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2023 Ivy League Challenge Rules

Published on by harthousechess

5th IVY LEAGUE CHALLENGE (2023) – TOURNAMENT RULES

Rating/Move Recording:

The tournament is FIDE Rated. The tournament is also Chess Federation of Canada (CFC) rated. Players are required to record their moves throughout the game.

Tournament Organization:

Arbiter:

Time Control:

Each player will have 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment from move 1.

Tournament System:

5-round round-robin system

Team Composition and Line-ups:

Teams are composed of 4 players and up to 2 additional alternates.

Board order must be submitted to the Tournament Director (Tanner McNamara) via e-mail, tanner.mcnamara@mail.utoronto.ca, by no later than Thursday, March 22nd, 8:00 PM. Teammates must play in descending rating order, except that 50-point transpositions are allowed. Board order must remain the same throughout the event. When alternates play they must do so starting on the lowest boards. Any regular member sits out when an alternate plays; other team members move up accordingly.

Lineups for each round must be submitted 1 hour before the announced official round start times. Lineups can be submitted: a) in person at the Playing Hall, b) via email to Victor Zheng (victork.zheng@mail.utoronto.ca) and Tanner McNamara (tanner.mcnamara@mail.utoronto.ca).

Team Captains:

All teams must designate a captain. The role of the captain is:

  • To turn in their team line-up to the TD at least one hour before the round begins.
  • To report the result of the match to the TD and sign it.

Team Scores, Game Points:

Each team gets two match points if the combined scores of the four players in a Round is 2.5 or greater, one match point if the combined score is 2, and zero match points if the combined score is 1.5 or less.

Byes, defaults, lateness, and so forth are treated as in individual tournaments. Players are required to arrive at their board within 30 minutes after their clock is pressed on move 1, otherwise they forfeit their game.

Tie Breaks:

Tie-breaks are used to award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd only. If two or more teams are tied for first, the team which wins in the tie-breakers is the sole winner of the Ivy League Challenge.

When team match points are equal, the following order of tie-break systems will be used:

  1. Head to head
  2. Individual Game Points
  3. Greater number of match wins
  4. Greater number of individual wins
  5. Two blitz games between one randomly selected player from each team. If the result is 1-1 after the blitz games, the players will play another game where white gets 6 minutes and black 5 (colours determined randomly). If the game is a draw, Black’s team wins.

Prizes:

  • Team Prize: 1st, 2nd, 3rd (Plaques)
  • Individual Prizes: Top Individual Boards 1-4 (Plaques) / Best Game of the Tournament (Hoodies)

Electronic Devices:

Any electronic device that could be used to transmit or receive information related to chess or to calculate potential moves, such as smart phones, tablets, computers and Apple or Android watches, is not allowed in the tournament playing area (the tournament director and TD’s support staff are excluded). Further, no such devices can be in the immediate possession of a player, regardless of the player’s location, during a game that is in progress. Violation of this rule by a player will result in the player’s immediate forfeit of a game in progress.

Appeals:

The Appeals Committee shall comprise of Tanner McNamara (TD), Victor Zheng (Assistant TD) and Ben Hahn (Alumni Chair). A protest against the decision of an Arbiter must be submitted in writing to the Appeals Committee, within 30 min after the end of the respective game. A protest fee of 60 CAD shall be payable to the organizer which is refundable if the protest is upheld. The Appeals Committee may also decide to refund the fee if it considers the appeal was not frivolous. The decision of the Appeals Committee is final, binding and takes effect immediately.

Tournament Schedule:

Please see the Event Post for the tournament schedule.

Information:

harthousechess.com

Organized by:

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IM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux Simultaneous Exhibition

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On Friday, October 14th, current World Under 18 Champion and International Master Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux visited the Hart House Chess Club to perform a simultaneous exhibition. Shawn played 15 boards at the Hart House Library, winning 14.

IM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux is the 2022 World-U18 Champion

Shawn’s visit marked a chess-filled weekend in Toronto thanks to the arrival of Super-GM Hikaru Nakamura in the city along with FM James Canty III. Hikaru visited many clubs during the weekend, including Pub Chess, Annex Chess Club, and Chess in the Park.

As perhaps the oldest, most prestigious Chess Club in Canada, the HHCC was happy to have the 2022 FIDE World-U18 Champion, Canadian Champion, Canadian Youth Chess Champion, and GM norm holder to the famed halls of Hart House. Rated FIDE 2482, he was the 4th highest rated Canadian player at the time of his visit. The Hart House Chess Club believes in supporting young chess players, and we wish IM Shawn the very best in his pursuit of the Grandmaster title. Bonne chance, Shawn!

Shawn played 15 HHCC members and community members, finishing with a score of 14 wins and 1 loss. He played all these games after travelling 5 long hours from Montréal. Congratulations!

Gallery:

Joshua playing the IM
FM James Canty III playing some blitz games!
The Hart House Library was the focal point of action today!
Some casual play happening earlier in the day
Hart House Chess Club members at Pub Chess with GM Nakamura
IM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux makes a move against a high school student!
Books lined the walls of the HH Library, providing a quiet yet suitable environment
Hart House Executives Ahmed Khalf and Bowen Zhang
Hart House Executives Ahmed Khalf and Victor Zheng
IM Shawn played CM Koosha (a UofT alum) after the simul
The HHCC gifted Shawn a HHCC t-shirt to commemorate his visit
The atmosphere of wooden pieces and books
HHCC Executive Ahmed vs FM James Canty III
The IM deep in concentration
A HHCC member plays against GM Hikaru at Pub Chess Toronto

We hope to see IM Shawn back at the Hart House Chess Club in the future!

Bowen Zhang — Fundraiser Representative

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Bowen is a 3rd year Medical Biophysics PhD candidate studying human mammary metabolism using organoid models. He initially started learning chess in grade 6 with the goal of defeating a rival at the school chess club. However, over time he was captivated by how the game blurs the boundaries between strategic problem solving and artistic creativity as well as the game’s rich history. In high school, he served as the president of the school chess club where he not only led the competitive chess team in inter-school tournaments, but also focused on promoting the game to the greater student body. Despite a hiatus from competing in tournaments during his undergraduate studies at Western University, Bowen continued to spread his passion for the game as the volunteer coordinator of the London branch of Chess in the Library, which aims to allow more people, particularly kids, to learn and enjoy chess.

Bowen has joined the Hart House Chess Club (HHCC) executive team with the overarching goal of generating a vibrant, inclusive environment where the beautiful game may be shared with the U of T community and beyond. As the fundraising representative, he will help organize fundraising tournaments and seek out opportunities for titled player lectures/simultaneous exhibitions along with collaborations with chess content creators.

Bughouse Championship

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On Friday, October 7th, the Hart House Chess Club hosted its annual Bughouse Championship to crown the best bughouse team in the Club! Congratulations to IM Nicholas Vettese and his partner, Denis, for becoming HHCC’s 2022-2023 Bughouse Champions!

23 2-player teams registered for the 6 round swiss event, which was played during HHCC’s weekly casual play.

Gallery:

Lessons taught by HHCC Exec Victor
Casual Play before the tournament
Players playing chess
Tournament organizer Victor
Bughouse event had 23 teams!
Bughouse in action.
Round 2 action
Students play bughouse during the HHCC Bughouse Championship
Top boards in action

Final Standings






Team NameCombined RatingPointsBetter Buchholz Tiebreaker
1Nicholas/Denis4900621
2peepeepoopoo man2400519
3Chol Matthew2200518.5
4IBG4274421.5
5Alligators Angry2800420
6Solo Sacrifice0415
7_ Ubermensch0414.5
8Kole/Kevin30003.516.5
9Solo9503.516
10Swindle Uncle3200322
11Engineers Team3400318.5
12Rick Cookie2400317
13Nicholas/Jason1591218
14Degenerate Gambiter 22100216.5
15AD/Albert0216
16Knook0215
17Unrateddd/No Idea0214
18Abarca’s1300212
19J & J1500211
20Wow/peepeepoopoo man24000.513.5
21No Idea00.513
22rdmp/Solo2200013.5
23Brain Chip Hans’0012

Original Event Info:

The HHCC Bughouse Championship is happening Friday, October 7th from 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm! You can sign up at the Hart House Reading Room anytime between 4 pm – 7:30 pm the day of. If you don’t have a team, you can register as a “solo,” and we will pair you up.

Free entries for all members and the prize will be a $25 gift card for the two players of the winning team! (for non-members it will be 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!

HHCC 2023 PanAm Qualifier Recap

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From September 24th-25th 2022, the HHCC organized its annual PanAm Qualifier to select four players to represent the University of Toronto at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Championships to be held next year, January 5-8 in Seattle, WA. Travel and accommodation will be covered partially by HHCC.

A record number, 37 players, competed at this year’s iteration. Congratulations to Nicholas Vettese, Tanraj Sohal, Derek Ma, and Yunshan Li for finishing in the top 4. Depending on funding, the Club may also send a second, “B”, team.

Results and Pairings

The final pairings and results can be found at the following links:

Round 1 Pairings and Results

Round 2 Pairings and Results

Round 3 Pairings and Results

Round 4 Pairings and Results

Round 5 Pairings and Results

Final Standings

Tiebreakers

After 5 rounds, a 6-person tiebreaker was played to determine the remaining player for the first team. The tiebreaker results can be found here.

Gallery

Grandmaster Evgeny Bareev Simultaneous Exhibition at the Hart House Chess Club

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On September 23rd 2022, Grandmaster Evgeny Bareev visited the Hart House Chess Club to complete a simultaneous exhibition against 20 UofT students. Marking his first visit to the HHCC, Bareev soundly defeated all his opponents, recording a 20-0 score.

Just as numerous Grandmasters and former World Chess Championship Candidates had done before him at Hart House, Bareev played students from all levels and backgrounds. As Canada’s highest rated player, and former World Chess Championship Candidate, his visit brought lots of hype and drew crowds to watch his games.

Michel Hajjar, a 2nd Year JD student, remarked, “My game was really something, It was my first time playing with a Grandmaster, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.” Followed by the ominous words that every chess player knows from heart, “everything was fine until it wasn’t … my knight was in the middle of the board, I thought I was doing okay, and I felt the pressure; I had a general idea of what he wanted to do but I missed one tiny thing, and that’s when it all collapsed.”

Bareev playing Max Qian. Alongside Ahmed Khalf, HHCC Exec Board member
Bareev playing Michel Hajjar, who had dressed up with a suit and tie to give respect to the GM.

Mateo, another simul participant, and a HHCC member, explained that he learned from this experience to “play every game like your opponent isn’t rated“.

Mark Li, a first-year student, and the winner of the final board standing prize, explained, “It was tiring, it was very complex… I started off with a Sicilian, which I usually don’t play ever, but I knew that there is a variation that would be really weird to Grandmasters… that allowed for lots of complexities.” Followed by explaining that “the position was so complex that most of our pieces stayed on the board for the majority of the game. During this, I was going through hard-core defence… and the pieces weren’t ever exchanged and I made sure that it stayed that way“.

Evgeny Bareev simul at Hart House on September 23rd, 2022. He scored 20 wins, 0 draws and 0 losses.

Paul Keres simul at Hart House on May 7th, 1975. He scored 25 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses.

The Hart House Chess Club would like to thank Grandmaster Bareev and Joshua, a HHCC member, for helping facilitate this simul opportunity for the members of the Club. We hope to see Bareev again at the Club in the future. We also hope to have further simuls throughout the year.

Event recap written by Victor Zheng, HHCC Communications Representative

HHCC members deep in concentration against Grandmaster Evgeny Bareev (September 23rd, 2022)

HHCC Fall 2022 Announcements & Schedule

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Hello everyone!

Welcome to September and the start of a new semester! Here’s a quick run through of what we’re planning this academic year.

Casual Play Fridays

Every Friday this semester, we will be open every Friday from 4pm-11pm except for holidays. Everyone, regardless of UofT student status can drop by to play chess for FREE at the Hart House Reading Room.   

Memberships:

This year, the Hart House Chess Club membership is FREE for all undergraduates and graduates of UofT. Students must register with the Hart House Hub (front-desk) to become a member. A separate non-student HHCC membership can be purchased for alumni and all other members of the community (special prices for those under 29 or over 65) at the Hart House Hub. For all info on memberships, visit our memberships page here: https://harthousechess.com/membership-benefits/

Events this semester:

All events currently on our FALL 2022 calendar can be found here: https://harthousechess.com/upcoming-events/

Our upcoming events this September are:

  1. Clubs Day 2022 – (Wednesday, September 7th)
  2. Welcome Back Party – (Friday, September 16th)
  3. GrandMaster Simul by Evgeny Bareev (Sept 23rd)
  4. PanAm Qualifiers – (Sept 24-25 2022)
  5. HHCC Fall 2022 Special Election – (Sept 30)

Links to the above events can be found on our upcoming events page.

Lessons:

Lessons are scheduled to begin Friday, September 30th at the HH Reading Room. Beginner lessons will be from 5-6 pm and intermediate/advanced is planned for 6 pm – 7 pm. Participants must be members of the club to join.  

HHCC 2023 Pan-Am Qualifier

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Event recap can be found here. Congrats to the winners and good luck in Seattle!

The Club will be holding a qualifying tournament from September 24th-25th to select four players to represent the University of Toronto at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Championships to be held next year, January 5-8 in Seattle, WA. Travel and accommodation will be covered partially by HHCC.

Official flyer for the event is located here.

Pan-Am-Qualifiers Schedule:

Time Control:  60 minutes + 30 seconds increment
Round 1:  9:30am September 24
Round 2:  12:45pm September 24
Round 3:  4pm September 24
Round 4:  9:30am September 25
Round 5:  12:45pm September 25
Tiebreaks (if needed)  4pm September 25

Please note that this schedule is scheduled to change. Full confirmation will be sent to all registered players.

0-point-byes are in effect.  Players are expected to play all rounds.
Forced byes will be awarded 1/2 point.

Ratings will be used for seeding/pairing purposes but the tournament itself will not be rated with the Chess Federation of Canada.

Registration:

Participants are kindly asked to register online by Friday, September 23rd, 9:00 pm. To do that send us an e-mail at hhchess@studentorg.utoronto.ca with the following information:

  • Your first and last name
  • Your current Elo rating (CFC, FIDE, or other international rating)

No entry fee is required but all players must show up by 9:15 am Saturday morning, as registered members of the Hart House Chess Club, at the playing hall (signs will be posted in the Hart House).

Eligibility Requirements:

To participate in Pan-Am-Qualifier one must be a member of the Hart House Chess Club. The membership for 2022-2023 is FREE for all UofT students.

To participate in the Pan-Ams tournament itself you must be available to travel to Seattle, January 5th-8th, and you must meet the following requirements :

Additional 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 UofT policy
– Participants will be responsible for, and required to have valid passport, travel visa if applicable, and travel health insurance

For further information please consult the Collegiate Eligibility Rules.

Hart House Chess Club Welcome Back Pizza Party

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To officially welcome back everyone to the HHCC, we’ll be hosting our annual Welcome Back Pizza Party! We hope you will join us on Friday, September 16th, 6-8pm 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!