On February 3rd, 2023, a crowd of 10 teams competed in a bughouse tournament hosted by the Hart House Chess Club. Due to the crazy weather, only local players were able to make it out to the Club for the festivities and indulge in the provided free donuts! The winners of the event were a team of IM Nicholas Vettese and Denys Melynchuk, who defeated numerous teams, including a team headlined by NM alumnus Jim Zhao.
NM Jim Zhao and in the distance, IM Vettese’s team.
Come out of the cold and join us inside the Reading Room of Hart House on Friday, February 3rd from 7:10 pm – 9:00 pm for a bughouse tournament! You can sign up at the Hart House Reading Room anytime between 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm during Casual Play the day of. If you don’t have a team, you can register as a “solo,” and we will pair you up. This is the perfect way to meet new people and have a good time!
If you don’t know the rules of the game, come by and chat with an Exec before the tournament!
Free entries for all members and the prize will be two $25 gift cards for the two players of the winning team! (for non-members, a fee of $5)
Bughouse is a popular variant of chess that is played with teams of 2 players. The goal of this tournament is to get you to engage with others and have fun! It should be a fun night! We play bughouse with clock move and place-mates.
FORMAT AND EVENT DETAILS
WHEN: Friday, February 3rd, 7pm – 9pm. Rd #1 starts at 7:10 P.M.
WHERE: Hart House (7 Hart House Cir, Toronto) – Reading Room.
WHAT: 6-round single-round Blitz Event (Swiss), using a 5 minute time control.
RATED: Unrated
ENTRY FEE: Free for members, $5 for non-members. Pay onsite with cash before 7:00pm. Free for titled players.
PRIZE FUND: $25 for each member of the winning team.
SPECIAL PRIZES: All participants will be entered into a door prize for a HHCC t-shirt and toque.
To officially welcome back everyone to the HHCC, we’ll be hosting our semi-annual Welcome Back Pizza Party! We hope you will join us on Friday, January 13th, 6-7pm in the Hart House Reading Room as we celebrate the start of another chess-filled year.
This is a wonderful opportunity to see your old chess friends and to meet new ones. We’ll also be sharing lots of exciting news and would love to answer any questions you might have about HHCC, so please do come by! Free pizza for all!
From January 10th to 31st, 2023, the Hart House Chess Club hosted a Weekly Winter Swiss chess tournament allowing students and community members to play CFC-rated, 90 minutes plus 30 second increment games against one another. The result was 12 players competing in tense and competitive chess against one another for 4 weeks. The overall winner was Slava Lukinykh, who scored 3/4 and clinched top spot in the tournament. The tournament was held alongside the 2023 GTCL Team Chess Championship, this version of which was hosted by the Hart House Chess Club for the first time in its history.
The Weekly Winter Swiss alongside the 2023 GTCL Team CC
Players in the Winter Weekly Swiss
In addition to the 2023 Greater Toronto Chess League Team Chess Championship, the Hart House Chess Club will host a Winter Weekly Swiss focused on providing rated classical chess playing opportunities for players of all levels. Entry is free for all HHCC members and players of the GTCL Team CC. Minimal entry fees for all others.
FORMAT & EVENT LOGISTICS
WHERE: Debates Room or East Common Room, Hart House, University of Toronto.
FORMAT:
CFC-rated swiss tournament over 4 weeks
4 rounds weekly over 4 weeks.
1 section
ROUNDS: clocks start at 7:10 pm Tuesdays from Jan. 10th – Jan. 31st.
TIME CONTROL: 90 mins + 30 secs/move increment
EQUIPMENT: HHCC will supply all chess equipment, including score sheets
ARBITER: HHCC Execs with NA Alex Ferreira assisting
PRIZES: HHCC t-shirt prizes for winners
ENTRY FEES:
$0.00 for all HHCC members and GTCL Team CC participants.
$10.00 per match or $30.00 per tournament for community members/public. Pay by cash before 6:30 pm.
REGISTRATION: email us at hhchess@studentorg.utoronto.ca or complete registration form at least 2 hours in advance of Round 1 of the tournament. In-person registrations accepted from 6:30 pm – 6:45 pm weekly if space permits.
BYES: 1/2 point byes can be requested for any round if requested before Round 1, 0 point byes can be requested for any round if requested 24 hrs in advance.
The club has booked one of the Debates Room, 24’ x 72’ (capacity 90) or East Common Room, a size of 22’ by 68’ (capacity 90), for the duration of the tournament.
East Common Room
Debates Room
The rooms are located in Hart House, 7 Hart House Cir, Toronto, ON M5S 3H3. Ample food and entertainment can be found nearby within walking distance. Ample paid parking is available at a flat rate of $10 per evening throughout the University of Toronto campus – street parking is also available. Hart House is within 10 minutes of walking distance between two subway stations, Museum and St. George. Free Wi-Fi is available for all participants.
Weekly Schedule:
Rounds start at 7:10 pm on Tuesdays
Round 1: January 10th – Debates Room
Round 2: January 17th – East Common Room
Round 3: January 24th – East Common Room
Round 4: January 31st – East Common Room
pre-registered
Player Name
Membership or playing in GTCL Team CC
CFC ID
CFC Rating
Sam Chen
Community Member / Public
175633
1440
Mohankumar Janakiraman
Community Member / Public
175419
217
Daniel Wang
HHCC Member
178191
1417
James Mourgelas
Community Member / Public
108540
1279
Boomba Nishikawa
HHCC Member
178151
NA
Liam McNally
HHCC Member
178152
NA (1177 Quick Rating)
Alex Wang
HHCC Member
167967
1803
Enkhzul
HHCC Member
NA
Na
Isabelle Zhu
HHCC Member
149553
1409
David
Community Member / Public
178658
NA
Slava Lukinykh
Community Member / Public
174578
1235
Hart House, University of Toronto
NOTE FOR HHCC MEMBERS
HHCC players have the option of playing in this tournament or the GTCL Team CC. GTCL Team CC is intended for stronger players with tournament experience looking to represent the Club for the entire 9-weeks. The Winter Weekly Swiss is intended to provide more rated, competitive chess playing opportunities for our members. One of the goals is to prepare our members to compete at the Canadian Universities Chess Championship in late January, and at the Reading Week Open.
The Hart House Chess Club is closed from Dec. 23th – Jan.6th. However, the Club will return following the holiday season with many exciting events.
Casual play returns on Fri. Jan. 6th with reduced scheduling from 6pm – 9pm. On Fri. Jan 13, regular scheduling returns from 4pm-11pm alongside our semester Pizza Party at 6 pm followed by the Hart House Chess Club Blitz Championship at 7pm. During the pizza party, we will also announce the full HHCC winter schedule and conduct a puzzle solving raffle for HHCC merchandise.
The Club will also be hosting the Greater Toronto Chess League Team Championship Tuesdays from Jan. 10th – Mar. 14th, 2023. All HHCC members wanting to play longer games and represent the Club are invited to play.
On Monday, December 19th, registration for the Canadian Universities Chess Championship opens for all University of Toronto students and staff. This is a very exciting event intended for both beginners and advanced players of the Club.
The 2023 Hart House Reading Week Open has also opened for registrations. Pre-registered lists will be updated approximately weekly but we hope to pass the 212 participants at the Holidays Open.
Join us for the return of our annual chess tournament in the Great Hall! Open to all, this tournament offers fun and competitive play for all levels! There are various skill level groups to accommodate all interested players. Official flyer
WHERE: Great Hall, Hart House, University of Toronto.
WHEN: February 18th, 19th, 20th (Family Day Weekend)
SCHEDULE: 6 Round Swiss split in sections. Round times: Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at 10:00 am & 4:00 pm.
TIME CONTROL: 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move 1, for all sections.
STYLE: 6 Round Swiss split in 6 rating sections – Crown (2200+), Under 2200, Under 1900, Under 1600, Under 1300 & Under 1000 Sections
RATING: All sections will be CFC rated. Crown, Under 2200, Under 1900, & Under 1600 sections will also be FIDE rated. Crown Section will be paired using FIDE ratings.
FORFEIT TIME: Players who do not arrive within 30 minutes of the round start time will be forfeited.
BYES: Maximum 2 half-point byes in rounds 1-4 if requested in advance before the start of Round 1.
PRIZE FUND: $8000 based on 200 entries
ORGANIZER: Hart House Chess Club with Alex Ferreira as arbiter.
Feb 23: The event report is now done! Thank you for attending!
Feb 21: Thank you for attending this year’s tournament! We’re currently processing photos and will release them all this week alongside the event report.
Feb 16: Two days to go! Please see our pre-tournament announcements here.
Feb 9: The tournament is now sold-out. Titled players, please email us if you want to play.
Feb 1: We have secured the East Common Room for DGT broadcasting and game analysis for rounds 3-6. Reading Room will also be available.
Jan 19: One month left until the event and one week until early-bird registrations close.
Dec 16: Registrations are now open
REGISTRATION
TOURNAMENT IS SOLD-OUT
REGISTRATIONS ARE CLOSED
NO IN-PERSON REGISTRATION
ENTRY FEES
Early: $70 by January 26th at 11:59pm Regular: $80 by February 15th at 11:59 pm Late: $100 cash only on-site.
PLAYING UP
Extra $20 to play up a section. A player must have a minimum 2200 CFC or 2000 FIDE rating to play in the Crown. In all other sections, requests to play up must be emailed to the tournament email by Feb. 15 at 11:59 pm and then paid by cash before 9:30 am. Play-up is allowed only for players within 100 rating points of the section’s minimum rating. For example, a player in the Under 1600 section wanting to play up in the Under 1900 section must have a rating no lower than 1500.
DISCOUNTS
$35 discount for University of Toronto students (automatic discount) and unrated players (using code: OpenUnrated35) . Max one discount per player. Unrated players are not eligible for prizes. Free entry for IMs/WIMs/GMs/WGMs if registered by February 4th. Please email us for all discount information.
OTHER INFO
Chess sets and clocks supplied. HHCC will provide DGT boards for the Crown section.
Notation is mandatory for all moves starting from move 1.
Parking is available in select locations. Due to ongoing Landmark Project construction, parking is very limited and may be higher than expected.
Any question regarding the tournament, including registrations, must be sent to hhtournaments@gmail.com, not the Hart House Hub.
Free Wi-Fi will be made available.
TEAM PRIZE: $400 ($100 per player), teams of 4 players, representing at least 3 different sections. All individual scores will be added up to find the winning team. Register your teams in-person before Round 2.
Players will be placed in sections according to eligibility, based on Feb 15 ratings’ update. Not necessarily how people registered themselves. Pre-registration lists will be updated every week. Pre-registered as of Feb 16.
The 2022 Hart House Holidays Open took place in Toronto, Ontario, from December 9th – 11th, 2022, marking the celebration of both the upcoming holiday season, and the return of the Club’s annual chess events. It was the first Holidays Open since 2019, and the Club’s first major tournament since the 2020 Reading Week Open.
This year’s event included some major changes compared to previous iterations, which allowed round 1 to start promptly on time at 6:30pm, and all other rounds being paired and on-time as well. Registrations began approximately 6-weeks before the event, and options for registration included in-person, telephone, online, and cheque, thanks to the system implemented by Hart House. Including withdrawals and forfeits, the tournament would’ve been close to 230 players, making it one of the most the Club has seen since the heydays of the 1970s.
Situated at the heart of the University of Toronto’s campus, the Gothic Revival-style building of Hart House opened its doors to a diverse group of 212 participants representing all ages and skill levels, who came out to play in the tournament and take a shot at the $9,250 prize funds.
The Rd 3 game between NM Max Chen and IM Nikolay Noritsyn saw Max defeat Nikolay and eventually take home first. (John Upper)
As tradition, the tournament was divided into six different sections based on ratings, and the games began! The winner in each section would be determined after 5 swiss style classical chess games (90 minutes + 30 secs. increment), with all sections being CFC rating, and the top 3 being FIDE rated.
Interestingly, the increased turnout wasn’t reflected in the Crown Section (20 players), which usually would be filled with strong titled players. This year, this top section consisted of only 1 IM Nikolay Noritsyn and 2 FMs Allan Munro and Michael Dougherty. Max Chen, who has played in every Holidays Open since his first in 2014, finished first with 4.5/5, taking home the top prize of $1400. Max was buoyed with a victory over Noritsyn in round 3, who finished strong with 4/5 for clear second. Third-place was split between Max Rusonik and Ian Loadman, with Ian going undefeated with 3 draws and 2 wins.
Max Rusonik finished tied 3rd in the Crown Section (John Upper)
In the Under 2200 Section (23 players), a three-way-tie for first was seen, with Jeffery Zhao, Vitaliy Reshetniak, and Noah Yuen, coming out tied with 4 points apiece. Vitaliy, playing in his first CFC-rated tournament, but with a high FIDE rating, lost to Jeffrey. Jeffrey took a first-round bye, and drew Noah. Noah’s path to tie-first involved a draw with Ilia Bluvshtein and the aforementioned draw with Jeffrey.
In the Under 1900 Section (43 players), Larry Yang and Siddharth Narasimhan tied for first, with 4.5/5 apiece. With such a large section, they ended up not playing each other. Ali Shafkat started strong with 4/4, however lost to Siddharth in the fifth and final round to finish clear third. Fourth was a 7-way tie between Denys Melnychuk, Sean Liu, April Zhong, Irene Xie, Triston Li, Laksshana Deepak, and Nolan Wu.
Ali Shafkat finished clear 3rd in U1900 with 4/5 (Panagiotis Tsialis)
In the Under 1600 Section (55 players), Issac Duanmu, Daniel Botello, and Henry Vu finished with 4.5/5 and tie-first. Brendan Chan and Anthony Pham finished tied-4th. Interestingly, within these top-5, only 2 games were contested between themselves, with Issac drawing Brendan, and and Henry beating Anthony.
In the Under 1300 Section (39 players), Onur Naiboglu finished unbeaten with 4.5/5. Second place, 4/5 was shared between Slava Lukinykj, Mannan Attlee, Matthew Jung, and Daniel Stuekmann, the latter three who were playing in their first rated tournaments.
Finally, in the Under 1000 Section (32 players), Ethan Li finished with the only perfect score of the tournament with 5/5. Quentin Ma and Jacob Fischer finished tied for 2nd-3rd with 4/5. This section also saw the most unrated players, with a record 11 of the 32 players in the section playing in their first ever CFC-rated tournament!
Overall, the tournament saw over 30 new, unrated players playing in their first CFC rated tournament and over 20 students who took time out of their busy exam seasons to play. Seeing so many new players and students aligns with the Club’s mission of promoting chess to newcomers and students.
Hart House Chess Club would like to express its thanks to certain individuals for their work in making this event possible. For over a decade, Tournament Director and Chief Arbiter Alex Ferreira has led this tournament during both the good times and low times. His hard work and diligence in making the event possible do not go unnoticed.
TD and Arbiter Alex Ferreira (John Upper)
Next, we would like to thank the contributions of Victor Zheng, who helped keep track of the tournament pre-registrations, maintained the tournament webpage, answered emails, prepared/distributed signage and posters, maintained inventory, and set-up/took down the tournament playing hall. Crystal Cao, the Club’s Treasurer, did an amazing job working with both the onsite cash and the online registrations. She maintained an eloquent spreadsheet of the tournament’s financial accounts and helped navigate the prize payouts. Bowen Zhang, the Club’s Fundraiser, helped with all areas of the organizing, in-particular, working with Crystal to ensure CFC memberships were paid, and also ensuring games were recorded. Tanner McNamara, the Club’s secretary, swamped with his studies giving alcohol to rats, managed to make it to the tournament hall to provide important assistance and decision making. Ahmed Khalf, who had an astronomy final exam during the tournament dedicated important help in setting-up, recording scores, and answering questions for the tournament. Panagiotis Tsialis, a former HHCC Executive, played the always important role of photographer, capturing almost every player with individual chess portraits. Elliot Tseng, who had helped the Club with the Lending Library, also deserves a special shoutout for helping with the set-up and take-down of the tournament. Sean Lei, another past HHCC Exec helped with the Friday set-up, answering questions, and ensuring the smooth, on-time start of round 1.
HHCC Executives Tanner McNamara (Secretary) and Crystal Cao (Treasurer) were on hand to help run the tournament!
In addition to these volunteers, we would like to thank the University of Toronto as well as Hart House for their steady and continued support of our chess initiatives. The Hart House Information Hub with Jamie, Mauro, and Andrew provided invaluable assistance for registration and online-event setup. The Meetings and Events office with Madeline and Meghan, as well as the Staging Personnel, Department of Communications and the Financial Accounting Office coordinated their efforts to make the event possible. We wish to acknowledge their great assistance.
We would also like to acknowledge the generosity of the Annex Chess Club, who helped us supply enough chess boards and clocks to run the tournament without requiring many participants to bring their own.
Finally, the most important “thank you” goes out to the 212 participants who came out to play in the tournament, and to the friends, family, and supporters who came out to the tournament as spectators. It is with your support at these events that the Club maintains its liveliness and is able to continuously attract interest and maintain its 127-years of history. We are very thankful for your participation and are looking forward to seeing you again in our upcoming Hart House Reading Week Open, during Family Day Weekend next February.
The Hart House Holidays Open kicks off tomorrow night with Round 1 at 6:30 pm at the Great Hall of Hart House at the University of Toronto. For tournament details, see the original post.
Those participating are asked to bring chess sets and clocks (if possible), as HHCC will only have a limited supply of boards and clocks.
As of 7PM, December 8th, the pre-registration is as follows:
Pre-Registered
Crown
15
U2200
24
U1900
37
U1600
57
U1300
38
U1000
42
Grand Total
213
Registration totals pre-event
With a capacity for a maximum of 200 players, the Great Hall will be used for the majority of sections. The Reading Room on Friday, and the East Common Room on Sat/Sun may be used for the overflow boards.
Onsite registration will be available from 4 PM to 5:30 PM tomorrow. The fee will be $100, with discounts applicable to UofT students and unrated players. Our registration booth will be set up outside of the Great Hall.
Playing up: the current registration pages reflect all players and their appropriate sections prior to playing up. To play up, plan to show up at 5:30 PM to pay the $20 play up fee. Else, you will be paired into a section based on your rating for the tournament.
Arbiters: NA Alex Ferreira
Spectators: Spectators and students are encouraged to come watch the tournament!
Tournament Website: detailed standings, pairings, photos, and more will be posted on our official tournament website.
Merchandise: HHCC merchandise will be available to purchase via our booth outside of the Great Hall. More information can be found here.
On January 13th, 2023 the Hart House Chess Club hosted its 2023 Blitz Championship at Hart House, the University of Toronto.
The top seeds were IM Advait Patel, a third-year Computer Science student, IM Nicholas Vettese, a first-year general Arts & Science student, WIM Yunshan Li a second-year Psychology & Anthropology student, CM Koosha Jaferian, a Computer Science alumni, and first-year Law Student FM Tanraj Sohal.
The event was held in the East Common Room after feedback from members in Fall 2022 was that rooms were not big enough to run both Casual Chess Fridays and a full-scale chess tournament. 60 students and community members showed up to compete and try their luck at the $400 prize fund. The event was an unrated, 11-round, single round swiss blitz event using a 3+2 time control.
The top-seeds of the tournament performed as expected, with Advait and Tanraj both finishing undefeated as 1st and 2nd. Nicholas tied with alumni Jonathan Yu and first-year Eilia Zomorrodian for tied 3rd. WIM Yunshan Li finished fourth and Top-Woman with 7.5/11. Congrats to Advait Patel for becoming HHCC’s 2023 Blitz Champion!
For full tournament results, please see our chess-results page here. Event was organized and directed by Victor Zheng, Exec at the HHCC.
Gallery
prize distribution
Prize
First Name
Last Name
1st ($100)
Advait
Patel
2nd ($75)
Tanraj
Sohal
3rd ($20 each)
Eilia
Zomorrodian
Nicholas
Vettese
Jonathan
Yu
U1900 ($15 each)
Ande
Li
Daniel
Botello
Ali
Shaftka
U1400 ($20 each)
Artham
Bhoutika
Joshua
Bakradze
Top Woman ($40)
Yunshan
Li
Top Unrated ($15 each)
Chol
Akol
George
Eilender
Krishi
Saikia
Prize distribution for the 2023 HHCC Blitz Championship
Original event post below…
Join us for the 2023 Hart House Chess Club Blitz Championship! Open to all, this 11-round unrated swiss event to start off the semester! Students and community members are welcome and encouraged to come! Free pizza provided at 6 pm in reading room! Details for the Welcome Back Pizza Party.
WHEN: Friday, January 13th, 7pm – 10 pm. Rd #1 starts at 7:10 P.M.
WHERE: Hart House (7 Hart House Cir, Toronto) – East Common Room.
WHAT: 11-round single-round Blitz Event (Swiss), using a 3 minute + 2 second time control.
RATED: Unrated
ENTRY FEE: $10 for members, $20 for non-members, free for FMs at least 1 week before. Pay online via registration page by midnight Jan. 12th or onsite with cash before 6:45pm.
PRIZE FUND (est. based on 60 entries): $385 as follows: 1st place – $100; 2nd place – $75; 3rd place – $50; Top Woman – $40; Top U1900 – $40; Top U1400 – $40.
SPECIAL PRIZES: All participants will be entered into a door prize for a HHCC t-shirt and toque.
MAXIMUM CAPACITY: 68 players.
NOTE: chess sets and boards provided, proceeds will help with the Club’s fundraising efforts, including the HHCC’s CUCC team in late January.
The Greater Toronto Chess League (GTCL) team competition between clubs within the GTCL consists of two championship tournaments: League (regular chess) and Cup (rapid chess). These rules are for the League championship.
Teams
A person can be associated with at most one (1) team (as player or Team Captain).
Each team should have a minimum of four (4) team players
May have any number of additional players as substitutes.
Players may be a member of at most one team.
Players must be members of the same chess club.
Players must be members of the CFC for the duration of the tournament.
Each chess club may have more than one team (but cannot share players or captains).
Each team must designate one of its players as the Team Captain.
Team Captains are responsible for assembling players for each match.
Team Captains are responsible for reporting game results to the tournament coordinators.
Team Captains are on the Appeal Committee (see below).
Team Captains may delegate his/her responsibilities to another team player for a match if he/she cannot attend.
Each Team Captain must provide the team roster to the tournament coordinators.
The roster is an ordered list of team players.
The roster determines which player plays on which board in a match.
The roster should order players as follows:
According to the CFC rating list available on chess.ca on Dec 31.
Ideally, the order should be highest rated to lowest rated to unrated.
The order may be rearranged as long as no player comes after another player that is rated more than 200 points lower.
Unrated players may be inserted in any order.
The tournament coordinator may disallow any re-ordering if he/she believes it is being done to gain an unfair advantage.
The roster must be provided as soon as possible but changes (add, remove, re-order) will be accepted up to 24 hours before the start of round 1.
If a roster is not provided, the tournament coordinators will set a roster based on CFC rating and names (alphabetically).
The roster may not be changed after 24 hours before the start of round 1
The roster should remain fixed throughout the tournament.
Only under very exceptional circumstances will changes be accepted by the tournament coordinator at his/her sole discretion.
Registration
By December 31, 2022, at 11:59 pm ET, all teams must pre-register.
A maximum of 20 teams may pre-register for the tournament.
Teams should pre-register early to reserve one of the 20 places.
Teams should provide their initial roster (ordered list of names).
By January 9th, 2023, at 7:00 pm (24 hours before Round 1):
All changes to rosters (add, remove, reorder players) must be received by the tournament coordinator via email at hhchess@utoronto.ca
Matches & Games
This is a CFC-rated single round-robin tournament of team matches.
Team pairings for all rounds will be announced before the first round.
Only the team pairings, not the players, will be announced.
Chess sets and clocks will be provided.
Each match consists of four (4) games on four (4) boards.
Team Captains must assign players to boards no later than 5 minutes before the start of each match (7:05 pm). Doors to the tournament hall open at 6:00 pm.
If an assigned player does not appear, the game is forfeited. Teams need to be disciplined enough to handle their no-shows by 7:05 pm.
Players are assigned to boards in the order of their team’s roster.
A team member who appears after another team member on the roster cannot play on a board before that other team member. Teams must ensure the correct assignment of players to boards (arbiter can award forfeits or reasonable penalties).
If fewer than four players are available, the first boards must be assigned players and the latter boards left empty (and forfeited). If both teams leave a board empty, both teams will forfeit (score zero).
Team Captains (or delegates) are responsible for recording which player plays on which board. This is important for correctly rating the games.
May be reported on the forms provided at the match.
Is played at a time control of game in 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move with chess notation required for every move.
The pairings assign a colour to each team. Team players will play that colour on boards 1 and 3 and the opposite colour on boards 2 and 4.
The game is forfeited after 60 minutes or 8:10 pm. This extra time is allowed for Toronto’s unpredictable rush hour traffic. Both forfeit if both do not appear.
Scoring:
Each game is awarded one game point for a win, ½ game point for a draw, and zero game points for a loss or forfeit.
The winner of a match is the team with the most game points.
Each match is awarded 2 match points for a win, 1 match point for a tie, and zero match points for a loss.
Cheating: All participants must act in ways to prevent the possibility of cheating and, equally important, the suspicion of cheating.
Cheating is VERY serious and will be handled as such.
It is highly recommended that you do NOT bring your electronic devices into the playing venue. Leave them in your car or at home.
If you do bring an electronic device into the playing venue, turn the power off. Your game will be forfeited if your phone rings near ANY chessboard.
If you must use your electronic device for an unavoidable non-chess purpose, notify the arbiter. The arbiter must be present at any time the electronic device is powered on and/or away from the game table (especially outside the playing, hallways, washrooms, etc.).
If the arbiter is not available, find another impartial witness.
Tournament Tiebreaks
During the Qualification Stage (applied in the following order, eliminating as you go):
Team with the most match points.
Team with the most game points in all matches.
Team with the most match points with all other tied teams.
Team with the most game points with all other tied teams.
Team with the most game points on boards 1, 2, and 3 with all other tied teams.
Team with the most game points on boards 1 and 2 with all other tied teams.
Team with the most game points on board 1 with all other tied teams.
Highest rated team. If still tied (extremely unlikely), flip a coin.
For the Finals Stage (applied in the following order, eliminating as you go):
Team with the most match points.
Team with the most game points in all matches.
Team with the most match points with all other tied teams.
Team with the most game points with all other tied teams.
Team with the higher place in qualification stage.
Team with the most match points in qualification stage.
Team with the most game points in qualification stage.
Highest rated team.
The trophy is awarded to one team, the winner, after tiebreaks (if necessary).
Appeals Committee
The Appeals Committee will consist of all the Team Captains.
For each appeal, any Team Captain(s) who have a direct interest in the outcome of the appeal will be excluded from voting.
The committee will be responsible for decisions on appeals to the arbiter’s decisions, complaints, exceptions to posted rules, and any other appropriate rulings.
For any tied votes, the arbiter will cast the deciding vote.
The Hart House Chess Club is proud to have won the bid for the 2023 Greater Toronto Chess League Team Championship! We look forward to welcoming teams from across the Greater Toronto Area for this annual chess competition. Matches will be played on Tuesday evenings at Hart House on the University of Toronto campus. This event is the first post-pandemic GTCL Team CC, since the 2020 event hosted by Willowdale Chess Club.
4 team Round Robin (3 matches over three weeks) in the final stage
Top 2 teams from each group go to Final A (1-4 places),
Next two teams – to Final B (5-8 places) and
Last two teams – to Final C (9-12 places).
All teams will play eight matches, with the tournament ending on Feb. 28th (not March 14th as originally planned).
Teams and pairings for the first five weeks will be split into groups based on top-4 players’ average ratings
Pool A: Teams 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 12.
Pool B: Teams 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11.
ROUNDS: clocks start at 7:10 pm Tuesdays (weekly starting Jan 10th).
TIME CONTROL: 90 mins + 30 secs/move increment
EQUIPMENT: HHCC will supply all chess equipment, including score sheets
DGT BOARDS: 12 DGT boards will be used to broadcast games live online. Commentary by HHCC members and special guests will be provided on the HHCC Twitch and YouTube pages.
ARBITER: NA Alex Ferreira and HHCC Execs as assistants
PRIZES: trophies for winners
ENTRY FEES: $0.00 (GTCL will pay the rating fees and prizes)
The first twenty teams may enter. The HHCC reserves the right to have both a student team and an alumni team. Additional teams may enter, space permitting.
Teams from any GTCL club, organization, or group. No limit on number of teams.
Teams consist of 4 players with any number of substitute players in a pre-assigned order.
Players must have CFC memberships that expire after March 14, 2023.
Only one player per team must register via the registration form. As of Jan. 1st, registrations are now closed – players can be added to teams by emailing organizers until Jan. 9th 7:10 pm ET.
Benefits:
participants will receive a $10 discount to the Hart House Reading Week Open and member pricing to other HHCC events held during the season. Discounts announced Round 1.
HH will organize slow-rated games in a swiss format across four weeks (x2) during GTCL – participants of GTCL can play a game even if not in the top four lineup on a given week. Details for Weekly Winter Swiss
VENUE
The club has booked one of the Debates Room, 24’ x 72’ (capacity 90) or East Common Room, a size of 22’ by 68’ (capacity 90), for the duration of the tournament.
The rooms are located in Hart House, 7 Hart House Cir, Toronto, ON M5S 3H3. Ample food and entertainment can be found nearby within walking distance. Ample paid parking is available at a flat rate of $10 per evening throughout the University of Toronto campus – street parking is also available. Hart House is within 10 minutes of walking distance between two subway stations, Museum and St. George. Free Wi-Fi is available for all participants.
Weekly Schedule:
Rounds start at 7:10 pm on Tuesdays (1 round per week)
Those interested in represent the Hart House Chess Club at this tournament should email hhchess@utoronto.ca. We hope to send both a student and alumni team to represent the Club.
HHCC players have the option of playing in this tournament or the Weekly Winter Swiss. GTCL Team CC is intended for stronger players with tournament experience looking to represent the Club for the entire 9-weeks. The Winter Weekly Swiss is intended to provide more rated, competitive chess playing opportunities for our members. One of the goals is to prepare our members to compete at the Canadian Universities Chess Championship in late January, and at the Reading Week Open.
Hart House Chess Club 