A 'Handy' Brain Teaser

How many hands might you find at a standard chess game involving two people?
Assume there are no other people around, and pieces do not have hands.

(Answer below)

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
V

Answer: Eight! Two hands per player and two sets of hands on a chess clock (if it is analog).

GM Mark Bluvshtein at WLU

This event was held quite awhile ago (Mar. 30), but I thought I should post these photos anyway:

Mark did a great job communicating with participants. Above, he answered a question before the start of this participant's game. As you can see, when Mark speaks, he commands attention of everyone around him - people were so interested in what he had to say!

Mark made his way around the simul tables at a very fast pace. Sometimes he would stop at a board, but rarely stand directly in front of it. Above, you can see his angled posture - ready to take down his next opponent!

Making another move...

...and proceeding once again.

I would call this my 'front row seat', at least for a simul. Notice the intensity!

The camera on my phone has a cool black and white option. Personally, I think photos look very artistic in black and white.

My 'front row seat' view in black and white.

Here he comes!

Crowds grew quite large throughout the simul. Students, faculty members, even parents and people from the community! Above, my photo got squeezed out by the crowd, but I love it!

More crowds!

People were literally standing everywhere!

This photo was a bit of a joke. My friend didn't want me to take a picture of him playing his game, so we agreed his hand could be famous instead :)

There were a bunch of cool Laurier posters that completely roll up after use (talk about convenient storage!) and a microphone for announcements + speeches. At the microphone above is Dr. Hasan Shodiev, a physics professor interested in promoting chess at Laurier. He organized the whole event!

We also had a few journalists and photographers! Smile!

Even that chair was intimidating :)

A few people rolled their eyes when I took this photo, but I couldn't help it. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful building!

Mark's sponsors donated an assortment of chess equipment, including this giant display board, for use in the WLU Chess Club next year. I will be the incoming president of the club, and will work with Dr. Shodiev to organize activities + a team. I was surprised when Mark said there wasn't really a chess team he could play on when he was at York University, yet this simul alone gave him a lot of positive energy. Therefore, I hope to see chess increase at the academic level (especially in universities) in the future!

Thanks to GM Mark Bluvshtein and Dr. Hasan Shodiev for an amazing event!

P.S. Mark won all his games!

2011 OGCC Happy Face Pin Coupon

I will be volunteering at the 2011 Ontario Girls' Chess Championships on May 7. If you wish to receive a free happy face pin (blog gift) at the event, please print this coupon. Note that only the first five coupons presented to me in person at this event will be accepted. One free pin per family. You do not need to be a participant in the OGCC to claim the gift. Expires May 7 at 4 pm.

OGCC site: http://www.freewebs.com/ogcc/

Would You Rather? - my answers

1. Would you rather play chess in a room that's a bit too bright or a bit too dark?

Seeing that I already like to dim my computer screen, I guess I'd prefer a bit dark to a bit bright in a chess room.

2. Would you rather have a chess-themed picnic or chess-themed campfire?

Picnic...as long as no one invites the ants :) I've never been much of a camping person.

3. Would you rather receive a bag of promotional items (pens, coupons, etc.) or free refreshments (water, coffee, juice, etc.) at a chess tournament?

Well, with a sore throat right now, I feel biased towards refreshments. However, on a usual day, I would prefer the promotional bag - I love surprises! Plus, I suppose a promotional bag means the tournament got sponsorship, which is a huge benefit for chess.

4. Would you rather have a friend/family member play on the board next to you or on the other side of the room?

Next to me, especially if we're on the same team. It's nice having family support nearby (just not in front - wouldn't really want to play against a family member unless it's for fun).

5. Would you rather play a chess game in a beautiful plaza (with cafe, fountain, trees, etc.) or next to a beautiful ocean?

Hmmm...maybe a plaza. I'm picturing one in Europe, or in Boston (Harvard Square is beautiful).

6. Would you rather play online chess games under your own name or a made-up name?

I don't play online chess much, but since it's just for practice/fun, I would make up a name to change things up a bit.

7. Would you rather play chess on top of the Great Wall of China or directly below the Eiffel Tower?

Part of me thinks the Great Wall would be amazing, but I don't think I could handle the smog. You can't see much directly beneath the Eiffel Tower (I've been there once before, after the WYCC), but I would probably choose that option anyway, play my game, then go up the Eiffel Tower or walk to another area of Paris to enjoy the wonderful sights!!! Now, if only someone would pay my travels fees :)

8. Would you rather come to a chess tournament on a bad hair day or after getting only four hours of sleep?

Again, this would depend on the circumstance. If I've been getting a lot of sleep most days, and only four hours one night, I would survive quite easily. However, if it's something similar to exam week, where I'm getting four hours or so regularly, I would choose the bad hair day.

9. Would you rather play in a chess tournament at a moderately-nice venue with free parking or a deluxe venue with pay parking?

It doesn't take much to excite me, so a moderately-nice venue is usually good enough. Pay parking is a bit of a turn-off so yet another reason to choose the moderately-nice venue. However, I do have to say, the way the Canadian Open has organized its Toronto venue is starting to change my mind a bit, in terms of large, prestigious tournaments.

10. Would you rather have pairings made under the Swiss system (with large section size) or Round Robin system (with small section size)?

I've always preferred Swiss. As mentioned, I like surprises, and the fact that you can be matched in many different ways, and face a variety of opponents is exciting. It's true, Round Robin can help with preparation and managing expectations, but it works two ways. If I can prepare against my opponent, he/she can usually prepare against me. So it's not as straightforward as it sounds...therefore, I prefer the surprise :)

Tournaments and Results!

Wow, time can really fly! Just finished exams & starting to get better from illness (I must have caught a flu), yet trying to keep busy...'the show must go on' :D

This tournament section will be updated monthly from now on. I'm making important changes to my academic priorities and general schedule that will allow enough flexibility to improve my blog structure and punctuality. I really appreciate communication with readers, so thank you for following along, and please send me an email if you have any comments/suggestions!

Tournaments:

This weekend - 5th Annual Grand Pacific Open in Victoria, BC, Alberta Closed in Calgary, AB, and Canadian Junior in Mississauga, ON! Good luck to all participants!

Note - Good luck to participants in other Easter weekend tournaments, including the Philadephia Open http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4928

Oriole Chess Club
- Junior Tournaments
- Every Sunday
- Oriole Community Centre, Toronto
- 12:45 - 1:00 pm registration, 1:15 pm start
- $12 per tournament, $80 for membership + ten tournaments
- Snacks and drinks provided
- http://www.angelfire.com/alt/ochess/

Chess for Children (Swansea Chess Club)
- Every Saturday
- Swansea Town Hall Community Centre
- 12:45 - 1:00 pm registration, 1:00 - 4:00 pm tournament
- $15 per tournament, family discount available
- http://www.chessforchildren.ca/

Knights of Chess Sunday Rated Tournaments
- Every Sunday
- 5635 Yonge Street, Suites 201 - 202, Toronto
- 3:30 - 3:55 pm registration (pre-registration by phone or email recommended), 4:00 - 6:00 or 7:00 pm tournament
- $18 per tournament, family discounts available
- http://sites.google.com/site/theknightsofchess/

* The three regular tournaments listed above can also be found on the CMA calendar http://www.chess-math.org/calendar

Chess in the Library (17 locations and counting!)
- free games and lessons!
- http://www.chessinthelibrary.com/
- http://yuanlingyuan.blogspot.com/
- Toronto Star http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4798

London April Open
- April 30
- Hillside Church, London
- 9:30 - 9:55 am registration, 10:00 am start
- $20
- Bring your own equipment
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml

30th Annual Arnprior Open
- April 30 - May 1
- Nick Smith Centre, 77 James St., Arnprior
- Saturday 9 am, 2 pm, 7 pm, Sunday 9 am, 2pm
- $50, $30 amateur
- http://www.eoca.org/htm/tournaments_2010-11.html
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml

Ontario Girls' Chess Championship
- May 7
- Marshall McLuhan Catholic S. S., Toronto
- 10:15 - 10:45 am check-in, 11:00 am start
- $30
- Lunch and snacks included
- Activities, parents/siblings tournaments, and more
- Register and pay by April 27 to receive a souvenir t-shirt at the event
- http://www.freewebs.com/ogcc/

Guelph Spring Pro-Am
- May 6 - 8
- Peter Clark Hall, Guelph University Centre
- Friday 6 pm, Saturday/Sunday 10 am & 4 pm
- Pro $60, others $40, add $10 for on site entry, add $20 per 100 points to play up sections
- Equipment and snacks provided
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4761

3rd Canadian Forces Championship
- May 6 - 8
- Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston
- 8:30 am & 1:30 pm each day
- $25
- Canadian Forces (CF) members or civilians working for CF or DND
- Accommodation available if confirm in advance
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml

Charlottetown Open
- May 7 - 8
- UPEI, Charlottetown, PEI
- 9:00 - 9:20 am registration, see link for round times
- $40, $30 for juniors, $20 for elementary school students , pre-register to save $5
- http://www.chess.ca/pei.shtml

2011 Canadian Closed and Zonal Championship
- May 7 - 11
- Peter Clark Hall, Guelph University Centre
- Accommodation available
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4664
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4902
- SAP (sponsor) http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4923

Calgary International Active Fundraisers
- May 8 and May 15
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4753

2011 Calgary International
- May 19 - 23
- Norm opportunity
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4607
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4888
- http://www.calgarychess.com/2011CICC/

36th Annual Paul Keres Memorial
- May 20 - 23
- River Rock Casino Resort, Richmond, BC
- See link for schedule and fees (discounts available)
- $4000 guaranteed prize fund
- All equipment provided
- Open section is FIDE and CFC rated
- http://keresmemorial.pbworks.com/w/page/1785469/FrontPage
- http://www.chess.ca/british_columbia.shtml

Ontario Open 2011
- May 21 - 23
- Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, Hamilton
- 10 am & 4 pm each day (registration 9 am - 9:45 am)
- $60 by May 1, $70 by May 20, $80 cash at door
- Bring your own equipment
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4419

Victoria Day East Toronto Pre-Qualifiers for CYCC
- May 23
- 58 Deerbrook Trail, Scarborough
- 9:30 am arrival, 11 am start
- $40
- Half of participants in each section will qualify for the CYCC
- Free refreshments
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4918

23rd Canadian Chess Challenge
- May 22 - 23
- University of Victoria, BC
- For provincial qualifiers
- Beach Festival May 21
- http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1294608454.html
- pairing schedule http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1303244255.html
- http://victoriajuniorchess.pbworks.com/w/page/34644693/2011-Canadian-Chess-Challenge

London May Open
- May 28
- Hillside Church, London
- 9:30 - 9:55 am registration, 10:00 am start
- $20
- Bring your own equipment
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml

Ontario Youth Chess Championships
- May 28 - 29
- CYCC qualifier
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4933

Chicago Open
- May 26 - 30
- Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel
- http://www.chesstour.com/chio11.htm
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4872

2011 KWCC Teams Active Challenge
- June 18
- Kitchener City Hall
- 10 am registration, 10:30 am start
- $40 per team of four
- Equipment provided
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml

London June Open
- June 25
- Hillside Church, London
- 9:30 - 9:55 am registration, 10:00 am start
- $20
- Bring your own equipment
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml

Montreal Summer Chess Camps
- http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1301064015.html
- Check out other summer chess camps in Toronto and Ottawa http://www.chess-math.org/calendar/?date=2011-07

North American Youth Championship
- June 25 - 29
- http://www.chesseducators.com/2011/01/09/2011-north-american-youth-championship/
- http://www.chesseducators.com/northamericanyouth/

Eastern Ontario Open
- June 30 - July 3
- RA Centre, Ottawa
- See link for times and fees (discounts available)
- Accommodations available
- CFC and FIDE rated
- Bring your own equipment
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml
- http://www.eoca.org/PDF/2011%20Eastern%20Ontario%20Open.pdf

CYCC (Richmond Hill, Ontario)
- July 6 - 9
- http://www.2011cycc.ca/
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4919

Canadian Open (Toronto, Ontario) + chess camp
- July 9 - 17
- http://www.canadianchess.info/2011canadianopen

Quebec Open 2011 + chess camp
- July 23 - 30
- Norm opportunity
- http://www.fqechecs.qc.ca/coq/coq2011-revue196.pdf
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4686
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4687
- camp: http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4746

2011 BC Open
- July 30 - August 1
- Executive Airport Plaza Hotel, Richmond, BC
- See link for schedule
- $60 by June 24, $65 by July 26, $70 on site, additional $20 to play up a section
- Accommodation deal available until June 1
- $1000 guaranteed prize fund
- All equipment provided
- http://victoriachessclub.pbworks.com/w/page/35682117/BC-Open
- http://www.chess.ca/british_columbia.shtml

Montreal City Championship
- September 9 - 11
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4809
- http://www.chess.ca/misc2010/2011MontrealCh.pdf

Braeside Men's Chess Clinic
- September 24
- Braeside Camp, between Cambridge and Paris, Ontario
- 10:00 - 10:30 am registration, 10:45 am start
- $35
- Light lunch and BBQ dinner included
- Hans Jung teaching clinic, simul at noon
- For all levels of experience
- http://www.chess.ca/ontario.shtml

Richmond Friday Chess
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=3599

Tournaments in Victoria, BC
- http://victoriajuniorchess.pbworks.com/Tournament-Schedule

Various CMA Events for Juniors (many locations across Canada!!!)
- http://www.chess-math.org/calendar

Toronto regular scholastic tournament dates (Marshall McLuhan Catholic S. S.)
Jun 5 http://www.chess-math.org/calendar/?details=405&date=2011-06

GRAND PRIX #3 May 1 (Marshall McLuhan Catholic S. S.)
- http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1303371138.html

CMA Fee Increase
- http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1303222422.html

CMA Chess Lessons
- http://www.chess-math.org/chess/lesson.htm

More Tournaments Outside Ontario
- http://www.chess.ca/tournaments.shtml

FQE (Quebec) Calendar
- http://www.fqechecs.qc.ca/index.php?typ=actu&categorie=1&id=2995

FIDE (International) Calendar
- http://www.fide.com/component/fidecalendar/?view=fidecalendar
- more international: http://www.torneosajedrez.com/ajedrez47/Paginas/ver_torneos.php

Tournaments in the U.S.
- http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4460

Scarborough Chess Club
- http://www.scarboroughchessclub.ca/

Simcoe County Chess Club
- http://www.simcoecountychessclub.com/index

EOCA
- http://www.eoca.org/htm/tournaments_2010-11.html

KW Chess Club
- http://www.kwchess.com/

Annex Chess Club
- http://annexchessclub.com/

Ajax Chess Club
- http://www.ajaxchessclub.com/

Saguenay Chess Club
- http://www.clubechecssaguenay.com/

Mississauga Chess Club for Kids
- http://www.mississaugachessclub.ca/

More Clubs
- http://annexchessclub.com/2010/12/chess-in-toronto/

*If you wish to have your tournament/club listed, feel free to send me an email!*

Some Results:
Winter 2010/2011 (November to April)

*I'm sorry if your result was missed. Due to the long 'winter' time span, some results may not be listed.*

2010 Guelph Fall Pro-Am, November 6 - 7
Open
1st: GM Bator Sambuev 5.0/5.0
2nd: IM Artiom Samsonkin 4.0/5.0
3rd to 6th: Victor Plotkin, Roman Sapozhnikov, IM Nikolay Noritsyn, Josh Guo 3.5/5.o
U2000
1st & 2nd: Adam Cormier, Stuart Brammall 4.0/5.0
3rd to 5th: Rob Gashgarian, Richard Moran, Robert Laszlo 3.5/5.0
U1700
1st & 2nd: Leslie Tang, Zachary Dukic 4.5/5.0
3rd: Michael Ashcroft 3.5/5.0
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4181
games: http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4174

Toronto Junior Chess Championship 2010, November 7 - December 19
1st: Roman Sapozhnikov 4.5/5.0
2nd: Michael Song 3.0/5.0
3rd: Jesse Wang 2.5/5.0
http://tjcc2010.blogspot.com/

2010 National Capital Open, November 12 - 14
Open
1st: GM Bator Sambuev 5.0/5.0
2nd: IM Tom O'Donnell 3.5/5.0
3rd to 5th: IM Brian Hartman, Nikita Kraiouchkine, Alexandre Levkovsky 3.0/5.0
U2200
1st & 2nd: David Filipovich, William Doubleday 3.5/5.0
3rd: Halldor Palsson 3.0/5.0
U2000
1st & 2nd: Saeid Sadeghi, Mocktar Adamou-Ndiaye 3.5/5.0
3rd & 4th: Ruokai Li, Emil Smilovici 3.0/5.0
U1800
1st: Jacob Krolczyk 4.5/5.0
2nd: Kevin Zhang 3.5/5.0
3rd: Gordon Ritchie 2.5/5.0
U1600
1st: Liiban Farah 5.0/5.0
2nd to 5th: Michael Sun, Brian Murray, Kevin Eyre, Emil Levkovsky 3.5/5.0
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4215
http://www.eoca.org/htm/tournaments_2010-11.html
report and photo: http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4218

2010 Southern Alberta Open, November 20 - 21
1st to 3rd: Vlad Rekhson, Rick Pedersen, Roy Yearwood 4.0/5.0
http://www.albertachess.org/2010SAO.html

25th Annual Jack Taylor Memorial, November 20 - 21
1st: WFM Valeria Gansvind 4.5/5.0
2nd to 5th: Ed Seedhouse, Colin Aykroyd, FM Jason Cao, Greg Churchill 3.5/5.0
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=3576

World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad, November/December
Captain: Gary Gladstone
First board: Nikita Kraiouchkine
Second board: Konstantin Semianiuk
Third board: Mike Ivanov
Fourth board: Simon Gladstone
Result - tied 8th place/22
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4270

William F. Darch Memorial, November
1st: Jaime Solis 5.0/6.0
2nd & 3rd: Sam Sharpe, John Erickson 4.5/6.0
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4286

2010 Winter Open, December 4
Open CFC
1st: IM Nikolay Noritsyn 4.0/4.0
2nd to 7th: Roman Sapozhnikov, Wajdy Shebetah, Josh Guo, Vinit Bansal, David Wyatt, Dante Zuniga 3.0/4.0
U1700 CFC
1st: Kajan Thanabalachandran 3.5/4.0
2nd to 4th: John Zhang, Sasha Chuchin, Sergey Noritsyn 3.0/4.0
900+ CMA
1st: Keith Tang 5.0/5.0
2nd: Daiqi (David) Wu 3.5/5.0
3rd & 4th: Jerick Siemeon, Benedict Cheung 3.0/5.0
Best Girl: Constance Wang
U900 CMA
1st: Catherine Li 5.0/5.0
2nd: Kevin Ku 3.5/5.0
3rd: Luxiga Thanabalachandran 3.0/5.0
U600 CMA
1st: Vivek Chachcha 5.0/5.0
2nd: Darwin Mahmoud 4.0/5.0
3rd & 4th: Haotong (Hazel) Guo, Kieran Gara 3.0/5.0
Best Girl: Hao Yang (Liana) Liu
Youngest Boy: Aidan Mo
Youngest Girl: Naeema Garcia
http://chesstournamentintoronto.webs.com/resultsarchives.htm
report: http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4277

2010 Marcel Duchamp International (Argentina)
Charles Filion 4.5/9.0
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4338

2010 Hart House Holiday Open
Open
1st: GM Bator Sambuev 4.5/5.0
2nd: IM Nikolay Noritsyn 4.0/5.0
3rd to 11th: IM David Cummings, Victor Plotkin, Roman Sapozhnikov, Daniel Abrahams, Yuri Aronov, Dante Zuniga, Michael Dougherty, Vladimir Birarov, Alexander Martchenko 3.5/5.0
U2100
1st: Laurence Crichton 4.5/5.0
2nd & 3rd: Alexander Friedman, Razvan Preotu 4.0/5.0
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4354
great pics: http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4414

2010 Pan American Intercollegiate Team Championships
University of Toronto A: tied 4th/28
University of Toronto B: tied 22nd/28
http://www.panamerican.wichessacademy.com/intercollegiate-team-championships/
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4387

Ottawa Winter Open, January 14 - 16
http://www.eoca.org/htm/tournaments_2010-11.html
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4496
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4489

2011 Canadian Post-Secondary Chess Championship, January 15 - 16
1st: University of Waterloo
2nd: University of Toronto
3rd: McGill University
more results and games:
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=2698
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4495

Guelph Winter Pro-Am, February 5 - 6
Pro Section
1st: GM Bator Sambuev 5.0/5.0
2nd: IM Nikolay Noritsyn 4.0/5.0
3rd: Josh Guo 3.5/5.0
U2000
1st: Adam Cormier 5.0/5.0
2nd: Rob Gashgarian 4.0/5.0
3rd to 6th: Scott Hare, Guannan Terry Song, Mahmud Hassain, Yuanchen Zhang 3.5/5.0
U1600
1st: Sergey Noritsyn 4.5/5.0
2nd: Richard Chen 4.0/5.0
3rd: Corin Schneider 3.5/5.0
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4451&highlight=Guelph

Aeroflot Open 2011 (Moscow), February 7 - 18
Section A
GM Mark Bluvshtein 4.5/9.0
GM Thomas Roussel-Roozmon 2.5/9.0
Section B
Antoine Berube 3.0/9.0
Section C
Victor Plotkin 5.5/9.0
Doug Sly 1.5/9.0
http://www.aeroflotchess.com/material.php?id=4D507D8491DDF

2011 Ontario Junior Championship, February 12 - 13
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4466

Fundraiser for the Grand Pacific Open (raised $231), February 20
Open: WFM Valeria Gansvind 4.5/5.0
U1700: Deron Stewart, Phynn Maison 3.0/5.0
U1400: Garth Edgar, Braven Rayne 2.0/5.0
http://victoriachessclub.pbworks.com/w/page/36531246/Results-Feb-2011-GPO-Fundraiser

Hart House Reading Week Open, February 19 - 21
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4651
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4670

2011 Brantford Active, February 26
1st: IM Brian Hartman 5.5/6.0
2nd: FM Doug Bailey 4.5/6.0
3rd - 5th: Adam Cormier, Li Hongyi, Keith Wight 4.0/6.0
Top Junior: Zachary Dukic, Razvan Preotu 3.5/6.0
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4691

Toronto Closed Chess Championship 2011, January 23 - March 6
Championship
1st: Victor Plotkin 5.0/7.0
2nd: Michael Kleinman 4.5/7.0
3rd: Roman Sapozhnikov 4.0/7.0
Reserved
1st: Egidijus Zeromskis 4.0/4.0
2nd: Mike Ivanov 2.0/4.0
http://tccc2011.blogspot.com/
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4202

Ottawa Spring Open, March 4 -6
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4721
http://www.eoca.org/htm/tournaments_2010-11.html

KW Winter Open, March
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4759 http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4669

Hamilton Winter Open 2011
Open
1st: GM Bator Sambuev 5.0/5.0
2nd to 4th: GM Wesley So, IM Nikolay Noritsyn, IM Artiom Samsonkin 4.0/5.0
U1900
1st: Ferdinand Supsup 4.5/5.0
2nd to 4th: Peter Ammerman, Victor Itkin, Daniel Coren 4.0/5.0
Juniors
1st: Owen Qian 5.0/5.0
2nd & 3rd: Josh Perl, Manjot Chelli 3.5/5.0
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4445

2011 New Brunswick Chess Challenge, April 9
Kindergarten: Alexandre X. Leblanc
Grade 1: Ethan Hache
Grade 2: Simon Latour
Grade 3: Ethan Pearson
Grade 4: Etienne Saint-Aubin
Grade 5: Sam Song
Grade 6: Nathaniel Schrader
Grade 7: Xinyu (Bob) Feng
Grade 8: Nicholas Robichaud
Grade 9: Cody Carson
Grade 10: Jordan Stackhouse
Grade 11: Patric St.-Coeur
Grade 12: Jason Manley
http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1302392865.html

2011 Alberta Chess Challenge, April 9
Grade 1: Ian Zhao
Grade 2: Kaixin Wang
Grade 3: Patrick Tolentino
Grade 4: Andre Tolentino
Grade 5: Jakob Kaiser
Grade 6: Diwen Shi
Grade 7: Dennis Situ
Grade 8: Yuekai Wang
Grade 9: Tony Cai
Grade 10: David Zhang
Grade 11: Jeff DeGuzman
Grade 12: Raymond Ong
http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1302452105.html

2011 Quebec Chess Challenge, April 10
Kindergarten: Nikita Khanin
Grade 1: Robert Liu
Grade 2: William Lai
Grade 3: Maili-Jade Ouellet
Grade 4: Zachary Saine
Grade 5: Kelly Wang
Grade 6: Olivier Kenta Chiku-Ratte
Grade 7: Chang Yun
Grade 8: Qi You Wu
Grade 9: Forest Guo
Grade 10: Myriam Roy
Grade 11: Seymour Gelet
Grade 12: Mathieu Poulin
http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1302525863.html

2011 BC Chess Challenge, April 10
Kindergarten: Harmony Zhu
Grade 1: Victor Zheng
Grade 2: Luke Pulfer
Grade 3: Joshua Doknjas
Grade 4: Jingzhi (Edwin) Xu
Grade 5: FM Jason Cao
Grade 6: John Doknjas
Grade 7: Jeremy Hui
Grade 8: Ryan Lo
Grade 9: Tanraj Sohal
Grade 10: Jack (Kun) Cheng
Grade 11: Roger Luo
Grade 12: Loren Laceste
http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1302551189.html

2011 Manitoba Chess Challenge, April 10
Grade 1: Joshua Huston-Earle
Grade 2: Ron Amrom
Grade 3: Theo Wolchock
Grade 4: Ethan Lin
Grade 5: Alexander Iomdina
Grade 6: Justin Lin
Grade 7: Ryne Swift
Grade 8: Michael Pang
Grade 9: Leor Wasserman
Grade 10: Christopher Delos Santos
Grade 11: Aaron Green
Grade 12: Igor Raihman
http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1302553834.html

2011 Ontario Chess Challenge, April 17
Kindergarten: Aidan Mo
Grade 1: Benjamin Lin
Grade 2: Frank Wang
Grade 3: Kevin Yie
Grade 4: Yuan Chen Zhang
Grade 5: Eric Song
Grade 6: Michael Song
Grade 7: Mark Plotkin
Grade 8: Christopher Knox
Grade 9: Joey Qin
Grade 10: Dan Liu
Grade 11: Arthur Calugar
Grade 12: Lloyd Mai
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4901
http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1303142102.html

More Chess Challenge results - http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1302725146.html, https://sites.google.com/site/canadianchesschallenge/

NAYCC 2010 games - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4152

GM Nigel Short in Ottawa videos - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g4duuGVHyM, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZynwzaJH1Zs&feature=player_embedded, photos http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4237, article http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4265, report for GM Nigel Short simul and GM Alexei Shirov simul http://ottawarachessclub.pbworks.com/w/page/26647566/World-Class-Events, GM Alexei Shirov simul photos http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4572, more http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4573

GM Bator Sambuev simuls - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4353, http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4824

GM Wesley So simul - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4797, http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4790

Karoly Szalay simul for Japan Relief (raised $200) - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4916, http://members4.boardhost.com/chess-math/msg/1303222917.html

FM Jason Cao - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4251

GM Thomas Roussel-Roozmon - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4402

Canadian accomplishments 2010 (Player of the Year incl. fan ballot - FM Jason Cao!) - http://www.canadianchess.info/canadianchesshistory/CanadianChessPlayerYear.html#2010

Pere Noel tournament games - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4388

Schleinich Memorial - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4444

Quebec Class Championships games - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4514

2011 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4524

2011 Toronto Closed and Reserves - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4633

Northern Alberta Open - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4657

2011 Lethbridge Open - http://www.albertachess.org/2011LO.html, http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4848

Montreal Ahuntsic Active games - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4852

Richard Wang on CBC - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/01/06/edmonton-chess-player.html,
http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4437

GM Mark Bluvshtein's chess journey - http://markbluvshtein.wordpress.com/, his lecture at Annex Chess Club http://annexchessclub.com/2011/03/gm-mark-bluvshtein-chess-rock-star/, his simul at Wilfrid Laurier University http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4831

Other Canadians abroad - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4819

IM Leonid Gerzhoy in Israel - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4885

Request for Photos - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4774

Endgame TV show - http://www.chesstalk.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4694

April Notice

Hello Readers!

This sure is a busy season - assignments, exams, cleaning up, and so forth. As a result, I will not be posting any content until mid-April. At that time, I will simply tidy up the loose ends on what needs to be updated on this blog. Then, the exciting part comes after exams end in late April! Throughout the spring/summer, I will be adding new features + updating them regularly. I ordered some basic graphics software on top of my animations software. I will also be visiting some tournaments & generally looking for ways to support chess in Canada. As you may know by now, I'm full of surprises! 'Stay tuned' :)

Hazel

P.S. The custom pins ordered for the Elaine Howie Fund have arrived. I am still looking to contact Derick Aghamalian, Jeff Zhang, Yuekai Wang, and Juliaan Posaratnanathan if they are interested in receiving their pins and/or awards. Twenty-five happy face pins (different from the Elaine Howie Fund pins) are still available for my blog readers this coming summer. See the side bar for details.