ACC hosted the 2023 Toronto Blitz Championship this past Monday, August 14. We've hosted this event for the past eight years, and were pleased to do it again.

We're grateful for the support of the GTCL.

The event attracted nearly 100 players, including eleven titled players. The Blitz Championship is a seven double-round tournament with a time control of 3+2, meaning that nearly seven hundred games of chess were played in one fairly hectic night!

The arbiter team was sometimes a bit overwhelmed, but we fell in to a good rhythm and kept the event moving smoothly for the most part. Keith was the chief arbiter. Thanks to Abdul, Riley and club member Daniel for their hard work.

At the end, we had a $1500 prize fund, which was awarded to the overall winners, as well as the following prizes:

• 1st Place: IM Nicholas Vetesse (13/14, $600)
• 2nd Place: Jeffrey Zhao (11.5/14, $300)
• 3rd Place, three-way tie: IM Artiom Samsonkin, IM Shiyam Thavandiran, AFM Saarthak Malakar (11/14, share $150 prize)
• Top Scoring Woman: WFM Oksana Golubeva (10/14, $90)
• Top Junior: AFM Saarthak Malakar (11/14, $90)
• Top Female Junior: Haneul Park (8/14, $90)
• Best U1800: Noah Velasquez (9.5/14, $90)
• Best U1400: Artur Jankobayev (9.5/14, $90)

Jeffrey Zhao's performance was particularly impressive, gaining over 200 rating points!

A great deal of fun was had by all! Thank you to our photographer, Leo.