—
L1
L7
W18
U—
1.5
17
Eli Teram
107314
1287
H—
H—
L2
U—
D15
1.5
18
Dennis Li
153129
982
L5
L19
L12
L16
W21
1.0
19
Jeffrey Zhu
unr.
L11
W18
L8
L10
U—
1.0
20
Michael Vermont
151783
1474
H—
H—
U—
U—
L11
1.0
21
Stone Hu
153507
653
H—
L13
U—
U—
L18
0.5
22
Brian Groat
153518
634
L4
H—
U—
U—
U—
0.5
23
Lawrence Garcia
106367
1438
F15
U—
U—
U—
U—
0.0
Round One – Aug 20
Almost forty players came out for the start of the tournament – including three masters and a WGM!
With just one round in the books, it’s too early to announce tournament leaders, but with so many mismatched games on opening night, there are, as usual, a few nice (or painful, depending on your perspective) upsets to announce. In the top section, there were no surprises: the favourites won every game. In the bottom section, there was one upset draw (Harmony Zhu against Jim Mourgelas). But in the middle section, every single winner was a rating underdog! Special congratulations to Abdolreza Radpey, Jack Maguire, and David Tolnai, whose opponents out-rated them by over 100 points!
Chess Lecture
Before the tournament started, players were treated to a chess lecture by Rhys Goldstein: “Safety Behind Enemy Lines,” 6:50 to 7:20 pm. If you missed the lecture, you can check Rhys’s lecture notes. (Even if you saw the lecture, you’ll enjoy the bonus material in the notes.)
It would be great to have chess lectures more regularly. You don’t have to be a master. If you have an interesting game to analyse, or an opening line to explain, or a few examples of a middle-game or endgame theme to share, or any other aspect of chess culture or history you’d like to delve into, let us know and we’ll find you a slot in the schedule.
A couple of games from Round 1
Featured games this week include father-and-son games in the same opening: Jack Maguire was victorious (finally!) in what must be his fourth essay of the Budapest Gambit against Marcus Wilker, while his son Zehn (in the top section) was not so lucky with 2…e5 and 3…Ng4 against David Southam.
Round Two – Aug 27
After two rounds of play, there is a three-way tie for the lead in the top section, as David Southam, Pavel Peev, Wajdy Shebetah all have two points. In the middle section, there are just two leaders: Ulli Diemer and Adie Todd, with two points apiece. And finally, in the bottom section, unrated Yanfeng Zhao is tied for the lead with Shabnam Abbarin and Chris Field.
Labour Day – Sept 3
We were closed Monday September 3, but a number of our players played in the Labour Day Open, September 1, 2, and 3 at Hart House. Results are now posted on the CFC site.
Round Three – Sept 10
After three rounds of play, David Southam is leading the Premier section, with three wins and a 3.0/3 record. Pavel Peev is tied for first with two wins and a full-point bye. The two are due to face off in Round 4.
In the middle section, Ulli Diemer is alone in first, perfect at 3.0/3. George Supol, who was re-paired to the middle section after his opponent didn’t show, debuted in fine style with an upset win over Bill Thornton.
In the bottom section, unrated Yanfeng Zhao is tearing it up with 2.5/3 after a draw with co-leader, Shabnam Abbarin. Young Harmony Zhu, with a Round-three win over Chris Field, is tied for the lead.
Finally, in the casual section, Yakos Spiliotopoulos was proud finally to win a game against Brian Fiedler, after years of unsuccessful attempts.
A couple of games from Round 3
Featured games this week include George Supol’s debut upset win in the middle section, and Dave Southam’s third win in the top section. Dave gave a great demonstration of how to go for the kill in a relatively level-looking position.
Round Four – Sept 17
Six-year-old Harmony Zhu is on a rampage. She entered the bottom section with a 948 rating, but mid-tournament she scored 5.0/6 (+4 =2 -0) in the Toronto Labour Day Open, so her rating is actually now sitting at 1330. She’s continuing her unbeaten streak in the ACC Summer Love, with a 3.5/4 score, winning her last game in only ten moves. Shabnam Abbarin, who also won her Round-4 game, is still tied for the lead with Harmony.
In the middle section, Arkadiy Ugodnikov beat previously undefeated Ulli Diemer, to catch him at 3.0/4. Zaki Uddin also won his Round-4 game, joining the two leaders in a three-way tie for first.
In the top section, Dave Southam ended his winning streak but held onto his lead with a draw against Wajdy Shebetah; Dave now has 3.5/4. Pavel Peev, with a bye, is tied for the lead at 3.5/4.
Chess Lecture
We started off the night with a lecture by Michael Sutton, “Chess 960: Is this the future of chess?” 6:50 to 7:20 pm.
Michael says he quit playing “Classic Chess” four years ago and never looked back. A self-confessed Chess-960 evangelist, Michael argues that 960 saves the game from the computers and gives it back to human players.
If you missed the lecture, check out Michael Sutton’s lecture notes, and the 960 demo game, below:
Round-4 Games
Here are a few games from Round 4, including two 10-move wins by Harmony Zhu and Hayk Oganesyan, and the Shebetah-Southam draw from board one.
Round Five – September 24
In the Premier section, Dave Southam, with the better tie-break, needed only a draw against rival Pavel Peev in the last round to secure first place. Dave did just that and finished first with 4.0/5. Congratulations, Dave!
In the U1900 section, Arkadiy Ugodnikov, with a last-round win over Zaki Uddin, finished alone in first with 4.0/5. Congratulations, Arkadiy!
Finally, in the U1500 section, six-year-old Harmony Zhu, with a win against Shabnam Abbarin, took first place, finishing undefeated at 4.5/5. Harmony will be playing in the U1900 section next tournament. Way to go, Harmony!
“Uh, well-a, well-a, well-a, uh!”
Summer Lovin’
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John sang “Summer Lovin'” in Grease (1978).
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: