Author: harthousechess

Lessons and Quads Fall 2024

Published on by harthousechess

The Hart House Chess Club is pleased to announce the Fall 2024 Lessons and Quads Schedule! All Lessons and Quads will be held in the Bickersteth Room of Hart House. All are free to attend or participate for Members of the Club.

Lessons: This Fall, join us on Fridays throughout the semester for exciting lessons and lectures to help you become a better player. Members are entitled to free lessons this fall provided by expert lecturers and experienced players. 

Quads: This Fall, join us on select Fridays, from 7 pm – 9 pm for weekly CFC and FIDE-rated Rapid Quad tournaments.  A time control of 10 mins + 5 seconds increment allows for structured improvement and game play. It is also a great tournament for those new to chess. No commitment to all weeks is necessary, play whenever you can!

Registration and Interest Form: Those interested in attending or participating are encouraged to fill out the following form.

Lessons Details

Complete Beginners: 

  • The expected audience are players who have never played chess or who only know how the pieces move. No chess experience is expected and fundamentals starting from piece movement will be covered. Interactive sessions, informative demonstrations, resources, and discussions will be provided to help students learn how to play. Registration is required for all prospective attendees. 
  • Lessons will be co-taught: Victor Zheng (CFC elo 2192), Steven Guo (CFC elo 1638)
  • Registration: Registration is required. Please fill out this form.
  • Lessons will cover:
    • Week 1: Piece Value, Piece Movement, Openings
    • Week 2: Opening theory, strategies
    • Week 3: Middlegame theory, strategies
    • Week 4: Endgames, General Play, Conclusion
  • Time: 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Fridays September 20, 27, October 4, 11

Intermediate Lessons: 

  • The expected audience are players who are looking to up their game. Players are expected to know fundamental ideas of piece movement, basic strategies of chess, and calculation methods. 10 lessons will be offered and participants can still learn something if they miss a class. All participants are expected to be members of the Hart House Chess Club.
  • Registration: Registration is required here. However, participants can join at any point during the lesson schedule.
  • Lessons will be taught by: Uttam Dhungel (CFC elo 1928)
    • Pawn structure
    • Imbalances
    • Middlegame strategy
    • Understanding endgames
    • Studying games of Masters
  • Time: 5:30 pm – 7 pm Fridays
    • September 20, 27 
    • October 4, 11, 25
    • November 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

Quad Tournament Details

The following section describes the 2024 Fall Quad tournament schedule.

A Quad Tournament is where all players are sorted from highest rating to lowest rating and the top four highest-rated players are placed in one section (a Quad), then the following 4 highest rated players are placed in another Quad. This process continues until all players are given a designated Quad. If there are 1, 2 or 3 players remaining after the last full Quad has been designated, those players will be placed in the last quad section and that section will play a 3 round Swiss match.

WHEN: Selected Fridays in Fall 2024.

  • September 20, 27 
  • October 4, 11, 24
  • November 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

WHAT: 3-round FIDE Rated (top two quads), CFC-Active Rated Quad Tournament, 10 mins + 5 secs/move increment time control.
WHERE: Hart House Bickersteth Room (3rd floor), (7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, ON)
RATINGS: CFC Quick and FIDE Rapid rated in top two quads. Otherwise, only CFC Quick Rated. CFC Quick ratings are used for all pairings. All players must have a valid CFC membership to play. Registration done in-person weekly first-come-first-served.
ROUND TIMES:  7:00 pm, 7:40 pm, 8:20 pm
SECTIONS: Players are split by ratings into pools of 4, with up to 4 pools.
EQUIPMENT: HHCC will supply all chess equipment
PRIZES: Each quad features a $50 first-place gift card prize.
CAPACITY: 16 per night
ENTRY FEES: Free for GMs, IMs, HHCC members. $20 otherwise.
REGISTRATION: Accepted ONLY in person from 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm. Fill out the following interest form to be notified of late-breaking news, updates, and to receive a weekly reminder email.

Chess Federation of Canada Memberships are Required: $12 for a one-time adult, or $48 for one year. https://www.chess.ca/en/players/membership-join/. For HHCC student members, a single tournament membership is covered for unrated players in their first tournament ($12 value).

Feedback Survey: please feel free to fill out this form

Questions?

hhchess@studentorg.utoronto.ca

Summer 2024 Quads at Hart House Chess Club

2024 First-Year Representative Election

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Attention all First-Year Students!

An election shall be held to elect the First-Year Representative for Fall 2024.

The First-Year Representative is responsible for “working to ensure the voices of first-year students are heard and represented. The First-Year Representative may work to organize activities that are specifically tailored to the needs of first-year students, such as introductory workshops and beginner chess tournaments. The First-Year Representative serves as a mentor and resource for first-year members who may be new to chess or new to the Club. The First-Year Representative provides guidance and support to help these members feel welcomed and included in the Club, and they also help to facilitate connections between first-year members and more experienced players. The First-Year Representative plays a role in creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for first-year members and ensuring that they have a positive and enjoyable experience with the Club,” according to the Constitution of the Hart House Chess Club.

UPDATE: Please view the list of nominees here.

Eligibility

All first-year students at University of Toronto are eligible to run for election for this position.  A candidate for the position of First-Year Representative is not required to be a member of the Club for one month before the election.

All club student members have the right to vote. To become a member, students can sign up here.

Important Dates

Students interested in the First-Year Representative position are asked to email the Alumni Chair at elections@harthousechess.com expressing interest, and a short bio/background by  September 20th at 10 pm. They are asked to include [HHCC Elections] as the subject of the email.

If there are two or more candidates for a position, a vote will be held to determine the successful candidate on September 27th at 7 pm in-person in the Hart House Reading Room. The voting is done by secret ballot.

The electoral process will be administered by the club’s Alumni Chair, Ben Hahn. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Hahn at elections@harthousechess.com, indicating [HHCC Elections] as the subject of your email.

Hart House Chess Club is an open and inclusive environment. There is no requirement to be good at the game of chess to run for the first year representative. Everyone is encouraged to nominate themselves. As a positive space we welcome and encourage 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! 

Thank you very much for your attention!

2024 Fall Blitz Tournament

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The Hart House Chess Club is hosting its Fall Blitz tournament on Friday, November 1st, 2024. Join the Hart House Chess Club for an exciting 7-double-round tournament! We’re playing 7 rounds of 3 minutes + 2 seconds blitz starting at 7 pm! We hope to see you there!

FORMAT AND EVENT DETAILS

  • WHEN: Friday, November 1st, 7 pm – 10:00 pm.
  • WHERE: Hart House (7 Hart House Cir, Toronto) – Reading Room.
  • WHAT: 7-double-round Blitz Event (Swiss), with a 3 minute + 2 seconds time control. One section.
  • RATED: Unrated
  • ENTRY FEE: Free for members, free for non-members but ineligible for prizes. Register onsite before 7pm.
  • PRIZE FUND: Guaranteed $250. Distribution announced onsite. Prizes for top-woman, top-unrated. Note all prizes paid via Gift Cards
  • MAXIMUM CAPACITY: 60 players.
  • NOTE: chess sets and boards provided

PRIZE FUND

First: $120
Second: $60
Third: $30

Top-Woman: $20
Top-Unrated: $20

CONTACT:

Any questions can be sent to: hhchess@studentorg.utoronto.ca

Pairings, Standings, Crosstables:
https://www.chessmanager.com/en/tournaments/4807012074651648

2024 Fall Bughouse Tournament

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Attention all chess enthusiasts and strategists! Get ready to experience the exhilarating world of Bughouse Chess, the most captivating and thrilling chess variant ever created! Join us this summer on Friday October 18th, 2024 from 7 pm – 8:30 pm for a great night of bughouse!

What is Bughouse Chess? Bughouse Chess is the fusion of lightning-fast gameplay and strategic teamwork, where two teams of two players apiece battle it out simultaneously on two chessboards. It’s like chess on steroids! Teamwork makes the dream work!

Tournament Details

  • WHEN: Friday, October 18th, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm.
  • WHERE: Hart House (7 Hart House Cir, Toronto) – Reading Room.
  • WHAT: 7 round Blitz Event (Swiss), with a 5 minute time control.
  • RATED: Unrated
  • ENTRY FEE: Free for members, free for non-members but ineligible for prizes. Register onsite before 7pm.
  • PRIZE FUND: Guaranteed $200. Distribution announced onsite.
  • MAXIMUM CAPACITY: 50 players.
  • NOTE: chess sets and boards provided

Registration: 

  • Registration only available onsite before 6:45 PM
  • Those without a partner will be paired onsite.

CONTACT:

Any questions can be sent to: hhchess@studentorg.utoronto.ca

2024 Back to School Blitz and Pizza Party

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Welcome back to a new school year! The Hart House Chess Club is hosting its Back-To-School Blitz and Pizza Party on Friday, September 6th, 2024. At 6 pm, come to Hart House to indulge in pizza, meet this year’s Executives, ask questions, and learn about our offerings this upcoming year. After that, join the first blitz tournament of the fall at Hart House! We’re playing 7 rounds of 5 minutes + 2 seconds blitz chess! We hope to see you there!

FORMAT AND EVENT DETAILS

  • WHEN:
    • Welcome Back Pizza: Friday, September 6th 6 pm – 7 pm – Reading Room
      • RSVP required, see this form and filled by 6 pm, Thursday, September 5th
    • Blitz Event: Friday, September 6th, 7 pm – 9:30 pm
      • Registration onsite between 4 pm and 6:45 pm. 
  • WHERE: Hart House (7 Hart House Cir, Toronto) – East Common Room.
  • WHAT: 7-round Blitz Event (Swiss), with a 5 minute + 2 second time control. One section. Unrated
  • RATED: Unrated
  • ENTRY FEE: Free for members, Free for students & community. Non members are ineligible for prizes. 
  • PRIZE FUND: Guaranteed $300. Distribution announced onsite. Prizes for top-woman, top-unrated.
  • MAXIMUM CAPACITY: 60 players.
  • NOTE: chess sets and boards provided
  • REGISTRATION
    • All pizza must be RSVP. Students + members are free to RSVP online via form before 6pm, September 5th
    • Blitz only in-person before 7 pm. 

Blitz results/standings: https://www.chessmanager.com/en/tournaments/5196562477350912

2025 Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship Qualifiers

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The Hart House Chess Club is pleased to host its Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship Qualifiers from September 14-15, 2024 to select players to represent the Club at the 2025 Pan-Ams hosted by the Charlotte Chess Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA from January 2nd – 5th, 2025.

The annual Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championship is the pinnacle of international collegiate chess. Dubbed the “World Series of College Chess”, the Club has fundraised and fielded teams in the tournament every year since 1965. The storied championship pits the best collegiate chess teams against one another from the North and South Americas. The Hart House Chess Club, representing the University of Toronto, has won the championship 6 times, the most from any non-American school. The qualifier is only open to UofT students, and winners will receive financial support from the Club.

Format and Details

  • WHEN: Saturday, September 14th – Sunday, September 15th, 2024
  • WHERE: Hart House Debates Room Room, 7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 3H3
  • FORMAT: 5-round unrated, Swiss Tournament
  • ROUND TIMES:
    • Check-in: 9:00 AM – 9:30 AM
    • Round 1: 9:30 AM, September 14th
    • Round 2: 12:45 PM, September 14th
    • Round 3: 4:00 PM, September 14th
    • Round 4: 9:30 AM, September 15th
    • Round 5: 12:45 PM, September 15th
    • Tiebreaks (if needed): 4:00 PM, September 15th
  • TIME CONTROL: 60 mins + 30 secs/move increment from move 1 for all sections
  • BYES: 0-point byes are in effect. Players are expected to play all rounds. Forced byes will be awarded 1 point.
  • RATINGS: Ratings will be used for seeding/pairing purposes, but the tournament itself will not be Chess Federation of Canada rated.
  • EQUIPMENT: HHCC will supply all chess equipment.
  • DRAWS: Players are not allowed to agree on a draw before 40 moves are made.
  • ELIGIBILITY: Current students enrolled in a degree-granting program at the University of Toronto
  • CONTACT: hhchess@studentorg.utoronto.ca
  • CHECK IN: Players are required to check in by 9:30 am to be paired for Round 1.
  • REGISTRATION: Registration is available online or in-person at the Hart House Hub with a valid proof of student enrollment.
  • ELIGIBILITY:
    • To participate in the Pan-Ams Qualifier, one must be enrolled in a degree-granting program and enrolled in at least 6 credit hours of classes.
    • You must also be a student member of the Hart House Chess Club. The membership cost for 2024-2025 is $15 for all U of T students for the year, $10 for one semester. Memberships will include a t-shirt.
    • To participate in the Pan-Am tournament itself, you must be available to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina from Wednesday, January 1st to January 5th, 2025 and you must meet the following requirements:
      • A $250 fee must be paid to Hart House within a week after the qualifying tournament
      • Participants will be required to attend a tutorial on Safety Abroad as per U of T policy
      • Participants will be responsible for and required to have valid passports, travel visas if applicable, and travel health insurance
      • Participants must complete travel forms provided within outlined timelines
      • Participants are responsible for getting a verification of enrollment signed by their Registrar’s office.
  • For further information, please consult the Collegiate Eligibility Rules here.

Selection of Players

The tournament will select 7 players (of a total 8) based on final standings to represent the Hart House Chess Club and the University of Toronto at this year’s Pan-Ams. A mandatory fee of $250 for all participants is required and paid before the end of September, however, the Club will cover the rest of the fundraising costs. Players should only play in the tournament if they intend to play in the Pan-Ams. 

Note that one spot has been reserved per Section 7.3.1 of the Charter for Yunshan Li who is competing for Canada in the Canadian Olympiad in Budapest during the Qualifiers. 

Contact and Additional Links

For additional details about the event, please visit: https://www.charlottechesscenter.org/events/collegiate

For any questions, please contact the Executive at hhchess@studentorg.utoronto.ca 

Pre-Registered Players

Pairings and Results

Tiebreaks

Player NameCFC IDCFC RatingFIDE IDFIDE Rating
Nicholas Vettese154199249226200902341
Fengxi Mao166033236926325862115
Samuel Zhang1711472322309429932141
Eilia Zomorrodian1692382294125518052145
Henry Zhang153836222226201622133
Nicolai WolteryN/A–4368872075
Victor Zheng150532219226201891892
Cindy Qiao155864214726202431894
Bingfei Wang172444195786185851792
Yun Hong Li162472189726310831796
Yukuan Zou178153166926586151598
Chol Elijah Akol179537157626357631594
Punnawit PayapvattanavongN/AN/A62065901589
Eli Schyngera 164976156426357631652
Jayden Henry Tan179333152526636601640
Zi Sheng Wang18383615122668050Unrated
Timothy Vo1837331516N/A–
Evan Andersen175925148026429481579
Qing Yuan Zheng1691601235N/A–
Coby Cheung174460985N/A–
Ishan KapoorN/AUnratedN/A–
Osman OkmenN/AUnratedN/A–
Muneem KhanN/AUnratedN/A–
Ahnaf ChowdhuryN/AUnratedN/A–
Sebastian SkjensvoldN/AUnratedN/A–
Chris NguyenN/AUnratedN/A–

Kaiy Cao – Communications

Published on by harthousechess

Kaiy is a 3rd-year undergraduate student pursuing a degree in civil engineering. Having learned the game and its rules in early elementary school, he picked chess back up during the early days of the pandemic as a hobby after seeing friends playing a casual game online in 2020. This spark snowballed, and in high school, he became one of the founding members of the chess club, helping to organize and play in tournaments schoolwide and citywide.

Although still a casual player, he has previously played and volunteered at multiple tournaments at Hart House, including the Reading Week Open and Canadian Zonals. Through these experiences in the first and second years and seeing all of the hard work by all of the executive members and volunteers, he decided to run as a communication representative at the HHCC. He hopes to stand on the over-100-year history of the club and to further show the magic of the game to the university community at large.

Mark Li – Fundraiser

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Mark Li is a third-year undergraduate student at U of T majoring in Physiology and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. First introduced to chess by his father and brother as a small child, he has grown to greatly love and appreciate the game of chess and its unique complexities. With the goal of beating his brother one day, he consistently played chess and was the president of his school chess club for 6 years where he managed to popularize and lead their competitive chess team to provincial tournaments. As a person who loves playing online and recently breaking the 2400 online rating barrier on chess.com, he hopes to start playing FIDE tournaments with aspirations to one day get a title.

Mark has joined the Hart House Chess Club executive team with aspirations to further support and improve the inclusive and supportive environment that the club offers to all chess players. With the goal of putting the players first, he will work to make sure all members of the U of T community fully enjoy their chess experiences.

Bingfei Wang – Secretary & President

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Bingfei is a second-year undergraduate student at U of T’s Rotman Commerce program, specializing in finance. He currently serves as the President & Secretary of the Hart House Chess Club (HHCC) and is excited to contribute to the club’s vibrant community. At age 9, Bingfei discovered chess at a youth board game center and has been hooked ever since. He plays regularly at club meetups on Wednesdays and Saturdays, constantly honing his skills.

An active member of the chess community, Bingfei began coaching fellow players when he was in Grade 9, sharing his love for the game with younger students. By 16, he was already serving as a tournament arbiter, helping to run competitions smoothly. After immigrating to Canada, he continued competing in tournaments and steadily improved his game. His dedication is reflected in his current CFC (Chess Federation of Canada) rating of 2206, and he has earned a National Master norm.

Bingfei has proudly represented the University of Toronto and HHCC in major intercollegiate events. He has competed in the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship, the Canadian University Chess Championship, and the annual U of T vs. UWaterloo match. As the club’s Secretary, he aims to uphold HHCC’s rich traditions while introducing new events to boost member participation and community involvement.

Outside of chess, Bingfei is an avid gamer and sports enthusiast. He was once ranked #46 in North America and #127 in China in the game Hearthstone. He’s a master-level player in Clash Royale. In his spare time, he enjoys playing badminton.

Deepanshi Matai – Communications

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Deepanshi is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and English. They are excited to be part of the Hart House Chess Club executive team and be more involved in the community as one of the Communication reps. 

Deepanshi grew up in India, where it was near-impossible to escape the excitement chess brought about with every major tournament. Even though they’ve been following chess since childhood, they only started playing recently and hope to keep improving. Deepanshi has previously worked as a photographer for the Club and volunteered at several events, including Zonals 2024. In their role as Communication rep, they hope to increase outreach and promote participation for beginners from diverse backgrounds. 

When they’re not too busy blundering their pieces away, you will probably find Deepanshi reciting Shakespeare to themselves or on a badminton court.