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RA Winter Open: the event report
To be realistic about this time in Ottawa, well, there have been better times! The wind chill has been under -25C for days, and a transit strike that has dragged on for over a month is exhausting both people without cars, and even those with cars, who are spending lots of time helping those without cars!
However, 38 ardent chess players braved the conditions to converge for the RA Winter Open. With that number of players, the TD was torn between having 2 or 3 sections, but in light of FIDE rating points at stake, decided to have 3 sections, thus also ensuring more competitive games within each modestly sized section. As a pleasant bonus, and to the delight of the TD, the Swiss System worked so well, that for almost every prize that was being contested into the last round, the relevant pairings were all head-to-head, and especially in the Top section, with the top 5 players on the top 3 boards.
Highlighting the players list were 4 FIDE-titled favourites, GM Bator Sambuev, IMs Artiom Samsonkin and Jean Hebert, and FM Robert Hamilton. Besides being great players, all of these gentlemen were very gracious with everyone, and were welcomed warmly. A special thanks goes out to Sanjiv Kalra, who after just one quick phone call, heartily offered to billet Artiom for the weekend. This writer has visited the Kalra home to play and analyze, and the Kalra hospitality is superb! Looking ahead to future EOCA weekend tournaments, would someone from the Ottawa area be interested in organizing billeting?
And now, let's get to results! As indicated above, the players were split across 3 sections. Section A for 2000 and up, Section B for U2000, and Section C for U1600. There were class prizes for every 200 rating points from U2200 to U1400, and all results are being submitted for both CFC and FIDE rating.
Section A started off with a bang, with EOCA Treasurer Bill Doubleday scoring his first GM scalp by upsetting Bator on the top board in the first round! However, Bator battled back, and with the 4 FIDE-titled players being inter-paired throughout the rounds, the stage was set for all 4 of these top players being matched on the top 2 boards in the last round to determine the top 3 prizes. After a couple of hours, Artiom had won on board 2, raising his total to 3.5-1.5, while Bator and Jean on board 1 had both entered the last round with 3 points. Therefore, a win by either of them would have earned $400. Then something quite neat happened. As other games were completed, Bator and Jean were not going to agree to any grandmaster draw, and they kept going deep into a long R+N+Ps vs. R+B+Ps endgame. In the end, after every other game had already finished, a dramatic finale unfolded. To the appreciative players who were still around, and lucky visitors who had just dropped in for the last round to check out the potential tournament winners, Bator and Jean took their game to the limit, matching skill and experience for 4 hours. At one point, even the cleaning lady was waiting outside the playing room for us! Finally, after a marathon struggle, a draw was agreed upon, which in the end, resulted in Bator, Artiom, Jean; splitting in 3 parts, the top $700 in prizes.
Note that IM Jean Hebert was collecting scoresheets, and is considering writing about some of the key games in his webzine. Jean, who is also a chess trainer and ICCF correspondence GM, has extensive experience reviewing elite games. To sign up for his "Hebert parle Echecs" webzine, please go to:
http://www.hebertparleechecs.com/index.php
In the U2200 subsection, whose players were paired with the Top subsection, Alvah Mayo scored a very respectable 3-2, only losing points to some of the FIDE-titled players, and defeated his closest U2200 rival in the last round, claiming the $200 class prize outright, and probably quite a few rating points.
Section B consisted of 2 $200 class prizes, for U2000 and U1800. In the U2000 subsection, Eric Van Dusen had already received his $200 class prize by the end of the 4th round, as he cruised en route to a 3.5-1.5 record. Of note, Agastya Kalra has been working very hard on his chess lately , and it showed, as he performed quite well against a pretty high average opposition rating. One has to wonder if all of the chatting with Artiom this weekend also helped?!
In the U1800 subsection, all of the non-Amateur players headed into the last round with good chances of winning the $200 class prize, but after a rather improbable sequence of events, including an unfortunate forfeit due to a cell phone ringing, Joshua Renaud emerged with a score of 3-2 to win this class prize all to himself. Special mention should also go to Mario Thibault and Michel Lacroix, with great scores of 3.5-1.5, but were participating as Amateurs.
Section C consisted of 2 $100 class prizes, for U1600 and U1400, where both of these subsections were comprised mostly of Amateur players. However, if there is at least 1 non-Amateur in a class, there will be a cash prize! In the U1600 subsection, Keven Eyre had already received his $100 class prize by the end of the 4th round. His score of 3.5-1.5 is actually more impressive than it appears, as Keven only really played in 3 rounds, and won all of his games.
In the U1400 subsection, many of the players scored quite well, but most of them were registered as Amateur, leaving the 2 non-Amateurs to play against each other in the last round for the $100 class prize. Tom Jarmyn won that last game, securing the U1400 prize for the second EOCA tournament in a row.
Finally, this writer had a challenging drive to get to the playing site for the second round, as I completely ran out of windshield washer fluid! In addition, I knew that I would be tied down to the playing site until well after most nearby gas stations close on a weekend. However, enter FM Robert Hamilton to the rescue, who had an extra jug of the stuff in his car, and donated it. Thanks Robert, as I didn't see a single open gas station on the way home that night!
Yours in chess,
Aris Marghetis, Organizer/TD
http://www.eoca.org/htm/tournaments%202008-09.html
My next event will be the RA Groundhog Active on February 1st, and my next weekend tournament will be the RA Spring Open on March 20th-22nd.
If you would like to receive such event details via email, please email arismarghetis@rogers.com to be added to my private email distribution list.
However, 38 ardent chess players braved the conditions to converge for the RA Winter Open. With that number of players, the TD was torn between having 2 or 3 sections, but in light of FIDE rating points at stake, decided to have 3 sections, thus also ensuring more competitive games within each modestly sized section. As a pleasant bonus, and to the delight of the TD, the Swiss System worked so well, that for almost every prize that was being contested into the last round, the relevant pairings were all head-to-head, and especially in the Top section, with the top 5 players on the top 3 boards.
Highlighting the players list were 4 FIDE-titled favourites, GM Bator Sambuev, IMs Artiom Samsonkin and Jean Hebert, and FM Robert Hamilton. Besides being great players, all of these gentlemen were very gracious with everyone, and were welcomed warmly. A special thanks goes out to Sanjiv Kalra, who after just one quick phone call, heartily offered to billet Artiom for the weekend. This writer has visited the Kalra home to play and analyze, and the Kalra hospitality is superb! Looking ahead to future EOCA weekend tournaments, would someone from the Ottawa area be interested in organizing billeting?
And now, let's get to results! As indicated above, the players were split across 3 sections. Section A for 2000 and up, Section B for U2000, and Section C for U1600. There were class prizes for every 200 rating points from U2200 to U1400, and all results are being submitted for both CFC and FIDE rating.
Section A started off with a bang, with EOCA Treasurer Bill Doubleday scoring his first GM scalp by upsetting Bator on the top board in the first round! However, Bator battled back, and with the 4 FIDE-titled players being inter-paired throughout the rounds, the stage was set for all 4 of these top players being matched on the top 2 boards in the last round to determine the top 3 prizes. After a couple of hours, Artiom had won on board 2, raising his total to 3.5-1.5, while Bator and Jean on board 1 had both entered the last round with 3 points. Therefore, a win by either of them would have earned $400. Then something quite neat happened. As other games were completed, Bator and Jean were not going to agree to any grandmaster draw, and they kept going deep into a long R+N+Ps vs. R+B+Ps endgame. In the end, after every other game had already finished, a dramatic finale unfolded. To the appreciative players who were still around, and lucky visitors who had just dropped in for the last round to check out the potential tournament winners, Bator and Jean took their game to the limit, matching skill and experience for 4 hours. At one point, even the cleaning lady was waiting outside the playing room for us! Finally, after a marathon struggle, a draw was agreed upon, which in the end, resulted in Bator, Artiom, Jean; splitting in 3 parts, the top $700 in prizes.
Note that IM Jean Hebert was collecting scoresheets, and is considering writing about some of the key games in his webzine. Jean, who is also a chess trainer and ICCF correspondence GM, has extensive experience reviewing elite games. To sign up for his "Hebert parle Echecs" webzine, please go to:
http://www.hebertparleechecs.com/index.php
In the U2200 subsection, whose players were paired with the Top subsection, Alvah Mayo scored a very respectable 3-2, only losing points to some of the FIDE-titled players, and defeated his closest U2200 rival in the last round, claiming the $200 class prize outright, and probably quite a few rating points.
Section B consisted of 2 $200 class prizes, for U2000 and U1800. In the U2000 subsection, Eric Van Dusen had already received his $200 class prize by the end of the 4th round, as he cruised en route to a 3.5-1.5 record. Of note, Agastya Kalra has been working very hard on his chess lately , and it showed, as he performed quite well against a pretty high average opposition rating. One has to wonder if all of the chatting with Artiom this weekend also helped?!
In the U1800 subsection, all of the non-Amateur players headed into the last round with good chances of winning the $200 class prize, but after a rather improbable sequence of events, including an unfortunate forfeit due to a cell phone ringing, Joshua Renaud emerged with a score of 3-2 to win this class prize all to himself. Special mention should also go to Mario Thibault and Michel Lacroix, with great scores of 3.5-1.5, but were participating as Amateurs.
Section C consisted of 2 $100 class prizes, for U1600 and U1400, where both of these subsections were comprised mostly of Amateur players. However, if there is at least 1 non-Amateur in a class, there will be a cash prize! In the U1600 subsection, Keven Eyre had already received his $100 class prize by the end of the 4th round. His score of 3.5-1.5 is actually more impressive than it appears, as Keven only really played in 3 rounds, and won all of his games.
In the U1400 subsection, many of the players scored quite well, but most of them were registered as Amateur, leaving the 2 non-Amateurs to play against each other in the last round for the $100 class prize. Tom Jarmyn won that last game, securing the U1400 prize for the second EOCA tournament in a row.
Finally, this writer had a challenging drive to get to the playing site for the second round, as I completely ran out of windshield washer fluid! In addition, I knew that I would be tied down to the playing site until well after most nearby gas stations close on a weekend. However, enter FM Robert Hamilton to the rescue, who had an extra jug of the stuff in his car, and donated it. Thanks Robert, as I didn't see a single open gas station on the way home that night!
Yours in chess,
Aris Marghetis, Organizer/TD
http://www.eoca.org/htm/tournaments%202008-09.html
My next event will be the RA Groundhog Active on February 1st, and my next weekend tournament will be the RA Spring Open on March 20th-22nd.
If you would like to receive such event details via email, please email arismarghetis@rogers.com to be added to my private email distribution list.