When: Sunday, November 11th, 2018, 2:30 – 4:30 PM Where: Hart House Debates Room
Rules: 0-point-byes are in effect. Forced byes will be awarded 1 point. Ratings will be used for seeding/pairing purposes but the tournament itself will not be rated.
1. One illegal move loses
2. King chopping is allowed
3. Touch clock to complete move (not touch move)
4. Promoting a pawn without replacing it with a piece and pressing the clock is an illegal move
5. Using one hand to move and pressing the clock with another is an illegal move
6. It is fine to castle by moving the rook first
Prizes: Trophy to the top player in the final standings. Medals to the second and third top players.
Arbiter: Mr. Weiwen Leung Deputy Arbiter: Mr. Panayoti Tsialas
Registration:
To reserve a spot in the tournament, please register by sending an e-mail with your full name and FIDE/CFC rating (if you have one) at hhchess@utoronto.ca by no later than November 10th at 9:00 PM. The limited seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The deadline to register will be strictly observed. Walk-ins and on-site registrations will NOT be accepted.
Entry Fee:
The entry fee for Hart House Chess Club members will be $5. Members of the guest Teams in the Ivy League Challenge may enter for free. Everyone else will be asked to pay $20. No CFC membership is required.
All money raised will go towards supporting UofT’s Varsity Chess Team in its road to the 2018 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Chess Championship in San Fransisco, California.
Join Hart House Chess Club as it welcomes some of America’s and Canada’s strongest student chess players for a fantastic Blitz Tournament on the 11th of November! The “Blitz Battles” is a fundraising chess competition taking place right after the closing ceremony of the much awaited Ivy League Challenge!
The tournament is open to the chess community at large so everyone is welcome to play but seating is limited and registration is required to secure your spot. To reserve a spot in the tournament, please register by sending an e-mail with your full name and FIDE/CFC rating (if you have one) at hhchess@utoronto.ca as early as possible.
The deadline to register is Saturday, November 10th, at 9:00 PM and it will be strictly observed. Many players need to get to Pearson Airport in time, so we need to make sure that the announced timetable will be followed. For this reason, walk-ins and on-site registrations will NOT be accepted.
We expect a pretty high demand so, if interested in playing, it is advisable to make your move fast. As a courtesy to your fellow students and chess enthusiasts, we would kindly ask that if you register for the tournament and you are no longer able to attend, please cancel your registration to allow for someone to take your spot.
The registration fee for Hart House Chess Club members will be $5. Members of the guest Teams in the Ivy League Challenge may enter for free. Everyone else will be asked to pay $20. All money raised will go towards supporting UofT’s Varsity Chess Team in its road to the 2018 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Chess Championship in San Fransisco, California.
This is sure to be a wonderful event and we hope that you will join us.
IVY LEAGUE CHALLENGE
ROUND 5 – LIVE RESULTS
Nov. 11th – 9:30 AM
I. Toronto A vs Princeton (1 – 3)
1. NM Joseph Bellissimo (2121) – FM Kapil Chandran (2393) 0 – 1
2. NM James Fu (2061) – FM Ethan Li (2248) 1/2 – 1/2
3. NM Sean Lei (1876) – NM Aaron Balleisen (2195) 1/2 – 1/2
4. Gary Huang (1748 CFC) – NM Isaac Martinez (2127) 0 – 1
II. Toronto B vs Michigan (1 – 3)
1. FM Nikita Gusev (2253) – IM Atulya Shetty (2395) 0 – 1
2. FM Qiyu Zhou (2207) – IM Safal Bora (2392) 1/2 – 1/2
3. NM Haizhou Xu (2116) – FM Mark Heimann (2368) 0 – 1
4. NM Zehn Nasir (2081) – Kyle Webster (1902) 1/2 – 1/2
III. Yale vs Harvard (1.5 – 2.5)
1. IM Matthew Larson (2408) – GM Darwin Yang (2488) 1/2 – 1/2
2. Alex Fabbri (2067) – IM Richard Wang (2332) 0 – 1
3. Ram Vishwanathan (1893) – FM Varun Krishnan (2253) 1/2 – 1/2
4. Harish Vemuri (1887 USFC) – NM Bryan Hu (2240) 1/2 – 1/2
IVY LEAGUE CHALLENGE
ROUND 4 – LIVE RESULTS
Nov. 10th – 4:30 PM
I. Princeton vs Yale (3.5 – 0.5)
FM Kapil Chandran (2393) – IM Matthew Larson (2408) 1 – 0
FM Ethan Li (2248) – Alex Fabbri (2067) 1 – 0
NM Aaron Balleisen (2195) – Ram Vishwanathan (1893) 1/2 – 1/2
NM Isaac Martinez (2127) – Harish Vemuri (1887 USFC) 1 – 0
II. Michigan vs Toronto A (3.5 – 0.5)
IM Atulya Shetty (2395) – NM Joseph Bellissimo (2121) 1 – 0
IM Safal Bora (2392) – NM James Fu (2061) 1/2 – 1/2
FM Mark Heimann (2356) – Sean Lei (1876) 1 – 0
Kyle Webster (1902) – Gary Huang (1748 CFC) 1 – 0
III. Harvard vs Toronto B (3 – 1)
GM Darwin Yang (2488) – FM Nikita Gusev (2253) 1/2 – 1/2
IM Richard Wang (2332) – FM Qiyu Zhou (2207) 1/2 – 1/2
FM Varun Krishnan (2253) – NM Zehn Nasir (2081) 1 – 0
NM Bryan Hu (2240) – NM Jonathan Yu (2057) 1 – 0
IVY LEAGUE CHALLENGE
ROUND 3 – LIVE RESULTS
Nov. 10th – 10:00 AM
I. Toronto B vs Princeton (0.5 – 3.5)
1. FM Nikita Gusev (2253) – FM Kapil Chandran (2393) 0 – 1
2. FM Qiyu Zhou (2207) – FM Ethan Li (2248) 1/2 – 1/2
3. NM Haizhou Xu (2116) – NM Aaron Balleisen (2195) 0 – 1
4. NM Zehn Nasir (2081) – NM Isaac Martinez (2127) 0 – 1
II. Harvard vs Michigan (2.5 – 1.5)
1. GM Darwin Yang (2488) – IM Atulya Shetty (2395) 1/2 – 1/2
2. IM Richard Wang (2332) – IM Safal Bora (2392) 0 – 1
3. FM Varun Krishnan (2253) – FM Mark Heimann (2356) 1 – 0
4. NM Bryan Hu (2240) – Kyle Webster (1902) 1 – 0
III. Yale vs Toronto A (3.5 – 0.5)
1. IM Matthew Larson (2408) – NM Joseph Bellissimo (2121) 1 – 0
2. Alex Fabbri (2067) – NM James Fu (2061) 1 – 0
3. Ram Vishwanathan (1893) – NM Sean Lei (1876) 1/2 – 1/2
4. Harish Vemuri (1887 USFC) – Gary Huang (1748 CFC) 1 – 0
IVY LEAGUE CHALLENGE
ROUND 2 – LIVE RESULTS
Nov. 9th – 5:00 PM
I. Princeton vs Harvard (2.5 – 1.5)
1. FM Kapil Chandran (2393) – GM Darwin Yang (2488) 1/2 – 1/2
2. FM Ethan Li (2248) – IM Richard Wang (2332) 0 – 1
3. NM Aaron Balleisen (2195) – FM Varun Krishnan (2253) 1 – 0
4. NM Isaac Martinez (2127) – NM Bryan Hu (2240) 1 – 0
II. Michigan vs Yale (2.5 – 1.5)
1. IM Atulya Shetty (2395) – IM Matthew Larson (2408) 1/2 – 1/2
2. IM Safal Bora (2392) – Alex Fabbri (2067) 1 – 0
3. FM Mark Heimann (2356) – Ram Vishwanathan (1893) 1 – 0
4. Kyle Webster (1902) – Harish Vemuri (1887 USFC) 0 – 1
III. Toronto A vs Toronto B (1.5 – 2.5)
1. NM Joseph Bellissimo (2121) – FM Nikita Gusev (2253) 1 – 0
2. NM James Fu (2061) – FM Qiyu Zhou (2207) 0 – 1
3. NM Sean Lei (1876) – NM Zehn Nasir (2081) 1/2 – 1/2
4. Gary Huang (1748 CFC) – NM Jonathan Yu (2057) 0 – 1
IVY LEAGUE CHALLENGE
ROUND 1 – LIVE RESULTS
Nov. 9th – 10:30 AM
I. Princeton vs Michigan (1.5 – 2.5)
1. FM Kapil Chandran (2393) – IM Atulya Shetty (2395) 1/2 – 1/2
2. FM Ethan Li (2248) – IM Safal Bora (2392) 0 – 1
3. NM Aaron Balleisen (2195) – FM Mark Heimann (2368) 0 – 1
4. NM Isaac Martinez (2127) – Kyle Webster (1902) 1 – 0
II. Harvard vs Toronto A (3.5 – 0.5)
1. GM Darwin Yang (2488) – NM Joseph Bellissimo (2121) 1 – 0
2. IM Richard Wang (2332) – NM James Fu (2061) 1 – 0
3. FM Varun Krishnan (2253) – NM Sean Lei (1876) 1/2 – 1/2
4. NM Bryan Hu (2240) – Gary Huang (1748 CFC) 1 – 0
III. Toronto B vs Yale (1.5 – 2.5)
1. FM Nikita Gusev (2253) – IM Matthew Larson (2408) 1/2 – 1/2
2. FM Qiyu Zhou (2207) – Alex Fabbri (2067) 1 – 0
3. NM Haizhou Xu (2116) – Ram Vishwanathan (1893) 0 – 1
4. NM Zehn Nasir (2081) – Harish Vemuri (1887 USFC) 0 – 1
“When witches go riding, and zombies are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, a checkmate is near.”
It might be that there were no buckets of blood or bat wings, snakes and eyeballs in the Hart House Reading Room but there sure was plenty of gore and terror on the chess boards. On Friday, October 26th Hart House Chess Club hosted its first ever themed blitz tournament, asking participants to play the notorious Halloween Gambit (1.e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Nc3 Nf6, 4. Nxe5). What a better way to spend your Halloween?
Twenty-eight players accepted the invitation and came out to play – among them, three chess masters. And boy-oh-boy! What a terrific spectacle they offered! This slimy and forgotten line resulted in 95% decisive results, with just a handful of games ending with draw. The big shocker, however, was that, while before the tournament almost everyone was quick to dismiss the gambit as hopeless, it turned out that many players were able to discover hidden resources in White’s position and push their initiative into a full point! Even Μasters who thought that White is simply left a piece down on move four had a really hard time defending Black’s position in a Blitz Game, absent any home preparation.
Twenty-eight players participated in the Halloween Tournament!
Moreover, and in the spirit of preparing our less experienced club members to challenge the top seeds of the tournament, our very own exec and chess master, Zane Nasir, taught an intensive one-hour workshop on the Halloween Gambit Tournament right before the games. Attendees were taught the fundamentals of this opening and were introduced to some notorious Halloween traps they should avoid!
The tournament was a 5 double-round Swiss system with each player taking a shot at the Halloween Gambit, first as White and then as Black. Each player had 3 min + 2 secs per move to complete the game. And while there were no major upsets in the tournament, there was a lot of suspense in the end with two top seeds facing each other in the last round. William Li, coming from 8 straight victories in the first 8 games was facing Hart House Chess Club’s Varsity Player James Fu, who had 7 points. James repelled William’s attack and won the first game with Black and the question was: would he be able claim first place by beating his opponent with the Halloween Gambit?
In a nail-biting last-round match, William Li (2223) faced James Fu (2232)
In a tournament-deciding game, the Gambit showed its sharp teeth and its bite proved venomous. James defeated William after a tough fight and, with 9 points out of 10 games, he claimed first place in the Hart House Halloween Blitz Tourney!
James Fu: He wants YOU for a new best chess friend…
James Fu and Mr. Gerhard Gross, who was visiting from Germany, were, in fact, the only players who did not lose a single match in the tournament.
Mr. Gross was the only one to make it through James’s Gambit
But the games were not over yet as, after 10 rounds, Ethan Moon and Jurgen Aliaj both had scored 7/10, tying for the U-1600 prize.
Ethan Moon: “What a freaking set-up. First time I’d rather get black…”
In the playoffs that followed, in a mirror image of the match between James and William, Ethan first took the Black pieces and managed to stop Jurgen’s attack. In the second game, however, his own halloween attack proved too powerful and led to a back rank checkmate, offering Ethan the U-1600 prize.
Panayoti Tsialas: “Blessed he who gets to shake the hand of Ethan Moon”
Finally, after a sudden hiccup on Round 2, Eileen Lin scored a magnificent 7 points in 10 games and became the rightful winner of the top female player prize!
First-year student, Eileen Lin (1920) scored a splendid 7 our of 10!
Panayoti Tsialas was the tournament arbiter. Given the special occasion, all participants were treated to Halloween candy! Hart House Chess Club would like to thank all our chess friends who came out to play with special thanks to the very promising 15 year-old Brendan Cambell who travelled with his mom all the way from Michigan and participated in the event! Finally, a big shout-out to Dmitri Chouchkov, Zara Toyserkani, Robin and so many other unnamed volunteers who added their generous contribution to the success of this event.
Hart House Halloween Blitz Tournament Crosstable
If anything, the Halloween Blitz Tournament proved that, in the modern chess era, when engines are assuming an all the more prominent role in the game, there are still ways to stay creative. Themed tournament that revive sharp and forgotten lines are but one way to uphold chess imagination, a precious quality not in great supply. To bring it back to Halloween and to quote a famous author: “Where there is no imagination there is no horror”.
Hart House Chess Club 