CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

[Ken Kurkowski]

(Originally posted on the Cooperative Chess Coalition ( CCC ) Facebook discussion group, “ CCC – Chess Posts of Interest ).

This being Canada Day, I thought I’d post my list (in no particular order) of the Top 10 moments in Canadian Chess history, just to show that while we may not be one of the big chess powers in the world, the Royal Game has had some illustrious moments in this country. My criteria for the above were roughly: significant world chess events that took place in Canada or significant achievements by Canadian players. Please feel free to comment!

• World Chess Festival, Saint John NB 1988 (one of the largest chess events in this country: candidates matches, world blitz won by Tal..., several Open tournaments)
• Man and His World Chess Challenge Cup, Montreal 1979 (RR tournament featuring most of the top GMs of that time – Karpov and Tal finished tied for first)
• Fischer – Taimanov World Championship Candidates Match, Vancouver 1971 (Bobby won 6-0!)
• Steinitz – Lasker World Championship Match (1st part), (concluding games held in Montreal, 1894)
• Centennial Tournament, Winnipeg 1967 ( then-world champ Spassky participated)
• Quebec Open 1972 (746 players, most ever in Canada)
• Abe Yanofsky defeats reigning World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, Netherlands, 1946
• Kevin Spraggett defeats I. Sokolov in Candidates Match, Saint John 1988
• Pascal Charbonneau defeats V. Anand at the Chess Olympiad, 2006.
• Toronto hosts World Junior Championship, 1957 (William Lombardy wins with perfect 11-0 score!)

Ken Kurkowski, CCC member

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

• Abe Yanofsky defeats reigning World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, Netherlands 1946

Not reigning.
Future — yes. (1948-


As chess achievement - Spraggett's win
As chess events, Montreal'79 and World blitz ch 1988 with Tal

[Emil Smilovici]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

• Centennial Tournament, Winnipeg 1967 ( then-world champ Spassky participated)

Spassky was the world champion between 1969 and 1972

Happy Canada Day! :)

[Vlad Dobrich]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

CNE Open 1971

The only time in the history of chess that a world champion (Boris Spassky) ever played in a weekend swiss. Never happened before - will probably never happen again.

[Hikaru Nakamura]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

Be careful...if I become world champion, I'll make sure to prove you wrong!

[Vlad Dobrich]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

Hikaru, if you become World Champion I'll invite you to play in a weekend swiss
which I will organize - just to keep the record complete as I organized AND directed the 1971 CNE Labour Day Open at the CNE with Spassky, Benko, Browne, Bisguire and Robert Byrne.

Deal?

Vlad D

[Aris Marghetis]

message for Hikaru

Hi Hikaru, a little while back, I sent an email to press@hikarunakamura.com

I don't know if you ever had the chance to review it, but in a nutshell, an Ontario chess benefactor was willing to support providing you a 4-figure deal to participate in an Ontario weekend chess event. If that might interest you, please email me at your convenience.

Thanks and regards,
IA/IO Aris Marghetis
arismarghetis@rogers.com

[Hikaru Nakamura]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

Hello Aris,

I am unaware of such an email. Thanks for the offer, but I am not interested in competing in Eastern Canada. Everything I do in Canada is for the chess community in British Columbia. Most of my best friends are out here in Vancouver, and I try to give back as best I can in the form of trying to promote chess.

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

Candidates Matches 1988 was part of the World Chess Festival, though I agree that the WCF could easily have two mentions on the list.

If you include Vlad's Toronto Labour Day 1971, then you might feel the need to make an even dozen, and might consider Vancouver 1975. Disclaimer: I was involved. With 320 players, it is the largest adult event in Western Canada. It had some prize fund mark, though with inflation maybe that isn't exceptional anymore. It was the last victory of Paul Keres before his tragic death.

[Aris Marghetis]

message for Hikaru

Hello Aris,

I am unaware of such an email. Thanks for the offer, but I am not interested in competing in Eastern Canada. Everything I do in Canada is for the chess community in British Columbia. Most of my best friends are out here in Vancouver, and I try to give back as best I can in the form of trying to promote chess.

Hi Hikaru, thanks for your reply. Behind the scenes here, a group of chess diehards who also love what you stand for in chess, have been adding to an impressive invitation package to try and get you out here for a weekender. It sounds like you are not in it for the money, but this package seems, to me anyway, to have enough financial incentive.

If you ever change your mind, even might be interested, please feel free to email me.

Best regards, Aris.
arismarghetis@rogers.com

[Erik Malmsten]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

The list is pretty good. I would put in Spassky playing the Labour Day. Mentioning one Quebec Open brings up other Opens. I would think any tournament in which a Canadian scored a GM norm would be significant. North Bay and the Ottawa Canadian Open?

There was the World Computer Championship and man versus machine match 1977.

Frank Anderson played a radio game with Bondarevsky in 1954, who then visited Toronto a few months later.

The largest international event in Canada was a border match against the US played in several cities.

Jonathan Berry's blindfold world record.

Canada won bronze in a correspondence Olympiad, half the moves played in Canada.

A different list of Canadian outside of Canada would include Jason Cao's World Championship, 13 Olympiad board prizes, World Student Team bronze, U of T won several Pan-Ams and GM norms abroad. Haley directing the Olympiads?

Another list would be of top moments in Canadian Chess which would include the first Canadian Open in Montreal, Chess Chat and Chess Canada magazines, 1939 Olympiad team, Quebec Open 1972, Vancouver 1975, becoming a FIDE zone, ...

David Cohen has some interesting stuff on his website:
http://web.ncf.ca/bw998/CanadianChes...essTopics.html
http://www.canadianchess.info/canadi...sFunFacts.html

[Jean Hébert]

Re : CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

(Originally posted on the Cooperative Chess Coalition ( CCC ) Facebook discussion group, “ CCC – Chess Posts of Interest ).

This being Canada Day, I thought I’d post my list (in no particular order) of the Top 10 moments in Canadian Chess history, just to show that while we may not be one of the big chess powers in the world, the Royal Game has had some illustrious moments in this country. My criteria for the above were roughly: significant world chess events that took place in Canada or significant achievements by Canadian players. Please feel free to comment!

• World Chess Festival, Saint John NB 1988 (one of the largest chess events in this country: candidates matches, world blitz won by Tal..., several Open tournaments)
• Man and His World Chess Challenge Cup, Montreal 1979 (RR tournament featuring most of the top GMs of that time – Karpov and Tal finished tied for first)
• Fischer – Taimanov World Championship Candidates Match, Vancouver 1971 (Bobby won 6-0!)
• Steinitz – Lasker World Championship Match (1st part), (concluding games held in Montreal, 1894)
• Centennial Tournament, Winnipeg 1967 ( then-world champ Spassky participated)
• Quebec Open 1972 (746 players, most ever in Canada)
• Abe Yanofsky defeats reigning World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, Netherlands, 1946
• Kevin Spraggett defeats I. Sokolov in Candidates Match, Saint John 1988
• Pascal Charbonneau defeats V. Anand at the Chess Olympiad, 2006.
• Toronto hosts World Junior Championship, 1957 (William Lombardy wins with perfect 11-0 score!)

Ken Kurkowski, CCC member

Unable to contribute to these "great moments of Canadian chess" I had to settle for writing some of the "dark moments in canadian chess" (e.g. bright moments in Quebec chess :))
1) in 1978 I became the first francophone in over a century and one of the youngest ever to win a Canadian Closed;
2) in 1995 in Paris, I won an international open event with 8,5/9, and a performance of 2710. Surely a dark moment uncommon for a Canadian abroad.
3) in 2009 I won the Canadian Closed a second time (quite decisively one point in front of young and brilliant GM Mark Bluvshtein) at age 51 (one of the oldest ever), 31 years after the first title, an absolute record I believe.
4) This year (at age 54...) I had the good fortune to beat the current canadian champion and first board on the national team, the formidable Bator Sambuev (CFC rated 2700+) three times in a row in as many weekenders.

What can I say ? Everyone can contribute within his own limited way... :)

[Stephen Wright]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

No one seems to have mentioned the 1971 Canadian Open which featured Boris Spassky (who really was world champion at the time)

[Dan Scoones]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

In 1991, Dr Nathan Divinsky and Dr Francisco Cabanas hosted the World Microcomputer Championship at International House at UBC.

[Erik Malmsten]

Re: CCC Discusses Chess - Posts of Interest - Great Moments in Canadian Chess

I wanted to check out what was called the largest international match for the time, although largely taking place in the US:

As reported in Charles Crompton’s Toronto Daily Star Chess column, July 16, 1949

Canada – USA International Chess Match
Sunday, July 2, 1949

Site USA-Canada
Bangor, ME 4.5-13.5
Berlin, NH 2-6
Vergennes, VT 4-0
Elizabethtown, NY 7-3
Buffalo, NY 29.5-23.5
Port Huron, MI 2.5-2.5
Detroit Lakes, MN 15.5-9.5
Regina, SK 1-1
Waterton Lakes, AB 14-10
Seattle, WA 36.5-17.5
Total 116.5-86.5

Later in the month 7 Canadians went to Texas to play in the US Junior. CFC President Bernard Freedman had a hand in both events and he noted that Toronto had at least 400 teen-aged boys and that in 3 or 4 years there will be 5 times as many players.