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Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
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I'm enjoying Bob's blog as well. It makes me wish I was playing. I'd also like to have more of the flavour of the event, but I think it's important to keep some perspective.
The main obligation of the organizers is to the competitors. The best marketing won't salvage a badly-run event or help Canada's reputation internationally. As there have been no complaints voiced here about pairings and other matters, I have to assume that things are being run to the satisfaction of those competing.
In the final analysis, that counts for a great deal.
I would think that a well run event is the absolute minimum to expect. There are clearly tabs on the event site for blogs/media. Media tab is filling up as of Rd6 but the blog tab is rather bleak. So bleak that I have lost interest in the open section.
Well I suppose I will lower my expectations and wait for the Chessbase report.
I have no doubt it's a great event for the people in it. But the CFC is losing great chance to promote chess to its members current and prospective who are not at the event. And to potential corporate donors/advertisers who will look the CFC's abililty to promote chess when making sponsorship decisions.
I would think that a well run event is the absolute minimum to expect. There are clearly tabs on the event site for blogs/media. Media tab is filling up as of Rd6 but the blog tab is rather bleak. So bleak that I have lost interest in the open section.
Well I suppose I will lower my expectations and wait for the Chessbase report.
I have no doubt it's a great event for the people in it. But the CFC is losing great chance to promote chess to its members current and prospective who are not at the event. And to potential corporate donors/advertisers who will look the CFC's abililty to promote chess when making sponsorship decisions.
So how are things in Montreal?
Mike
I see your point. Ideally building buzz for the next year will eventually be seen as a must.
Montreal is getting ready for the COQ. Some of the GM's playing in the CO will be in town and I'm sure the event will have its own challenges and successes. I think the FQE has made great strides in many areas. Unlike the CFC, there is a continuity in the administration so they aren't starting from scratch each July.
I always enjoying reading about your chess adventures in Hungary Mike and playing over the games you annotate for the BC bulletin.
I think the FQE has made great strides in many areas. Unlike the CFC, there is a continuity in the administration so they aren't starting from scratch each July.
Neil - 5 of the 7 CFC executives are returning for another year. IMHO, an excellent combination of continuity and new blood. :D
I see your point. Ideally building buzz for the next year will eventually be seen as a must.
Montreal is getting ready for the COQ. Some of the GM's playing in the CO will be in town and I'm sure the event will have its own challenges and successes. I think the FQE has made great strides in many areas. Unlike the CFC, there is a continuity in the administration so they aren't starting from scratch each July.
I always enjoying reading about your chess adventures in Hungary Mike and playing over the games you annotate for the BC bulletin.
All the best
Hi
I'm in a 7-rounder(G/90) July 15-17 starting in a couple of hrs. It's a walkable subway stop-and-a-half away. There I only complain about the crappy plastic sets with the 2-tone bishops. Somehow the good wooden sets get allocated to the lower boards. That really sends into a mini-tizzy.
Funny enough I met a player in the Budapest Spring Open who subcribes the the bulletin. Now i really have to watch what I say.
Well, after scoring my first win in rd 5, it was back to the losing column in rd 6. Unlike my blogging colleague Bob, I have been paired up in every round so it's not surprising that I'm having a tough time here. On a positive note, I have been putting up a good struggle in my games, avoiding demoralizing blunders in the early stages, even getting some superior positions. Where I've got into trouble is in the late middle game. Typically I'm using up most of my time, I get bogged down trying to figure out how to proceed. Guess late middlegame planning is where I need to improve. Also endings. But I start to wonder sometimes, is improvement really possible for an experienced older adult player? (other than a) people who have recently learned the game and will obviously enjoy significant improvement for a while and b) those who played in their youth, gave up the game for years, have returned to tournament play and are playing themselves back into their old form) I haven't seen it, I think, in any of the adult players I know.
Regarding Bob's earlier comment re juniors, I agree that today's generation seem stronger than the kids back in the 70's. They start younger, get coaching early and play in 'serious' tournaments at age 5 or 6 in some cases.
76 1 Hugh Siddeley (1996)........... 0 Alexander Strugach (1963)
77 0 Jonathan Yu (1971)........... 1 Perry Vishal Johnson (1846)
78 0 Paul Leblanc (1924)........... 1 John Doknjas (1997)
79 0 Jordan Palmer (1947)........... 1 Greg Stavropoulos (1872)
80 1 Mario Moran-Venegas (1864) 0 Ed Zator (1902)
81 0 Shafkat Ali (1823)...............1 Stephan Tonakanian (1974)
Hugh Siddeley sent me his rd-4 game - it's posted on the ACC site.
Starting Off Right – The Wee Hours of the Morning ( July 15 )
After coming home from Rd. 6 , Mario and I got a late night dinner, and analyzed our games as we ate ‘til about 12:00 AM – we’re both in the U 2000 section and both had drawn in the same way – we were losing, saved the day by getting a draw, and then found out later we both had wins – sigh!. Then he went to bed, and I did my Rd. 6 ( July 14 ) Blog. I posted it about 1:30 AM and decided to go to bed at 3:00 AM. But I had my Scarborough Chess Club newsletter to publish today, and there was still lots to do on it. So I worked ‘til 4:00 AM and didn’t quite finish, but I knew I had to go to bed. So I left it ‘til later in the morning, after I got up.
Later that Morning
I woke up at 9:00 AM getting 5 hours sleep! ( more than my usual CO 4 hrs sleep per night! ) I did some chess politics stuff on the computer initially, and then when Mario got up, he suggested going out for breakfast, and so we went to the retro diner that had been closed on Thursday afternoon when we’d gone there for lunch. When we came back, Mario told me I was playing the person he played in Rd. 1, Bruce Thomson. So we played over his game again, and it seemed I’d be playing my favourite King’s Indian Defence. Mario then went to prepare for his Rd. 7 game with SCC’er, Jack Triefeldt, and I went to finish my newsletter.
The Afternoon
I worked a while on the finishing of the newsletter, and then got it out – on time!!! I then prepared a draft of this Rd. 7 Blog, to be completed this morning and posted. Then I went back to analyzing my games – I’m still back at Rd. 5. I got Rd. 5 against Sam Haziprodromu about ¾ finished.
At 3:45 PM, Mario and I headed down to Harbourfront for a Japanese dinner. We then went to the playing hall, but neither of us went in for the trivia quiz ( I’m hopeless – know nothing! ). Mario had intended to, but didn’t realize it had started and it was partly over when he went in, so he came back out. I chatted with Doug Gillis about our Rd. 6 game for a while, and then the Rd. 7 started shortly after 6:00 PM.
The U 2000 Group & Round 7 Results
Here are the results for the top players ( 5 tied for first, and 3 tied for 6th ):
74 .5 John Doknjas (1997)..........5 Stephan Tonakanian (1974)
75 1 Jonathan Yu (1971)............0 Hugh Siddeley (1996)
76 0 Alexander Strugach (1963)..1 Sam Haziprodromu (1843)
77 1 Jordan Palmer (1947)..........0 Perry Vishal Johnson (1846)
The U 2000 Group & Rd. 7 Standings
Here are the favourites ( 1900 & Over : 11 ), and the “ dark horses “ ( 1750 – 1899 : 15 ) and showing the sole leader, as well as the 4 hot on his heels, ½ pt. back:
Pinnacle 48th Canadian Open Chess Championship 2011:
UNDER 2000 SECTION
72 players ( 26: 1750-1999 )
# Name ID Rtng Tot Prize
1 John Doknjas 141225 1997 – 5.5
2 Hugh Siddeley 120619 1996
3 Stephan Tonakanian 150629 1974 – 5.5
4 Jonathan Yu 126131 1971 - 6
5 Alexander Strugach 151677 1963
6 Jordon Palmer 127560 1947 – 5.5
7 Richard Garel 105218 1942
8 Paul Leblanc 104186 1924
9 Manuela Renteria 152627 1922
10 David Poirier 106289 1906
11 Ed Zator 105675 1902
12 Steve Nickoloff 108201 1872
13 Greg Stavropoulos 108628 1872
14 Mario Moran-Venegas 143315 1864
15 Musa Jamshed 144462 1850
16 Bruce Dowling 112688 1847
17 Perry Vishal Johnson 152904 1846
18 Sam Haziprodromu 106156 1843 – 5.5
19 Nicholas O'Bumsawin 151261 1831
20 Pacifico Cortez 149343 1830
21 Shafkat Ali 149142 1823
22 Mathew G Cooke 126311 1799
23 Patrick Yu 143209 1796
24 Mark Jubenville 106764 1790
25 Greg Beal 101490 1777
26 Patrick O'Sullivan 149300 1758
After Rd.7, out of the 72 players in our group, only 1 now has 6/7 points – junior Jonathan Yu. The question now is whether anyone can take any points off him in the last 2 rounds, or will he coast to victory? There are 4 players ½ pt. behind waiting to replace him, if he falters!
In Rd. 7, my score was:
91 0 Bruce W Thomson (1626) - 1 Robert J Armstrong (1740)
- leaves me with 4/7 pts. ( 57 % )
My Round 7 Game
Because new readers come to the blog from time to time, I want them to have the following information, and so I am repeating the template of it each day – I’d ask the daily readers of the blog to tolerate the repetition
I like to think “ class “ games have some interest. I believe in some ways they are more educational to class players than GM games, if properly annotated. They are understandable, because we all think similarly – GM moves are many times incomprehensible to us class players. For years now, I’ve used a chess website, Chess5 ( http://www.chess5.com ), as my own personal chess games blog – I have gotten to know the owner/administrator Eydun, quite well over the years. I introduced Canada to his website, after I first saw it. Canada is now one of the main posters to this on-line databank. I post all my games, using what I call my “ Comprehensive Annotation System “, hoping that this makes them even more helpful to viewers. Click on the heading link “ public games “. and you get a list of games posted this month so far, including mine from this Open.
So I am posting my games as soon as I can after the round. The games may not be dramatic, but I hope they are interesting enough, and there is something that can be learned.
In my Rd. 7 game, we didn’t play a King’s Indian, but played something like it with White fianchettoed on the K-side. It had a lot of similarities to the KID. I managed to build a K-side attack, and Bruce remained undeveloped on the Q-side. I eventually won a P, and then mated. But when my roomie, Mario, and I, later looked at the game, he found a B-sac attack that seems to win right away – we’ll see if Fritz accepts it, when I finally get to it.
I had finished early, and Mario was still playing. So I went to the corner deli with my SCC chess friend, SCC Secretary, Steve Karpik. Steve advised that he had arranged with Ted Winick for us to be at the same closing dinner table, which was great. Then he headed home, and I went to watch Mario’s game. Mario lost and then we headed home by public transit about 10:15 PM.. When we got home we both did our thing on the computer for half an hour, and then Mario got something to eat. We then analyzed both our games ( I had won; he had lost; we were now tied with 4 pts. each – will we be paired?? ). At 12:30 AM. Mario went to bed. I went upstairs to continue my early morning activities.
The Wee Hours of This Morning ( July 16 )
I went upstairs to complete my Rd. 7 Blog, and the results/pairings were not yet posted. So I continued analyzing my loss to Sam Haziprodromu ( who was now tied for second! ) Then the results came onto MonRoi, so I was able to complete my Rd. 7 Blog and posted it about 2:00 AM. I decided I’d go to bed about 3:00 AM, since I really wasn’t very tired, and wanted to catch up some more on analyzing my games.
The Rd. 8 Pairings ( July 16 ) – U 2000 Top Boards
With only 1 player having a score of 6/7 pts. after 7 rounds, I will also show the pairings of those 4 who are ½ pt. behind. Here are the top board pairings for Rd. 8:
74 John Doknjas (1997)...........- Jonathan Yu (1971)
75 Stephan Tonakanian (1974)..- Jordan Palmer (1947)
76 Sam Haziprodromu (1843)....- Hugh Siddeley (1996)
My Round 8 Game Today ( July 16 ):
As a result of my Rd. 7 win, I have been paired up for the 3rd time, having 4/7 pts. Here is my Rd. 8 pairing for later today:
86 Robert J Armstrong (1740) - Pacifico Cortez (1830)
Some Random Thoughts After 7 Days
Mario had noticed that a number of players in our section have had peak ratings over 2000. The average “ peak “ rating of the top 10 ranked players in our group is 2025! So the top of our group is verging on the expert level. When one looks at the peak rating average of the top 20-ranked in our group, it is 1956, again quite high. So I decided to look at the peak ratings of the 8 leaders after Rd. 6. It is not surprisingly, also 2025. So it kind of indicates that our leaders pretty much should be where they are. And it is not any great surprise that the leaders are among the top-ranked in the section, showing that our rating system has some validity. Another point that is interesting is that 3/8 leaders after Rd. 6 were juniors: John Doknjas; Jonathan Yu; and Perry Vishal Johnson. And each of them is at his peak rating! – this indicates they are improving, and their rating is still climbing. It goes to show the truth of the blog post of assistant arbiter, Aris Marghetis, that the section is an interesting and challenging collection of up & comers , as well as seasoned veterans who have been somewhat stronger in the past, and may now be incrementally on their way down. Both are proving to be tough customers!
What is the future of Canadian elite chess, looking at the 2011 CO? Seems to me it looks pretty bright! Of the top 10 in the Open Section after 6 rounds, 5 were Canadians: GM Bator Sambuev, IM Artiom Samsonkin, IM Tomas Krnan, IM Leonid Gerzhoy, and GM Mark Bluvshtein – this is not too shabby! And when you put this together with the fact that Argentinean, now Canadian, GM Anton Kovalyov is switching his federation to Canada, we have a potential 2012 Olympiad Team that is the strongest ever – Bluvshtein, Kovalyov, Sambuev, GM Pascal Charbonneau and GM Roussel-Roozmon ( should all want to play and qualify – unfortunately, Can. GM Kevin Spraggett has indicated generally that he no longer will play for Canada, and regularly turns down invitations ). And IM Leonid Gerzhoy would be the back-up! I think with such a team, we would move up dramatically from our current position of around 40th.
Invitation.
I'd like again to invite everyone to join into the discussion - any comments, suggestion s, questions, criticisms of the blog are welcome - and of anything to do with the Can. Open. I will try to respond if that seems appropriate. Any comments from other members of the U 2000 section would be especially welcome! I’m glad my Scarborough CC/ U 2000 compatriot, Ken Kurkowski, has provided more insight into his experiences again ( Ken did an U 1600 Blog for the 2010 CO in Toronto ). I think it helps to give a broader flavour of what is going on in our challenging, and broad-ranging section. Thanks Ken!
Bob
Last edited by Bob Armstrong; Saturday, 16th July, 2011, 02:55 AM.
Bob, I've always had this theory that the rating change rules will result in some interesting tournament results here and there if retired or semi-retired players return to chess. The whole question though was would enough players take up the game again, and would they be too rusty to post decent results ?
Jonathan Yu is a great example. He established that sub-2000 rating during the rating deflation period locally. He was a surprise CYCC winner one year, so he is talented. But he hasn't played much if at all during the recent rating inflationary period.
Great to see someone re-enter the fray and have some success.
Starting Off Right – The Wee Hours of the Morning ( July 16 )
After coming home from Rd. 7 , Mario and I analyzed both our games ( I’d won; he’d lost ). Then he went to bed, and I did my Rd. 7 ( July 15 ) Blog. I posted it about 2:00 AM and intended to go to bed at 3:00 AM. But I sort of got caught up in my game analysis ( I was working on Rd. 5 [ Haziprodromu ] ) and did the draft of my Rd. 8 Blog, to be completed and posted this morning. So I worked ‘til 4:00 AM and then hit the sack.
Later that Morning
I woke up at 7:00 AM getting 3 hours sleep! ( less than my usual CO 4 hrs sleep per night! ) Some mornings coffee tastes better than others! I did some chess politics stuff on the computer initially, and then went back to game analysis. When Mario got up, we had breakfast. Mario then went to prepare for his Rd. 8 game and I went to do more game analysis on my Rd. 6 game ( Gillis ). In the late morning we headed out for a quick shopping trip to the supermarket, and then had about ½ hr. before we had to leave.
The Afternoon
At noon, Mario and I headed down to Harbourfront for lunch, since the Rd. 8 started at 2:00 PM. We went to the little gyros place beside the hotel, and then went to the playing hall for Rd. 8.
U 2000 Group ( 72 players ) Rd. 8 Results
Here are the results for the top players ( 1 in first, and 4 tied for 2nd ):
74 1 John Doknjas (1997).............0 Jonathan Yu (1971)
75 0 Stephan Tonakanian (1974)...1 Jordan Palmer (1947)
76 .5 Sam Haziprodromu (1843).... .5 Hugh Siddeley (1996)
The U 2000 Group & Rd. 8 Standings
Here are the favourites ( 1900 & Over : 11 ), and the “ dark horses “ ( 1750 – 1899 : 15 ) and showing the two leaders, as well as the 4 players hot on their heels, ½ pt. back:
Pinnacle 48th Canadian Open Chess Championship 2011:
UNDER 2000 SECTION
72 players ( 26: 1750-1999 )
# Name ID Rtng Tot Prize
1 John Doknjas 141225 1997 – 6.5
2 Hugh Siddeley 120619 1996
3 Stephan Tonakanian 150629 1974
4 Jonathan Yu 126131 1971 - 6
5 Alexander Strugach 151677 1963 - 6
6 Jordon Palmer 127560 1947 – 6.5
7 Richard Garel 105218 1942
8 Paul Leblanc 104186 1924 - 6
9 Manuela Renteria 152627 1922
10 David Poirier 106289 1906
11 Ed Zator 105675 1902
12 Steve Nickoloff 108201 1872
13 Greg Stavropoulos 108628 1872
14 Mario Moran-Venegas 143315 1864
15 Musa Jamshed 144462 1850
16 Bruce Dowling 112688 1847
17 Perry Vishal Johnson 152904 1846
18 Sam Haziprodromu 106156 1843 – 6
19 Nicholas O'Bumsawin 151261 1831
20 Pacifico Cortez 149343 1830
21 Shafkat Ali 149142 1823
22 Mathew G Cooke 126311 1799
23 Patrick Yu 143209 1796
24 Mark Jubenville 106764 1790
25 Greg Beal 101490 1777
26 Patrick O'Sullivan 149300 1758
After Rd.8, out of the 72 players in our group, 2 now have 6.5/8 points – junior John Doknjas, the highest ranked player, and Jordan Palmer. A great final round playoff on Bd. 1 is in the offing. Also, should top board draw, then there are 4 players ½ pt. behind, and some of them could tie for first with a win. Exciting!
Because new readers come to the blog from time to time, I want them to have the following information, and so I am repeating the template of it each day – I’d ask the daily readers of the blog to tolerate the repetition
I like to think “ class “ games have some interest. I believe in some ways they are more educational to class players than GM games, if properly annotated. They are understandable, because we all think similarly – GM moves are many times incomprehensible to us class players. For years now, I’ve used a chess website, Chess5 ( http://www.chess5.com ), as my own personal chess games blog – I have gotten to know the owner/administrator Eydun, quite well over the years. I introduced Canada to his website, after I first saw it. Canada is now one of the main posters to this on-line databank. I post all my games, using what I call my “ Comprehensive Annotation System “, hoping that this makes them even more helpful to viewers. Click on the heading link “ public games “. and you get a list of games posted this month so far, including mine from this Open.
So I am posting my games as soon as I can after the round. The games may not be dramatic, but I hope they are interesting enough, and there is something that can be learned.
In my Rd. 8 game, Pacifico and I agreed that I had a crushing middle game, went up a pawn, and had it passed and on the 6th rank with winning chances. But Pacifico defended well, and blockaded the pawn, and it was difficult to see how to convert the advantage. Then, in very mild time pressure, I blundered a piece – sigh! – that’s part of chess too. Have to put it behind you and go into the next round with a clean slate.
The Evening
After the round 8, the organizers had arranged for a free showing of the Canadian chess movie ( a comedy! ), Ivory Tower. Mario and I went to get something to eat, and then he and I, and Scarborough CC Secretary, Steve Karpik, and his wife, Susan, went to see it together. After the film ( which was an interesting and funny take on the fundamental character of chess ), Mario and I headed home by public transit. We did our thing on our computers for a while, and then analyzed our games ( Mario won; I lost ). Mario then went to bed, and I headed upstairs to finalize this Rd. 8 Blog.
The Wee Hours of This Morning ( July 17 )
I found that the pairings were posted and so I was able to complete the Blog and post it about 12:30 AM. After the Blog, I decided to continue analyzing my game from Rd. 7 ( Thomson ). But I also decided I’d go to bed by 2:00 AM, since we had to be up about 7:30 AM, since Rd. 9 was coming early, later this morning at 10:00 AM.
The Rd. 9 Pairings ( July 17 ) – U 2000 Top Boards
With 2 player having a score of 6.5/8 pts. after 8 rounds, I will also show the pairings of those 4 who are ½ pt. behind. Here are the top board pairings for Rd. 9:
72 Jordan Palmer (1947)...........John Doknjas (1997)
73 Jonathan Yu (1971)............Sam Haziprodromu (1843)
74 Alexander Strugach (1963)...Paul Leblanc (1924)
My Round 9 Game This Morning ( July 17 ):
As a result of my Rd. 8 loss, I have been paired down for the 6th time, having only 4/8 pts. Here is my Rd. 9 pairing for later this morning:
90 Bryant Yang (1618) - Robert J Armstrong (1740)
Some Random Thoughts After 8 Days
Hard to believe that we are now finishing – Rd. 9 later this morning. Where did 9 days go? They have absolutely screamed by. And they have been most enjoyable ( despite some less than sparkling chess ). And our group, the U 2000 section, has been a horse-race from the start. The two co-leaders play off on first board later today for the $ 1,000 first prize. And the top players have generally been coming to the top. All players in the top 6 are over 1900 except one, at 1843. There will be some interesting games in the final round.
I was very pleased to see that this year’s Toronto CO surpassed the total players for last year in Toronto – 276 vs 265 last year. It shows that a successful CO can be put on with a decent turnout. Not like the Fischer days, but those days are long gone. This year’s organizers have worked hard ( Ted Winick, Dave Cohen, and team ) to put on a first-rate tournament, and they have achieved their goal. It will be encouraging to future CO bidders ( though there is still a modest loss, and some careful tweaking of the budget is needed to avoid this in future ).
Invitation.
I'd like again to invite everyone to join into the discussion - any comments, suggestion s, questions, criticisms of the blog are welcome - and of anything to do with the Can. Open. I will try to respond if that seems appropriate. Any comments from other members of the U 2000 section would be especially welcome!
Bob
Last edited by Bob Armstrong; Sunday, 17th July, 2011, 12:38 AM.
After another frustrating loss yesterday, I finished the tournament on a positive note today with a quick win. My opponent, who seemed a bit out of form, blundered a rook right in the opening and resigned a couple of moves later. So I finish with 3.5 / 9 (2+, 3=, 4-), a bit of a disappointment considering that I had a good or at least playable position in almost all my games. Then again, I was paired up in all rounds except the last, so maybe my score isn't so bad. By my estimation I should actually gain a few rating points and perhaps exceed 1600, which would qualify me for the middle (U2000) section at Scarborough Chess Club come September.
Finally, my compliments to the organizers and TDs for putting on a very enjoyable tournament! Maybe it's too much to expect the 2012 CO to return to the Centre of the Universe :D, but if it`s in Vancouver or Victoria (as I heard it might be), I might convince my wife to go on a West Coast vacation next year :)
Starting Off Right – The Wee Hours of the Morning ( July 17 )
After coming home from Rd. 8 , Mario and I did our thing on the computer for about half an hour, and then analyzed our games ( I’d lost; he’d won ). Then he went to bed, and I went upstairs to do my Rd. 8 ( July 16 ) Blog. The pairings were posted on MonRoi, so I was able to post earlier than usual – 12:30 AM. After the Blog, I decided to continue analyzing my game from Rd. 7 ( Thomson ). But I also had decided I’d go to bed by 2:00 AM, since we had to be up about 7:30 AM, since Rd. 9 was coming early, this morning at 10:00 AM. But by 1:00 AM, my 3 hr. sleep the night before caught up with me, and so I went to bed early.
Later that Morning
I woke up at 7:00 AM, getting 6 hours sleep! ( my longest night’s sleep all tournament! ) I did some chess politics stuff on the computer initially. When Mario got up, I whipped us up the traditional “ Meaford Breakfast “. During breakfast, a call came in from past CFC President, Bob Gillanders, who asked me to give a message to David Cohen before Rd. 9 started. So Mario and I headed out for the playing hall at a bit before 9:00 AM ( on Sunday the subway doesn’t start ‘til 9 ), to get there a bit early. When we arrived, David advised that the issue of concern had already been dealt with and all was fine. So efficient these organizers! Rd. 9 started at 10:00 AM.
U 2000 Group ( 74 players ) Rd. 9 Results
Here are the results for the top players ( 2 in first, and 4 tied for 3rd, ½ pt. back ):
72 .5 Jordan Palmer (1947)..........5 John Doknjas (1997)
73 0 Jonathan Yu (1971).............1 Sam Haziprodromu (1843)
74 1 Alexander Strugach (1963)....0 Paul Leblanc (1924)
The U 2000 Group & Final Standings
Here are the favourites ( 1900 & Over : 11 ), and the “ dark horses “ ( 1750 – 1899 : 15 ) and showing the 4 co-leaders, as well as the 2 players tied for fifth, ½ pt. back:
Pinnacle 48th Canadian Open Chess Championship 2011:
UNDER 2000 SECTION
74 players ( 26: 1750-1999 )
# Name ID Rtng Tot Prize
1 John Doknjas 141225 1997 – 7
2 Hugh Siddeley 120619 1996 -6.5
3 Stephan Tonakanian 150629 1974 – 6.5
4 Jonathan Yu 126131 1971
5 Alexander Strugach 151677 1963 - 7
6 Jordon Palmer 127560 1947 – 7
7 Richard Garel 105218 1942
8 Paul Leblanc 104186 1924
9 Manuela Renteria 152627 1922
10 David Poirier 106289 1906
11 Ed Zator 105675 1902
12 Steve Nickoloff 108201 1872
13 Greg Stavropoulos 108628 1872
14 Mario Moran-Venegas 143315 1864
15 Musa Jamshed 144462 1850
16 Bruce Dowling 112688 1847
17 Perry Vishal Johnson 152904 1846
18 Sam Haziprodromu 106156 1843 – 7 !!
19 Nicholas O'Bumsawin 151261 1831
20 Pacifico Cortez 149343 1830
21 Shafkat Ali 149142 1823
22 Mathew G Cooke 126311 1799
23 Patrick Yu 143209 1796
24 Mark Jubenville 106764 1790
25 Greg Beal 101490 1777
26 Patrick O'Sullivan 149300 1758
In normal standings order, here are the top finishers:
1 John Doknjas 7.0
2 Alexander Strugach 7.0
3 Jordan Palmer 7.0
4 Sam Haziprodromu 7.0
5 Hugh Siddeley 6.5
6 Stephan Tonakanian 6.5
7 Jonathan Yu 6.0
8 Paul Leblanc 6.0
9 Ed Zator 6.0
10 Jack Triefeldt 6.0
11 Tom Muir 6.0
In Rd. 9, my score was:
90 0 Bryant Yang (1618) - 1 Robert J Armstrong (1740)
- leaves me with 5/9 pts. ( 56 % ) – 4 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses ( these were the three times I was paired up )
My Round 9 Game
Because new readers come to the blog from time to time, I want them to have the following information, and so I am repeating the template of it each day – I’d ask the daily readers of the blog to tolerate the repetition
I like to think “ class “ games have some interest. I believe in some ways they are more educational to class players than GM games, if properly annotated. They are understandable, because we all think similarly – GM moves are many times incomprehensible to us class players. For years now, I’ve used a chess website, Chess5 ( http://www.chess5.com ), as my own personal chess games blog – I have gotten to know the owner/administrator Eydun, quite well over the years. I introduced Canada to his website, after I first saw it. Canada is now one of the main posters to this on-line databank. I post all my games, using what I call my “ Comprehensive Annotation System “, hoping that this makes them even more helpful to viewers. Click on the heading link “ public games “. and you get a list of games posted this month so far, including mine from this Open.
So I am posting my games as soon as I can after the round. The games may not be dramatic, but I hope they are interesting enough, and there is something that can be learned.
In my Rd. 9 game, I seemed to have a very good attack on Bryant’s King on the queen-side ( he had castled long ). But Bryant defended well, and pieces got exchanged, and my attack evaporated. In the late middle game I got down to one minute but made time control and we were into a rook + pawns ending. I eventually threatened to win at least one pawn, and Bryant resigned.
The Afternoon
The temperature at Pearson at 4:00 PM was 34.6 C, which is a new record for July 17. The previous high of 34.4 C was recorded in 2002. So it was a great afternoon to still be playing chess inside. I finished about 2:00 PM., and so my Scarborough CC friend, Pino Verde, and I, went out to get a light snack, since it looked like we might not start eating ‘til 6:00 PM. - the awards banquet was to start at 5:00 PM, with drinks/mingling at 4:00 PM, and we expected the awards might be given out before we started eating. At the diner, we met Sam Haziprodromu ( who beat me in Rd. 6 ) – he had managed to get into the 4-way tie for first in our group.
Pino and I then went to get a drink or two before dinner. I got a chance to talk to a number of people – SCC Treasurer, Andrew Philip; former SCC Officer at large, Rick Garel ( who prepared the trivia quiz ); SCC President, Maurice Smith; BC CFC Governor Paul Leblanc and his wife; CFC Past President, Bob Gillanders; SCC Secretary, Steve Karpik; new CFC Director of Fund-raising, Brian Fiedler; SCC member Dave Southam, and his parents; and a number of others. Then we went in to dinner.
. The Evening
They had 151 attending the closing banquet, and the organizers had assembled for us a Scarborough CC table. That proved very pleasant, and the conversation was lively. The meal was quite nice, and then I left a bit early, because I’d told Mario Moran-Venegas, my SCC friend who’d stayed over at my place for the tournament, that I’d meet him when he returned to my place to pick up his stuff. But it seems we just missed each other – left a very kind “ thank you “ note – it made the tournament that much more fun for both of us, hanging out together during the tournament !
So I went upstairs, and the final results were posted, so I finished this Rd. 9/Final Blog. I would have posted it, but had to get in a call to my sister-in-law on her long-awaited promotion to Vice-Principle in the Southwestern Ontario separate school system! But I got it posted about 10:15 PM,
Some Random Thoughts After a Great 9 Days
This is my 6th consecutive Canadian Open ( 2006 - Kitchener, Ontario; 2007 – Ottawa, Ontario; 2008 – Montreal, Quebec [ I had gotten a ride to this one with Mario, and we’d stayed at the same university residence ]; 2009 – Edmonton, Alberta; 2010 – Toronto, Ontario. ). And I can easily say that it is my 6th consecutive “ awesome chess holiday “. For those who have never tried an Open, I can only say that if the opportunity arises, go for it – it is a unique tournament in the Canadian chess calendar, and well worth the sacrifices that may be involved. And “ no “, the organizers, and the CFC, have not paid for this illustrious testimonial!
All I can say is that it’s been fun and hopefully, see you all next summer in Victoria! And maybe there’ll be a next year’s installment of the U 2000 Blog coming at you from there.
Bob ( The Happy Warrior )
Last edited by Bob Armstrong; Sunday, 17th July, 2011, 10:34 PM.
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