On Friday, December 8th, the Hart House Chess Club had the unique honor and privilege to host an elite chess lecture by Canada’s most recent International Master, Shiyam Thavandiran!
In the South Dining Room, which was full of U of T students and other chess enthusiasts, IM Thavandiran made a presentation on “Prophylactic Thinking”, introducing the concept of prophylaxis by showing examples from the classics and his own games. Rich in valuable chess advice and garnished with delicious world chess championship stories, Shiyam’s lecture lasted for a good 2 filling hours, teaching the audience effective ways for recognizing their opponent’s resources and developing preventive thinking.
Shiyam’s record of achievements is long and impressive! He has won 11 Canadian School and Junior Chess Championships and he has represented Canada in the World Youth Chess Championships four times. He was awarded the FIDE Master title in 2006 and he became an International Master in October 2017! He has been voted Canada’s Chess Player of the Year twice (Fan Ballot: 2008 and 2009).
Our club’s Director of Communications, Panayoti Tsialas, joined Shiyam after his lecture and had a brief interview with him about the evolution of AI, the importance of classical time control and the ability of chess to make you a better student!
We are delighted to have had Shiyam as our guest lecturer at Hart House Chess Club and we are looking forward to host more events with him in the future!
Panayoti learned chess when he was a little kid and he’s been in love with the Royal Game ever since! Born in 1990 in a small town in the South of Greece, he was first introduced to chess when he was 5 years-old and he gradually developed his skills to become a competitive chess player.
He loves teaching kids as well as adults and he enjoys watching his students evolve as chess players. He specializes in middle-game strategy and chess history and he is best known for his efforts to combine teaching tactics, strategy and the like touching on more general topics and stories pertaining to chess (e.g. chess and psychology, chess and engines, chess history etc).
Panayoti believes that chess provides a unique tool for developing certain life skills (e.g. improve focus, gain discipline, sharpen judgment) as well as for inculcating important values (e.g. respect, self-restraint). He regards and teaches chess not just as a set of rules and principles but as a part of general human culture.
He is currently teaching the Weekly Workshops on Chess Tactics at Hart House Chess Club (students) and he is also a coach for juniors at Canada’s Chess Youth Club.
Panayoti played his last chess tournament in 2009, after which he retired in order to study law. He now considers himself a developing coach and an avid chess enthusiast. He holds an LL.B. (2013) and an LL.M. (2014) from the University of Athens and he earned his second LL.M. from Harvard Law School (2015). He is currently a first-year PhD student at U of T’s Law School and a former Captain at UofT’s Varsity chess team.
In his free time he likes playing volleyball, working out and watching lots of movies!
Chess Bio:
National Greek School Chess Champion (2005)
Represented Greece in the World School Chess Championship (2005)
National Greek Team Chess Champion (2006)
Fourth place in the World School Chess Championship (2007)
Third place in the National Chess Championship U-20 (2008)
First place in International Open Chess Tournament and Retirement (2009)
Joins Harvard Law School’s Official Chess Club (2014)
Joins Yale University’s Official Chess Club (2015)
Founder and Coach at Athens Law School’s Official Chess Club (2016)
Director of Communications (2017-18), Fundraiser (2018-19) and Coach at Hart House Chess Club (2017-19). Captain in U of T’s Varsity Chess Team (2017-18).
The members of U of T’s Varsity Chess Team qualify through a competitive 5-round chess tournament, held annually in late September or in early October. The 2018-19 Varsity Chess Team is made up of the following students (by order of CFC rating):
Joseph Bellissimo
CFC Rating: 2270
1st Year Student
Age: 18
James Fu
CFC Rating: 2214
4th Year Student
Age: 21
Jonathan Yu – Chess Master Current CFC Rating: 2225
Jonathan enjoys teaching all aspects of the game to HH chess club members of all levels. He applies his background in tournament chess to help students better understand the strategic and psychological subtleties of the game.
His favorite aspect of chess is the endgame. He has never taught chess professionally but believes living is learning and is never hesitant to kibitz on an ongoing blitz game! He is currently teaching a popular seminar on Middlegame Strategy!
Before volunteering at the Hart House Chess Club, Jonathan was Canadian Youth Champion U12 (2001) and U16 (2005). He likes to travel and mix in some chess tournaments in his spare time!
Jonathan is also an engineering alumni at University of Toronto and works in machine learning and app development. While a student he was a member of the HH Chess Club for 5 years and played on the UofT Pan-ams teams in 2011 and 2012.
In 2018, Jonathan, along with Hart House Chess Club’s former Secretary, Bill Kim, joined a team of volunteers who went to Ghana. As part of their mission to improve the science curriculum for the local High School, Jonathan and Bill founded a chess club for the junior’s of the village.
Recent selected tournament results:
Reykjavik Open 2017- 6/10 2238 Perf
Vienna Chess Open 2016 Group A – 5/9 2213 Perf
Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2015 – Masters 5.5/10 2409 Perf
President Alyssa RusonikExternal Events Coordinator Tanner McNamaraFundraiser Sean LeiTreasurer Crystal CaoCommunications Director Benjamin ZhangCommunications Director Wilson Sy
Alumni Chair: Ben Hahn
Program Supervisor: Tom Moss
The Executive Board is generously assisted in the discharge of its duties by the following dedicated volunteers:
Alex Ferreira
Andrew McMillan
Edward Chan
Haizhou Xu
Jack Ding
Jonathan Yu
Jimmy Bartha
Kit-Sun Ng
Luc Leclair
Panayoti Tsialas
Robert Roller
Zara Toyserkani
Hart House Chess Club is an open and inclusive environment. As a positive space, we welcome and encourage new members of all sexes, genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities, languages, abilities, religions and creeds to participate in the student government of the club, either as members of the executive or as volunteers!
On Friday, November 24th, Hart House Chess Club welcomed back acclaimed International Master, Igor Zugic for an elite lecture, with a focus on “Competitive Play”.
IM Zugic, whose lecture was joined by 25 chess enthusiasts, covered themes such as approach to openings, preparation, psychology, and tips for maximizing results and enjoying the game. Such was the interest and the excitement in the audience that the lecture went on for almost 4 hours, instead of the originally scheduled 90 minutes!
Igor Zugic is a Canadian International Master of chess who was the 2006 Canadian Champion. He earned his International Master title in 2000, and was selected for the Canadian Chess Olympiad team three times. He studied computer engineering at the University of Toronto, graduating in 2004, and represented the school in the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Championship.
After his lecture, he gave a brief interview to HHCC Director of Communications Panayoti Tsialas, sharing his reflections as guest lecturer and as ex-member of HHCC Varsity Team!
It was a great pleasure and honor to have had IM Zugic at Hart House Chess Club as our guest lecturer and we are looking forward to hosting more chess lectures with him in the future!
Hart House Chess Club’s Fall Blitz Tournament took place on October 20th, at the HH Reading Room. Leslie Tang, who recently qualified to HH Chess Club’s Pan-Am Team, finished clear first, scoring a formidable 7½ out of 10 and rightfully claiming the gold medal and the $50 gift-award.
With 6 out of 10, Vignesh Kumar and Adie Todd tied for 2nd place but, in the end, it was Vignesh who claimed 2nd place (and a $25 gift-award), whereas Adie got bronze and a $10 gift-card.
We congratulate the winners on their ourstanding performance and we wish them all the best in their future games!
Besides the three winners, however, honorable mention must be awarded to Kay Schaarschmidt (8/10), Alex Ferreira (8/10), Kit Ng (7/10), Jonathan Yu (6/10) and Andrew McMillan (6/10), five non-prizewinning entries in the competition who, nevertheless, performed exceptionally!
Final Crosstable – Hart House Chess Club October Blitz 2017
We would also like to express our delight about the big number of people who took part in the event. Despite the midterm period, a total of twenty-one participants played in the tournament, which marked a very pleasant surprise. More strikingly, one of the participants was 6 year-old Andy, who also attended the intermediate players class and really impressed us with his maturity, focus and accurate solutions to a number of chess puzzles!
Special thanks for the successful administration of the tournament is owed to Mr. Alex Ferreira, the Chief Arbiter in the event, who, once again, went way beyond the call of duty to make sure the tournament would run smoothly.
Tournament Poster
Tournament Promo
Finally, many thanks to all the experienced as well as novice players who participated in the tournament, turning Hart House Reading Room into a lively chess-playing hall!
We are looking forward to seeing you again in our next event!
Dylan Yakobovits
Ethan Moon
Jack Moore (1361)
Adam Kasztenny
Leslie Tang (1795)
Adie Todd (1637) with White is facing Chrysafis Tsoukalas with Black
Kay Schaarschmidt (2153)
Alex Ferreira (2074) with White is facing Dan with Black
John Fines (1883) with White is facing Andrew Effat
Foreground: Adie Todd (1637) v. Jonathan Yu (2150) Background: Leslie Tang (1795) v. Jack Ding (2070)
Kay Schaarschmidt (2153) is facing Kit Ng (2216)
The Blitz-Tournament in full swing
Chief Arbiter Alex Ferreira
Blitz tournament over! Casual chess resumed!
Award Ceremony
Announcing the Winner of the Chess-Puzzle Competition!
The 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier is marked one of our Club’s greatest successes in recent years as 22 players seized the opportunity to experience an enjoyable and friendly chess competition! After five rounds of tough battles on the board, the top 8 finishers who will get to represent U of T are:
1-2. Mike Ivanov, Zhen Nasir (4 points) 3-4. Nikita Gusev, Jim Zhao (3.5 points) 5-7. Aidan Sowa, Panayoti Tsialas, Leslie Tang (3 points) 8. Andy Liao (2.5 points)
We would like to congratulate the top-8 finishers on their performance and we wish them good luck in the 2017 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Championship in Columbus, Ohio.
We would also like to extend our thanks to each and every chess enthusiast who participated in the tournament, either as a player or as a spectator! This event would not have been so magical without your amazing support and active involvement! Special thanks are owed to Mr. Alex Ferreira, the Chief Arbiter of the tourament, who volunteered so much of his time and energy to make sure that this tournament would be a success. He conducted the entire event superbly!
Most importantly, however, we would like to thank all the less experienced chess players who were courageous and enthusiastic enough to compete against some of HH Chess Club’s finest! You all did a great job and we were so lucky to have you play in the tournament! Keep practicing, keep playing, keep enjoying the Royal Game whenever and wherever you get the chance!
Here are all the pairings and results per Round:
Round 1
1. Jack Moore – Nikita Gusev 0-1
2. Mike Ivanov – Vikram Venkataramanan 1-0
3. BenJohn Libardo – Jim Zhao 0-1
4. Aidan Sowa – Aflah Zul 1-0
5. Leon Yao – Juliaan Posaratnanathan 0-1
6. Leslie Tang – Morris Chen 1-0
7. Andy Liao – Seiji Nakagawa 1/2
8. Kevin Chen – Su Sanne Tan 1-0
9. Alexandra Yao – Ruonan Cao 0-1
Round 2
1. Nikita Gusev – Aidan Sowa 1-0
2. Ruonan Cao – Mike Ivanov 0-1
3. Jim Zhao – Leslie Tang 1-0
4. Seiji Nakagawa – Kevin Chen 1-0
5. Zehn Nasir – Andy Liao 1-0
6. Morris Chen -Jack Moore 0-1
7. Aflah Zul – John Chen 0-1
8. Vikram Venkataramanan – Raeid Saqur 0-1
9. Su Sanne Tan – BenJohn Libardo 1-0
Bye: Alexandra Yao (1/2)
Round 3
1. Mike Ivanov – Nikita Gusev 1-0
2. Seiji Nakagawa – Jim Zhao 0-1
3. John Chen – Zhen Nasir 0-1
4. Aidan Sowa – Jack Moore 1-0
5. Leslie Tang – Su Sanne Tan 1-0
6. Raeid Saqur – Ruonan Cao 0-1
7. Andy Liao – Alexandra Yao 1-0
8. Panayoti Tsialas – Aflah Zul 1-0
9. BenJohn Libardo – Vikram Venkataramanan 0-1
Bye: Morris Chen (1/2)
Round 4
1. Jim Zhao – Mike Ivanov 0-1
2. Nikita Gusev – Leslie Tang 1-0
3. Zehn Nasir – Aidan Sowa 1-0
4. Ruonan Cao – Seiji Nakagawa 0-1
5. Andy Liao – Panayoti Tsialas 0-1
6. Jack Moore – John Chen 1-0
7. Alexandra Yao – BenJohn Libardo 0-1
Round 5
1. Jim Zhao – Nikita Gusev 1/2
2. Seiji Nakagawa – Zehn Nasir 0-1
3. Aidan Sowa – Ruonan Cao 1-0
4. Panayoti Tsialas – Jack Moore 1-0
5. Leslie Tang – BenJohn Libardo 1-0
6. John Chen – Andy Liao 0-1
Final Crosstable
The qualifying tournament was held on Oct. 7-8th at the Hart House Committees Room and, once again, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to an unforgettable 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier!
A very interesting chess event took place this Fall, starting on October 14th and lasting for an entire week, up until October 20th! Students were invited to participate in a chess-puzzle solving competition, in which the 17 puzzles had been drawn from actual positions, which had arisen in the games of the 5-round Pan-Am qualifying Tournament!
The rules of the competition were very simple: If you solve one puzzle you get one lot in the raffle for a $20-worth New In Chess magazine. If you solve two problems, you get two lots. We were accepting answers until Friday, Oct. 20th, 12 p.m. and the winner would be announced in the evening of that same day.
More than 20 students took part in this competition but, in the end, it was Alexandra Yao who solved two problems correctly and won the big prize! Congratulations to her on a remarkable success!
Below are the 17 chess puzzles, which the participants in the contest were asked to solve!
Aidan Sowa – Aflah Zul 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (1) Position after 9… Ba6 White to move and win material. Can you see how? Try to calculate both lines that black can play to defend. Difficulty Level: **
BenJohn Libardo – Jim Zhao 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (1) Position after 27. Kh2 White has a rook and a pawn for two pieces but his King is under an unstoppable attack. Black concluded the game in great style. Black to play and mate in 4. Difficulty level: ***
Kevin Chen – Su Sanne Tan 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (1) White just played 10. Nb5 threatening to jump on c7 and trap the rook. Black tried to stop this threat with 10… Bd6, which is losing instantly. What is white’s winning combination? Difficulty level: ***
Seiji Nakagawa – Kevin Chen 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (2) Position after 45…Kh6 White has two extra passed pawns but Black’s rooks are very active. Seiji tried to convert with 46. e6 and the game continued with 46…Rf3+, 47. Ke1. And now, seeing that 48… Rfe3 (or Rbe3) would lose to 49. e7 Black resigned. However, the final position, in which Kevin resigned, is a clear draw. Can you find the way? Difficulty level: **
Vikram Venkataramanan – Raeid Saqur 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (2) Position after 19…f6. Black is trying to undermine White’s center but Raeid’s last move is a mistake . Can you spot the double-pin that allowed White to win a pawn? Difficulty level: **
Seiji Nakagawa – Kevin Chen 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (2) Position after 25… Bd8 In this position White played 26. Ra2 in order to double his rooks on the -e- file. However, he could have won material. How? Difficulty level: **
Jim Zhao – Leslie Tang 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (2) Black just played 33…Qf6 proposing a queen trade. What did he overlook? Difficulty level: *
Morris Chen – Jack Moore 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (2) Position after 25. Kb2 White has a knight for a pawn but his last move is a serious mistake, which gives Black a decisive attack. How should Black continue? Difficulty level: **
Zehn Nasir – Aidan Sowa 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (4) Position after 24… Kc6 Black has an extra pawn but White’s pieces are very active and control all the crucial files and diagonals. Zehn found a powerful regrouping move which wins material. Can you spot it? Difficulty level: ***
Leslie Tang – Su Sanne Tan 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (3) Position after 9. Bb5+ White has already seized the initiative and is now checking the enemy King. Black has a difficult choice between 9…Nc6, 9…Bd7 and 9…Kf8. Two of these moves are losing instantly whereas the third allows Black to fight on. How should Black continue?
John Chen – Andy Liao 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (5) Position after 17…Nb7 Black’s last move leaves the knight on h5 exposed to discovered attacks. While White cannot trap the undefended knight he can exploit this weakness and deliver a powerful double attack on the “western front”. How? Difficulty level: **
Nikita Gusev – Leslie Tang 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (4) Position after 26. Bf6+ In the diagram position, instead of going 26…Kg8, Black played the unfortunate 26…Nxf6, which loses an exchange. What is White’s winning combination? Difficulty level: **
Panayoti Tsialas – Jack Moore 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (5) position after 18…f5 White’s pieces have stormed Black’s King but the immediate 19. Ng5, attacking h7 is not very effective as Black can reinforce his -h7- pawn with 19…Nb6. An intermediate move is necessary to displace Black’s Queen from its defensive outspost. This is a difficult attacking combination Difficulty level: ****
Aidan Sowa – Ruonan Cao 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (5) Position after 28…Rd8 The material is balanced but with his next move, White managed to create four threats simultaneously! What is the winning move? Make sure to identify all four threats in your answer! Difficulty level: **
John Chen – Andy Liao 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (5) Position after 28. Qf4 White’s Bishop on c2 is under attack but White chose to defend it indirectly by bringing his Queen to f4. The idea behind White’s last move is that, if Black plays 28…Rxc2, the f7 square loses one of its defenders so White can simply play 29. Qf7+ with good chances for a successful attack. However, 28. Qf4 is a mistake. Why? Difficulty level: *
Zehn Nasir – Andy Liao 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (2) Position after 20. Qc4 White’s position is much better and after Black’s 20…Bb7, White played 21. Nd5 and won a comfortable game. There is only one way for Black to avoid decisive material losses. Can you find his most stubborn defense? Difficulty level: **
Panayoti Tsialas – Jack Moore 2017 Pan-Am Qualifier (5) Position after 33…gxf5 White is just a step away from victory but the immediate attempt to win the exchange with 34. Rxf7 Rxf7, 35. Qxf7+ Qxf7, 36. Bxf7+ Kxf7 unnecessarily complicates things, leaving White a whole piece up but giving Black some counterplay, thanks to his passed -h- pawn and to the passive placement of the white knight. Which forced line leaves White with two rather than one piece up? Difficulty level: **
Panayoti Tsialas 
Jonathan Yu – Chess Master
