Welcome to Montreal - all Open players!

[Bob Armstrong]

Re: CO - Rd. 8 ( Saturday, July 26 )

After 8 rounds, here are the current rankings of the 10 Torontonian/former Torontonian players in the U 2000 section ( 6 of whom are members of the Scarborough Chess Club; and 3 of whom are former SCC members ). There are 77 players in the section:

# 1 - Omar Shah - 7 pts.
# 5 - Bob Armstrong - 6 pts.
# 6 - Alex Ferreira - 5.5 pts.
# 11 - Tyler Longo - 5.5 pts.
# 16 - Jaime Solis - 5 pts.
# 51 - Uwe Hahnewald - 3.5 pts.
# 56 - Michael Perez - 3 pts.
# 59 - Mario Moran-Venegas - 3 pts.
# 66 - Michael Sharpe - 2 pts.
# 75 - Cesary Posylek - 1 pt. ( wd )

On looking at the results last night, I had thought I was playing the top-ranked player with 5.5 pts., who I thought was the player with a 1940 rating. This morning when I came down to check the standings again on MonRoi, my heart sank :( . I had forgotten about my friend, Alex Ferreira ( 1958 ). He was the top ranked 5.5 , having drawn yesterday ! Alex and I have battled a number of times in the SCC and in other Toronto tournaments ( most recently the Toronto Closed Reserves, and the CMA CFC Rated Wednesday tournament ). I did not really want to play a friend from Toronto in the last round, where a win for me might mean prize money.

So with heavy heart I clicked on the " Pairings " list. Lo and behold, there was apparently a colours problem :D . I was due for black, but so was Alex. So I ended up being paired on third board against the second highest 5.5, who was the 1940 player I had been expecting. Alex was on fourth board, paired against the 5th/6th rated 5.5. Quite a relief!! And there were no Toronto pairings in our section in this last round.

I'm on a streak now of 5 consecutive wins - would be nice to extend it to 6 ! My opponents current rankings ( pts ) are : # 14 ( 5 ); # 20 ( 5 ); # 23 ( 4.5 ); # 33 ( 4.5 ); # 60 ( 3 ); # 63 ( 3 ); # 64 ( 3 );and # 70 ( 2 ). Four are in the top half, and 4 in the bottom half.

We'll see what happens today !

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Re: CO - Rd. 9 - Final ( Sunday, July 27 )

Well, the U 2000 section in the last round yesterday was a nail-biter . Torontonian Omar Shah was leading by 1/2 pt. with 7 pts. Due to colours problems, he ended up playing the highest rated 6 pt. player on Bd. 1 ( I was the other 6 pt. player ). The two 2nd/3rd place players, with 6.5 pts. played each other on Bd. 2. I ( then in 4th/5th ) played the second highest rated 5.5 on Bd. 3 ( I couldn't play the highest 5.5 because of colour problems ). Bds. 4-6 saw the other 5.5 players facing off against each other.

In the middle game, Omar was clearly losing. At that point the two 6.5 players agreed to a draw, with one up a pawn. This gave them each 7 pts., and if Omar lost, there would then be a four-way tie for first. Bds. 4-6 then finished decisively, giving three players with 6.5, sitting temporarily in second place.

In my game, the second last of the top boards to finish, my opening was inaccurate, and my 5.5 pt. opponent got a strong attack. I blundered and he ended up up a B vs P. It was clear to me that I was going to lose this one unless I came up with something. And I DID !! I sacked a rook ! He had no choice but to take it, and then I got a perpetual ( I could have won some more material and been up a P, but the downside was I got mated in nearly all variations, and in some lost a rook ). So I joined the group in second place ( now there were 3 at 7 pts. [ with Omar still playing ] and 4 of us at 6.5 ).

So it all came down to first board, the last one of the top boards still going. To his everlasting credit, Omar found a way to sack material and get a perpetual !! He moved up to 7.5 pts. and clear first, 1/2 pt. ahead of the 2nd/3rd place finishers with 7 pts. ( I wonder if the 7 pt. player up the pawn regretted not playing for a win, which would have given him a share of first ). Omar's opponent thus ended up with 6.5 as well, and so there were 5 of us tied for 4th/9th.

Omar copped $ 800 for his fine effort ! The two 7 pts. finishers shared $ 900. There were prizes for the first 5 positions, and so the 5 of us with 6.5 pts. tied for 4th/9th shared the 4th/5th prize combined , or $ 300 ( $ 60 each - almost gets me back my registration fee ! ).

It was a great tournament, and that seemed to be a general consensus.

Later today, when the results are posted, I'll post the final rankings of the 10 Torontonians/former Torontonians in the U 2000 section.

Bob

[Wilf Ferner]

Re: Welcome to Montreal - all Open players!

Bob: Congratulations!

Wilf Ferner

[Bob Armstrong]

Re: CO - Rd. 9 - Final ( Sunday, July 27 )

As a final report on the CO, I'll now list the final rankings of the 10 Torontonians/former Torontonians in the U 2000 section ( there were 77 players ):

# 1 - Omar Shah - 7.5 pts.
# 8 - Bob Armstrong - 6.5 pts.
# 12 - Alex Ferreira - 5.5 pts.
# 13 - Tyler Longo - 5.5 pts.
# 15 - Jaime Solis - 5.5 pts.
# 50 - Mario Moran-Venegas - 4 pts.
# 58 - Uwe Hahnewald - 3.5 pts.
# 60 - Michael Perez - 3 pts.
# 67 - Michael Sharpe - 2 pts. ( wd )
# 75 - Cesary Posylek - 1 pt. ( wd )

So 1/2 ended up in the top 15, and 1/2 were in the bottom half of the draw.

The final rankings of my opponents was ( pts. in brackets ) : # 9 ( 6 ); # 10 ( 6 ); # 11 ( 5.5 ); # 14 ( 5.5 ); # 40 ( 4.5 ); # 51 ( 4 ); # 52 ( 4 ); # 53 ( 4 ); # 71 ( 2 - wd ). So 4 of my 9 opponents were in the top 15, and 5 were in the bottom half.

As I said before it was a most enjoyable tournament :) , from a chess, social and tourist point of view. Thanks to Richard Berube and his team.

Will I go to the CO in Edmonton in 2009 ( I've now attended 3 in a row ) ? They put on a great one in 2005 from what I've heard. Guess it'll be a discussion with my wife in 2009 !!

Bob

[Luke Peristy]

Re: Welcome to Montreal - all Open players!

Edmonton got the bid, eh? I wonder how I'll get out there and back cheaply...if at all...