50 years of Rapid chess

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  • 50 years of Rapid chess

    The 50th Anniversary Saturday Rapid

    This Fall marks the 50 year mark of the weekly Rapid tournament which was inaugurated in 1963 at the old YMCA Chess Club at 40 College Street. I don’t recall the exact starting date other than it being the Fall of 1963. So we are setting an arbitrary date of November 9th for the celebration.

    The Event:
    Saturday, November 9th – 2pm
    15 minutes per player/game
    5 rounds swiss pairings
    Venue: Legends Sports Lounge, 774 Danforth (2 blocks east of Pape subway stn)
    Entry Fee: $20
    Prizes: Thanks to two kind and generous sponsors, all prizes will be augmented but with special emphasis on the top prizes.
    Therefore:
    First Prize: $400 (guaranteed)
    Other prizes as entries permit with First A : $100
    Plus other sectional prizes
    Following the first round, there will be a complementary buffet lunch.
    Chess sets and clocks will be provided but 3 or 4 sets may be needed to make up a shortfall.
    We will ask participants to email or phone their intent to play in the week before the event and a list will be posted on ChessTalk.

    Contact: Vlad Dobrich at >>>vladdobrich(at)gmail(dot)com
    Cel phone # >>>>>>> 647 207-9342
    Last edited by Vlad Dobrich; Thursday, 3rd October, 2013, 09:34 AM.

  • #2
    Re: 50 years of Rapid chess

    I really admire your perseverance in running these events despite the seemingly rather small numbers. If I lived in Toronto I would certainly show up every week I could; they seem like fantastic events.
    "Tom is a well known racist, and like most of them he won't admit it, possibly even to himself." - Ed Seedhouse, October 4, 2020.

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    • #3
      Re: 50 years of Rapid chess

      Congrats with 50th.

      Please add an address of the location. Thnx.

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      • #4
        Re: 50 years of Rapid chess

        Nov 2-3 - Guelph tournament. You will probably miss some of your regular players.

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        • #5
          Re: 50 years of Rapid chess

          Originally posted by Victor Plotkin View Post
          Nov 2-3 - Guelph tournament. You will probably miss some of your regular players.
          Thanks, Victor - will discuss this with the players on Saturday as well as with the Legends management, before making the final decision on the date.

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          • #6
            Re: 50 years of Rapid chess

            Please note that the date of the tournament has been changed to November 9th.
            This is to avoid conflicting with the Guelph tournament.
            If you have not played in the Rapid of late, you should join the event in the next few weeks as it takes a few sessions to get used to the 15 minute s.d. time control.

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            • #7
              Re: 50 years of Rapid chess

              As a point of historical interest........
              as far as I know there were no rapid tournaments anywhere in 1963. The event was started to accommodate the members at the YMCA club who felt that the 5 minute tournaments then being played at the Toronto Chess Club, 321 Davenport road were at a time control too fast for our memebers at the time - many of whom were older adults. We considered 10 minutes as well as the
              15 minute control, finally opting for the 15.
              Therefore, the 15 minute rapids may well be the first rapid tourney ever - anywhere! If someone knows of an earlier such event anywhere please let us know.

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              • #8
                Re: 50 years of Rapid chess

                Montreal had blitz tournaments just about every Friday and/or Saturday from late 1970 until about 2002 - sometimes as many as 4 or 5 a week. They were all blitz rated (by me), and crosstables are available.

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                • #9
                  Re: 50 years of Rapid chess

                  Back when I started playing chess at the old Toronto Chess Club in the '70s they had 5 min blitz every Saturday afternoon (very popular), 15-min rapid on one or two weeknights and a novice 15-min tournament another week night (the club was open 7 days a week in those days)

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