Victor is a second-year undergraduate student at U of T pursuing a specialist in Computer Science. Currently, he is one of the Communications Directors for the Hart House Chess Club and is thrilled to be a part of the club’s amazing history.
At a young age, Victor began chess with his 2 older brothers. He went on to play regularly in chess tournaments in his hometown of Vancouver, and frequently played at chess tournaments in BC. He has volunteered, coached, and played in numerous chess tournaments and has experience working with students. His biggest chess achievement was beating FM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux at the Canadian Chess Challenge in St. John’s in 2018. Believing in expanding the reach of chess to students regardless of their background, Victor started a chess club at his high school in 2019. Victor believes that chess can be taught to anyone, and strives to promote an open and hospitable environment for everyone at the HHCC.
Being in the footsteps of giants of the club has only further driven him to share his love for chess with the HHCC community. He recognizes the incredible legacy and the unbelievable impact that the HHCC has made on chess in Canada and looks forward to bringing the chess club and the Canadian chess community to even greater heights.
As the Co-Communications Director, he is responsible for the Club’s Discord, Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook pages. He is also responsible for maintaining and update the Club’s website. He is also the Club’s main tournament director and is the lead organizer of the Club’s many weekly events. He serves as the Chief Organizer for the Club’s Holidays Open and Reading Week events.
The members of U of T’s Varsity Chess Team represent U of T at various events throughout the year. The 2022 Varsity Chess Team is made up of the following students (by order of CFC rating):
On Friday, April 1st the Hart House Chess Club, at the University of Toronto, hosted the 4th annual Ivy League Challenge. The competition featured a modified online team battle where teams of students from the University of Toronto, University of Chicago, Princeton University, and the University of Waterloo battled it out in sets of intense matches to determine the dominating Chess power on the East coast. Being the second time that the event’s been held online, the event was carried out on the Lichess platform under 15m + 10s time controls, with each university fielding a full team of four players.
Team UofT was led by our very own CM Koosha Jaferian. A PhD student in computer science, with a lot more to show than just simple calculation, known for his strong positional play and being able to hold down the fort on board 1 even against the best of competition. On board 2 WIM Yunshan Li looked to replicate some of the recent successes she achieved at the KCF Cup, which included a 8/9 performance and a win over a grandmaster. Christopher Knox was slotted in on board 3, where he scored a sensational 5/5 at CUCC in February. Finally, to complete the line up Joseph Bellissimo returned back in the fold on board 4, ready to show us what we were missing out on in his temporary leave from competitive play.
On paper, UofT faced a tough field. UChicago brought two GMs to the event (Awonder Liang and Praveen Balakrishnan) while Princeton fielded one GM (Andrew Tang) and one IM (Daniel Gurevich). Waterloo, who edged us out at CUCC after a tense tiebreak, was also led by IM Michael Song on board one. Tension was high.
In the first round it was UChicago vs Waterloo and Princeton vs UofT. However, things didn’t go as planned for all the favourites. In a series of several exciting up-and-down battles, UChicago’s board 2 GM ended up falling to Waterloo’s Richard Chen and Princeton’s board 2 IM lost to UofT’s Yunshan Li! While Chicago overcame that setback to defeat Waterloo 3-1, Princeton was held to a standoff as as Chris Knox picked up a win on board 3 for UofT to tie the match to 2-2.
In round 2, UChicago looked to extend its lead against Princeton, while UofT hoped to avenge their narrow loss in the CUCC against their rivals at Waterloo. Following a nice win by Awonder Liang on board one in a matchup of GMs, Chicago went on to sweep Princeton 4-0. While Joseph won on board 4, draws on boards 2 and 3 resulted in UofT’s second consecutive tied match. Sadly despite having some chances in the wild game on board 3, Chris Knox was unable to successfully the hunt down of William Li’s fleeing King, ultimately leading to a draw. However, the round’s performance still left UofT only a full match point behind UChicago going into the last round.
With Princeton and Waterloo sitting on half a match point each, they were fighting in the last round to overtake UofT for second place. Hoping that UChicago could beat UofT. With a win, UofT would tie UChicago for first, but anything less would keep the door to second place wide open. With a quick draw against Koosha on board one, Awonder Liang secured the top board one prize. His teammates finished the job, sweeping the bottom three boards, and concluding a perfect event for Kapil Chandran (board 3) and William Graif (board 4). With UChicago well ahead on 3 match points and 10.5 game points, Princeton defeated Waterloo by the narrowest of margins (2.5-1.5) to edge the other teams for second place. Though they collected 1.5 match points to UofT’s 1 and Waterloo’s 0.5, all three teams finished second with a total of 4.5 game points.
At the end of the event, several prizes were awarded to individual players for their performances. After a last round draw, Richard Chen shared the board 2 prize with Praveen Balakrishnan. Furthermore based on their flawless results, Kapil Chandran and William Graif of UChigago won the best board 3 and board 4 categories. Finally, the best game prize of the event was awarded to Kapil Chandran’s final round victory over Chris Knox.
Despite such a bittersweet result, with opportunities to edge it out into a shared first place, UofT ended up placing 2nd. Several amazing performances by our board 2 and board 3, Yunshan Li and Chris Knox proved to be the backbone to the team’s success in the event. Currently, we hope to continue to build up our roster’s strength and come back stronger next year! We’re looking forward to taking the IVY League crown next season…
Acknowledgements Special thanks to the Hart House Chess Club Executives for putting setting up the event. A further message of appreciation for Jonathan Yu for providing commentary and live coverage of the event on twitch. We’d also like to thank the other schools for their enthusiastic participation. We hope to welcome everyone back to Toronto for an in-person classical event next school year!
The University of Toronto participated in the FIDE Binance Business Schools Super Cup 2021 this past weekend, 9-11 July. Organized by SKOLKOVO, the Moscow School of Management, the event attracted several other Russian schools, but was truly international with teams from Bangladesh, Fiji, England, India, Mexico, Philippines, Switzerland, USA, Zambia, and of course our Canadian team. 32 teams were sorted into four groups of eight, with a 7-round round robin group stage played over the first two days. The top two teams from each group would qualify to the knockout final on the last day. Rapid games (10’+2”) were played on lichess, with standard anti-cheating measures in place.
Placed in group C, Toronto began as the second rating favourites behind Moscow School of Management, led by GM Joël Lautier, with a strong Adam Smith Business School from Scotland looking like a threat to take a qualifying spot as well. Toronto was represented by regular team players Koosha Jaferian, Joseph Bellissimo, and Dai Wenzhi on the top 3 boards, and joined by Dayana Nasybullina on board 4, with team captain Tanner McNamara and Henry Prickett listed as alternates.
2021 FIDE Binance Business Schools Championship – Group C
In the first round, we managed a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Moscow, putting both teams in a good position to qualify, but with a lot of chess to go. In a great finish to day one, Toronto gathered all 12 possible points from the next three rounds (game points, ahead of match points, were used to determine qualification) – against Business School IMD (Switzerland, round 2), Chicago Booth (USA, round 3), and Escuela Superior de Comercio y Administr (Mexico, round 4). Moscow had dropped more points, but already had a 2.5-1.5 victory over Adam Smith. At the end of day 1, Toronto led the group with 14 points, Moscow trailed with 12.5, and Adam Smith was just behind at 11.5. The round 6 matchup between Toronto and Adam Smith looked set to decide qualification, with Moscow, on paper, having easier games the second day.
In round 5, both Moscow and Adam Smith scored clean sweeps while Toronto dropped a half point to Brook Besor University from Zambia, narrowing the margin a little. In round six, we routed Adam Smith 3.5-0.5 in a match that was far closer than the final score indicated. Joseph held his game a pawn down against his IM opponent on board 2, while the highlight of the match for me was Koosha coming from two pawns down to win his game on board 1. With that score line, we clinched our spot in the knockout, though places were still to be decided – Moscow picked up another half point on us and could overtake us in the next round. Waiting for us in the quarterfinals would be another Russian school – either Perm State or Ranepa, who were guaranteed first and second in group D, in some order. In round 7, I took the opportunity to rest Koosha and play Henry, making his debut for the competitive team. He rewarded us handsomely with a brilliant victory, leading us to a 4-0 sweep over the Indian Institute of Management Jammu 2. With that we held off Moscow to win the group, having collected a remarkable 25 out of a possible 28 game points.
In the quarterfinals on the next day, we were paired against a strong Ranepa team that actually scored the most match points in their group, but finished second to Perm State by half a game point. This was such a stressful match for me to watch – while Joseph won quickly on board 2 to put us up 1-0, things were not looking great on the other boards. Koosha had a fine position,
but I was wondering how many winning chances he had. Dayana got into a spot of trouble on board 4, and Dai Wenzhi was forced to give up a rook for two pieces on board 3. Thanks to some imprecise play from her opponent, Dayana got active and was able to make a draw. Koosha played into the endgame, but the final result of a draw was no surprise. With the score 2-1 in our favour, I felt an armageddon tiebreak was looming as Dai Wenzhi was facing two pieces and two pawns for his rook now. By some miracle, and aided by time trouble, he somehow forced a draw against his FM opponent, and we were perhaps a bit lucky to advance 2.5-1.5. The rest of Sunday though, luck was not on our side. We faced MIPT in the semifinals, a team we had previously tied 2-2 at the Kasparov Chess Foundation Cup. While Koosha held a draw against his titled opponent, the rest of the team couldn’t capitalize on their chances, and we dropped the match 3.5-0.5, our first match defeat of the whole event. The day was not yet over, though, as we had a chance to play for third place, this time against our group rivals and hosts, Moscow School of Management. We could not, however, replicate our 2-2 result against them, and we finished in 4th place after a 3-1 defeat. Dai Wenzhi played brilliantly in his victory, but we did not get enough on the other boards. There was a chance, for a moment, missed in time trouble to make a draw on board 1. On board 4, it seemed we got an okay position, but it turned into a sour endgame. And board 2 was a wild sacrificial affair that began from a good position for UofT, and I can only imagine there were many twists and turns and imprecisions at the rapid time control. For most of the game, all three results seemed possible, but it was Moscow emerging victorious on that board and in the match.
After Toronto had no games left to distract me, the organizers graciously invited me on to the live broadcast, which previously hosted FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich and 14th World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, among other guests – what a fun experience for me! I must say, they did a phenomenal job with the event and with the broadcast (there were streams in both Russian and English). A huge thank you to the organizers, FIDE, and the many sponsors, with a special thank you to Oxana Kosteniuk, Alexey Goryachev, Ivan Khvorov, Tania Karali, and of course the arbiter Alex Holowczak – they all did a great job!
A huge congratulations to the winners from Shri Ram College of Commerce from India, after defeating MIPT in a best-of-2 final. Well done to MIPT, too, and congratulations to the hosts from Moscow on a well-deserved third place finish.
Wilson discovered chess late in high school to his chagrin. In his first year of play, he competed in the 2019 Ontario High School Championship, scoring 3/6 in the Beginner section. He also finished 1st in the Amateur section of 2019 Mississauga Chess Club Championship. Although still an amateur player by all means, Wilson enjoys being fascinated by the complexity and beauty of the game. It is not uncommon for him to procrastinate by watching an ongoing professional chess tournament.
Currently, Wilson is a first year computer science student at the University of Toronto. His interests go beyond his projected program of study, including subjects from linguistics to political science. This diversity can also be seen in his extra-curricular involvement with student associations such as UTLEI and UTAMA.
While serving as Communications Director of HHCC for 2021, he hopes to learn a lot from the club’s senior members and to help contribute to the club’s legacy. Expanding the club’s outreach and recruiting new members has become difficult during this trying year, but he promises to do his best to support the club.
Benny is a third-year undergraduate student at U of T studying Health & Disease, Genome Biology, and Statistics. Currently he is a Communications Director at the Hart House Chess Club and is avid about promoting the HHCC.
Before coming to university, Benny was a casual chess player and the club president at his local high school. He has been playing since early childhood with some competitive tournament experience. With that being said, he understands the struggles and barriers that people may face when trying to pick up chess and works towards helping others define their own relationship with the game. Benny believes that chess can be taught to anyone and desires to promote an open and hospitable environment to individuals of varying aptitude.
Being a part of the Hart House Executive team has only further enabled him to share his love for the game and he hopes to see you over the chess board.
Below, please find Sahan Karunaratne‘s report on the tournaments which took place on September 25th that he organized!
We can be very happy to put this on page, as we had a wonderful blitz tournament this week. The stars aligned as a crop of players with a rating range from 1000-2300 took stage. Yet this group of people, who would usually huddle in different corners of the reading room, found themselves having a competition that everyone could enjoy.
Each player had at least a couple of players that posed a genuine threat to them. Jonathan Hay and Handknit, two people who typically can dominate a tournament like this, provided the other is not present, found themselves in one hair raising position after another. Both were put under significant pressure by Ethan M’s Berserking which brought him a clear win. Henry Vu, who I might remind you has won a number of tournaments was not only challenged by the 2000+ players, but also players at his own rating. He just about managed to snare fourth place, from what I see now is clearly his sworn enemy Daniel Glasroth. A shoutout is in order for Edmund Chan who managed to play their usual unfazed chess, this time with some results to be proud of! For the bullet tournament, there are two items of interest.
The winner: Ethan M. and the last comment Daniel wrote which is that chess is not necessarily restricted to Fridays. Perhaps our next report shall include challenges made right throughout the week!
National Master Chris Knox dropped into our weekly blitz tournament. The skill disparity among players has always been a feature and problem at the chess club. However, despite the fact that Chris was at times a thousand rating points over his opponents, there were no signs of fatigue or discouragement from the opposition. Rather they were eager for experience.
It seemed as though nobody could so much as conceive of defeating Knox. Then out of the shadows sprang HandKnit. With a rating close to 2300 could they add a blemish to Chris’s spotless tournament record?
The aspiring challenger played careful games one after another. No messing around, the berserk button gathering dust. Then in the final quarter their chance arose. What followed was a memorable game. Chris played the most passive sacrifice I have personally seen. Moments later my jaw dropped as a jam-packed middle game had converted into a stage for three black pieces to dance around a terrified white king. The game like a magic trick has no spectacle being described. I have enclosed my own rough analysis of it here. [LINK]
The two foes did have the final face off to finish the tournament with a flourish. Beginning in the dying moments of the tournament, it would not count towards the final score. However, the stakes were high still. Bragging rights are essential for a healthy kibitzer.
For Handknit however, it was not to be. Chris played a series of “conventional” sacrifices to fin a winning position. Whereas the previous game had Chris initially looking fatigued, here he looked downright careless. The computer may agree with the moves, but that does not change the look and tone of the game. I have not analyzed this game. However, I definitely encourage you to see it. [LINK]
There were certainly other interesting games in the tournament. Henry Vu and Daniel Glasroth fought a bitter endgame at the very beginning. Harthausian never could find the initiative against Chris. Inadvertently you spent every game cheering for them. Hoping that the underdog would find some defence for the artillery trained on them.
The bullet tournament, while having a disappointing turnout, was a chance for Jonathan Hay to run circles around people, with some nauseatingly solid chess. Finally, I goaded him into playing the bongcloud, an opening akin to shooting yourself in the foot. It took everything in him to ignore the self imposed destruction and find some way to repair the situation. Incredibly, his sheer skill was able to produce a win. Certainly a memorable match, where the tournament favourite suddenly became the underdog after a few opening moves.
Shoutout to Wilson Sy and Edmund Chan for playing ambitiously and with care, even against opponents much stronger than them!
Finally, thank you to everyone who participated. It’s great to see people using Discord and the chat to connect with one another!
Below, please find a weekly update report written by Coach and former Events Coordinator Sahan:
This week the chess club, having had some community input on Discord, is switching back to Arena tournaments. In addition, we will be hosting the tournaments on chess.com. The move to chess.com will not be permanent. We intend to foster a similar player base to our lichess page, so as to give our club access to variants that are only available on chess.com.
The main variant that came to define the late nights spent at the Hart House Chess Club was certainly bughouse. A variant only available on chess.com, so in our quest to capture some essence of the atmosphere in the reading room, we are aiming at broadening our online platform.
In addition, we have variants that are new to the club. Many members are no doubt unfamiliar with four player chess. No doubt it seems impossible to keep people invested in a game so seemingly opposed to chess, but I hope that you will keep an open mind and feel a sense of adventure as we try out new ideas at the club!
Finally, congratulations are in order for Henry Vu for winning the Hart House Blitz.
Below, please find a report written by Sahan on last week’s tournaments and on all of the exciting things happening at HHCC:
Last week the Hart House Chess Club expanded on their latest initiatives. Mark Plotkin provided yet another puzzle and video, and our discord became more active, and is hopefully on its way to become a kibitzer’s paradise.
Congratulations are in order for Chris Knox who had a perfect score in the blitz tournament securing a well earned first place. We hope as many people will join the bullet tournaments as did the blitz!
Yet on another front, we would like to thank everyone posting and responding to Mark’s puzzles on Facebook. It is great to see people coming together and taking the time to figure out the solution to each puzzle. You can find this week’s puzzle at the following [LINK] — be sure to give it a try before the solution comes out next week!
Hart House Chess Club 