Elaine Howie Fund Top 12

Very difficult to narrow down, but here are the 12 finalists - congratulations, ONE of you will win the 2010 EH Fund award!

Yue Tong (Davy) Zhao
Luke Pulfer
Nicole Birarov
Patrick Angelo Tolentino
Varshini Paraparan
Jamil F. Kassam
Daniel Zotkin
Derick Aghamalian
Jeff Zhang
Razvan Preotu
Juliaan Posaratnanathan
Yuekai Wang

If your name is above, send me an email (checkmateupdate@gmail.com) for information on receiving a Top 12 certificate and prize.

If you know any of these juniors, please inform them of this achievement!

Main criteria used to judge:

- Must be a junior, under the age of 18
- Must be a member of both the CFC and CMA
- Must appear in the Top 50 list for their grade/age group in 2010
- Displays commitment through participation in a variety of tournaments in 2010; active tournaments count for participation; at-home matches do not count
- Substantial rating growth in both CFC (regular rating) and CMA in 2010
- General consistency - for instance, performance ratings generally higher than ratings entering tournaments
- Preference is given to those who achieved a score of 50% or more in a few large events (provincial, national, continental), particularly the CYCC
- Significant achievements/performances/training/teamwork are considered
- Rating progress for new players is judged based on their first rating, where available, rather than zero
- Factors such as province, gender, school, chess club, etc. are considered irrelevant in the selection process

Exclusions:

- Anyone affiliated with me or my blog, such as past students, co-instructors, and library volunteers, is excluded from receiving the monetary prize
- Anyone known to be receiving funding from another source (like CMA) is also excluded
- In future years, the fund cannot be claimed by the same recipient unless the fund structure changes significantly

More information to come...