The favorite, GM Lazaro Bruzon (7/9, $4000), from Cuba, won the Invitational Section, the strongest ever in a Quebec Open (+2350 average FIDE rating). He finished half a point ahead of two other undefeated grandmasters, Eduardas Rozentalis (Lithuania-$1583) and Elshan Moradiabadi (Iran- $1083). On the last round, the latter two drew on the first board while Bruzon beat IM Gerzhoy (5,5/9) in a very high-stake game Bruzon needed to win to secure the tournament whereas Gerzhoy needed to draw to obtain his Grandmaster title (he already had all the requirements, missing only one norm). GM Anton Kovalyov (6,5/9) shares the second place ($833) with Rozentalis and Moradiabadi, adding up the Gowlings Prize (best player from Quebec – $1500). Although many norms were missed by a few performance points, FM Aleksandr Ostrovsky (US) was the only one to secure his IM norm. His 5/9 score against 5 GMs and 4 IMs is very impressive.
He is not the only one who played well against titled players. IMs Aman Hambleton and Bindi Cheng both scored 2,5/4 against GMs. IMs Raja Panjwani (2,5/5) and Richard Wang (1,5/3) held their own, as well as IM Arthur Calugar and Razvan Preotu, who respectively scalped Kovalyov and Sambuev (1st round).
In the other sections :
( complete standings )
Open : Thierry Libersan (7/9, $1000) got 3,5 points out of his last four games, pulling himself ahead of the experienced master Arkadiusz Luksza (6,5/9 , $550) and the young James Fu (6,5/9, $550).
U2000 : Roman Sarrazin-Gendron (7/9, $800), who managed to create himself a full-point lead after seven games, collapsed and only salvaged half a point in his last two games. However, it was enough to secure the first place, half a point ahead of second place finishers Jonathan Turcotte and Alexis Langlois-Rémillard (6,5/9, $400).
U1700 : This section ended with a three-way tie for the first place. David Zhou (who won the U1800 World Open) and Yang Tian Jiao Shi share the first place with Sam Selmani, who finished the tournament with 5 wins in a row. They win $400.
U1300 : Alain Ouimet (7,5/9 , $400) finished very well, winning his last five games. Runner-ups Zi Yu Gan and Pierre Dimov both scored 7/9 and earned $250.
Side Events
Blitz Tournament :
GM Anton Kovalyov and IM Bindi Cheng share the first prize, half a point ahead of Bruzon. 71 players participated. Here is the head of the standings :
1. GM Anton Kovalyov 10/12 – 350$
2. IM Bindi Cheng 10/12 - 350$
3. GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista 9,5/12 – 200$
4. GM Reynaldo Vera 9/12 – 50$
5. IM Mackenzie Molner 9/12 – 50$
Bughouse tournament :
12 teams played in the first Quebec Bughouse Championship. It was a 5 double rounds tournament with no guaranteed prizes, and it is a success for a first edition :
1. IM Bindi Cheng and IM Arthur Calugar (120$ from registration fees), 8/10
2. IM Aman Hambleton and GM Eric Hansen, 8/10 (lost tiebreaks)
3. FM Lefong Hua and GM Ioan Cristian Chirila, 7/10
4. IM Richard Wang and Ryan Lo, 7/10
Arencibia Simul. : Cuban GM Walter Arencibia gave a simul on July 22, against 15 players. Only one managed to draw ; Christine Gao, who also got the only draw at the Canadian Open’s simul (against Reynaldo Vera).
Mini-COQ : This small four rounds tournament took place on the first weekend on the Quebec Open. 1st : Jeroen Struben 4/4 - $300 . 2nd : Roman Sarrazin-Gendron and Sang Kil Kay, 3,5/4 - $150
Pictures and Games
Rene Preotu took wonderful pictures of the venue : https://picasaweb.google.com/1059778...MDex9LgvaWWswE
Alan Luo, one of the best North American pianists of his age category, played a Haydn sonata before the 9th round : https://picasaweb.google.com/1059778...85166700462034
All the games from the invitational section : http://canbase.fqechecs.qc.ca/cbv/20102019/2013_coq.pgn
Next year :
The Quebec Chess Federation will be organizing the next Canadian Youth Chess Championship (CYCC), as well as the Canadian Open. The tournaments will take place between the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Just for Laughs festival (end of July), in an easily accessible place, near the center of Montreal although the exact venue is not confirmed yet. Details will follow, but we already know 2013 CYCC winners will be invited to play for free. Furthermore, participants of the CYCC will get to play in the Canadian Open for free. We will try our best to obtain discounts on the accommodation for both tournaments. We had a lot of success with the 2013 Quebec Open tournament structure (big invitational + class sections), so we intend to try to expand it to a bigger tournament like the Canadian Open and hopefully have at least 350 players.
Conclusion
The 2013 Quebec Open was quite a success, but this kind of tournament needs a lot of hard working people to function correctly:
Thanks to our sponsors : Sponge Towels, Gowlings, Molson, Oasis, Van Houtte and Pepsico
Thanks to Chess’n Math, official supplier of the Quebec Chess Federation, who offered chess books, DVDs and material on the spot.
Thanks to our arbiters Pierre Dénommée, Danny Goldenberg (invitational), Alexandre Ber, Bernard Ouimet and Raymond Desjardins
Thanks to our volunteers, Vital Roy, Marc Poulin, Pierre Hébert, Line Lamontagne, and to our PGN team : Hugh Brodie, Luc Gauthier and Daniel Prégent
Thanks to the tournament director, Richard Bérubé, who worked more hours than humanly possible in the last weeks, as well as his assistant Félix Dumont
Most of all, thanks to our 270 players who made the tournament happen by participating.
He is not the only one who played well against titled players. IMs Aman Hambleton and Bindi Cheng both scored 2,5/4 against GMs. IMs Raja Panjwani (2,5/5) and Richard Wang (1,5/3) held their own, as well as IM Arthur Calugar and Razvan Preotu, who respectively scalped Kovalyov and Sambuev (1st round).
In the other sections :
( complete standings )
Open : Thierry Libersan (7/9, $1000) got 3,5 points out of his last four games, pulling himself ahead of the experienced master Arkadiusz Luksza (6,5/9 , $550) and the young James Fu (6,5/9, $550).
U2000 : Roman Sarrazin-Gendron (7/9, $800), who managed to create himself a full-point lead after seven games, collapsed and only salvaged half a point in his last two games. However, it was enough to secure the first place, half a point ahead of second place finishers Jonathan Turcotte and Alexis Langlois-Rémillard (6,5/9, $400).
U1700 : This section ended with a three-way tie for the first place. David Zhou (who won the U1800 World Open) and Yang Tian Jiao Shi share the first place with Sam Selmani, who finished the tournament with 5 wins in a row. They win $400.
U1300 : Alain Ouimet (7,5/9 , $400) finished very well, winning his last five games. Runner-ups Zi Yu Gan and Pierre Dimov both scored 7/9 and earned $250.
Side Events
Blitz Tournament :
GM Anton Kovalyov and IM Bindi Cheng share the first prize, half a point ahead of Bruzon. 71 players participated. Here is the head of the standings :
1. GM Anton Kovalyov 10/12 – 350$
2. IM Bindi Cheng 10/12 - 350$
3. GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista 9,5/12 – 200$
4. GM Reynaldo Vera 9/12 – 50$
5. IM Mackenzie Molner 9/12 – 50$
Bughouse tournament :
12 teams played in the first Quebec Bughouse Championship. It was a 5 double rounds tournament with no guaranteed prizes, and it is a success for a first edition :
1. IM Bindi Cheng and IM Arthur Calugar (120$ from registration fees), 8/10
2. IM Aman Hambleton and GM Eric Hansen, 8/10 (lost tiebreaks)
3. FM Lefong Hua and GM Ioan Cristian Chirila, 7/10
4. IM Richard Wang and Ryan Lo, 7/10
Arencibia Simul. : Cuban GM Walter Arencibia gave a simul on July 22, against 15 players. Only one managed to draw ; Christine Gao, who also got the only draw at the Canadian Open’s simul (against Reynaldo Vera).
Mini-COQ : This small four rounds tournament took place on the first weekend on the Quebec Open. 1st : Jeroen Struben 4/4 - $300 . 2nd : Roman Sarrazin-Gendron and Sang Kil Kay, 3,5/4 - $150
Pictures and Games
Rene Preotu took wonderful pictures of the venue : https://picasaweb.google.com/1059778...MDex9LgvaWWswE
Alan Luo, one of the best North American pianists of his age category, played a Haydn sonata before the 9th round : https://picasaweb.google.com/1059778...85166700462034
All the games from the invitational section : http://canbase.fqechecs.qc.ca/cbv/20102019/2013_coq.pgn
Next year :
The Quebec Chess Federation will be organizing the next Canadian Youth Chess Championship (CYCC), as well as the Canadian Open. The tournaments will take place between the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Just for Laughs festival (end of July), in an easily accessible place, near the center of Montreal although the exact venue is not confirmed yet. Details will follow, but we already know 2013 CYCC winners will be invited to play for free. Furthermore, participants of the CYCC will get to play in the Canadian Open for free. We will try our best to obtain discounts on the accommodation for both tournaments. We had a lot of success with the 2013 Quebec Open tournament structure (big invitational + class sections), so we intend to try to expand it to a bigger tournament like the Canadian Open and hopefully have at least 350 players.
Conclusion
The 2013 Quebec Open was quite a success, but this kind of tournament needs a lot of hard working people to function correctly:
Thanks to our sponsors : Sponge Towels, Gowlings, Molson, Oasis, Van Houtte and Pepsico
Thanks to Chess’n Math, official supplier of the Quebec Chess Federation, who offered chess books, DVDs and material on the spot.
Thanks to our arbiters Pierre Dénommée, Danny Goldenberg (invitational), Alexandre Ber, Bernard Ouimet and Raymond Desjardins
Thanks to our volunteers, Vital Roy, Marc Poulin, Pierre Hébert, Line Lamontagne, and to our PGN team : Hugh Brodie, Luc Gauthier and Daniel Prégent
Thanks to the tournament director, Richard Bérubé, who worked more hours than humanly possible in the last weeks, as well as his assistant Félix Dumont
Most of all, thanks to our 270 players who made the tournament happen by participating.
Comment