The 2018 Hart House Closed Chess Championship was a 7-round round-robin tournament, which took place from May 4th until June 22nd. Eight participants were admitted to the competition and selection was made based on rating. The competition was fierce with many players having very realistic chances of winning the tournament. In the end, it was James Hanratty with 5 points in 7 games who became the 2018 Hart House Closed Champion for the Reserves Section. Vignesh  Kumar Rajendran came second with 4.5 points out of 7 and  the bronze medal position was shared between Seiji Nakagawa and Sahan Karunaratne, both of whom scored 4 points in 7 games.

We wish to congratulate all the participants for their fighting spirit but especially the winners for their outstanding performance!

The final standings after 7 rounds and the results of each round were as follows:

Final Standing

1. James Hanratty (1683) – 5 pts
2. Vignesh Kumar Rajendran (1485) – 4.5 pts
3-4. Seiji Nakagawa (1832) – 4 pts
Sahan Karunaratne (1337)
5-7. Jurgen Aliaj (1521) – 3 pts
Jack Moore (1495)
Amir Esmaeili (1146)
8. John Chen (1363) – 1.5 pts

Round 1 – Friday, May 4th – South Sitting Room – 6:00 PM

1. Seiji Nakagawa (1832) – Amir Esmaeili (1146)                           1 – 0
2. James Hanratty (1683) – Sahan Karunaratne (1337)                 0 – 1
3. Jurgen Aliaj (1521) – John Chen (1363)                                        1 – 0
4. Jack Moore (1495) – Vignesh Kumar Rajendran (1485)            0 – 1

Round 2 – Friday, May 11th – South Sitting Room – 6:00 PM

1. Amir Esmaeili (1146) – Vignesh Kumar Rajendran (1485)       0 – 1
2. John Chen (1363) – Jack Moore (1495)                                          0 – 1
3. Sahan Karunaratne (1337)  – Jurgen Aliaj (1521)                    1/2 – 1/2
4. Seiji Nakagawa (1832) – James Hanratty (1683)                         0 – 1

Round 3 – Friday, May 18th – Committees Room – 6:00 PM

1. James Hanratty (1683) – Amir Esmaeili (1146)                             0 – 1
2. Jurgen Aliaj (1521) – Seiji Nakagawa (1832)                               1/2 – 1/2
3. Jack Moore (1495) – Sahan Karunaratne (1337)                           1 – 0
4. Vignesh Kumar Rajendran (1485) – John Chen (1363)                1 – 0 (no game)

Round 4 – Friday, May 25th – Committees Room – 6:00 PM

1. Amir Esmaeili (1146) – John Chen (1363)                                       0 – 1
2. Sahan Karunaratne (1337)  – Vignesh Kumar (1485)               1/2 – 1/2
3. Seiji Nakagawa (1832) – Jack Moore (1495)                                   1 – 0
4. James Hanratty (1683) – Jurgen Aliaj (1521)                                  1 – 0

Round 5 – Saturday, June 2nd – South Sitting Room – 6:00 PM

1. Jurgen Aliaj (1521) – Amir Esmaeili (1146)                                     1 – 0
2. Jack Moore (1495) – James Hanratty (1683)                                    0 – 1
3. Vignesh Kumar Rajendran (1485) – Seiji Nakagawa (1832)         0 – 1
4. John Chen (1363) – Sahan Karunaratne (1337)                              0 – 1

Round 6 – Friday, June 8th – Committees Room – 6:00 PM

1. Amir Esmaeili (1146) – Sahan Karunaratne (1337)                        1 – 0
2. Seiji Nakagawa (1832) – John Chen (1363)                                    1/2 – 1/2
3. James Hanratty (1683) – Vignesh Kumar Rajendran (1485)         1 – 0
4. Jurgen Aliaj (1521) – Jack Moore (1495)                                            0 – 1

Round 7 – Friday, June 15th/22nd – Committees Room – 6:00 PM

1. Jack Moore (1495) – Amir Esmaeili (1146)                                       0 – 1
2. Vignesh Kumar Rajendran (1485) – Jurgen Aliaj (1521)                1 – 0
3. John Chen (1363) – James Hanratty (1683)                                       0 – 1 (no game)
4. Sahan Karunaratne (1337) – Seiji Nakagawa (1832)                      1 – 0  (no game)

We are looking forward to hosting this tournament again next year!