Tag: 2024

The Hart House Chess Club will be conducting lessons this summer! We are happy to announce a lecture series for beginner to intermediate players from June through August. We hope to see you at Hart House on Fridays.

The Beginner to Intermediate Lessons run from 5:00 to 7:00 PM every Friday from June 7th to August 30th. No lesson on June 28 and July 19.

• Targets beginners and intermediate players
• Focus on:
  • Pawn structure
  • Imbalances
  • Middlegame strategy
  • Understanding endgames
  • Studying games of Masters
• Taught by Uttam Dhungel
• Free for all U of T students and Hart House Chess Club members. By donation for all others.
• No formal registration required, just drop by at Hart House on Fridays!

About the Coach

Uttam Dhungel is from the country of Nepal. He has dedicated 13 years to the game of chess and earned the title of National Instructor in 2018. Teaching chess at various levels has been his passion since then. To Uttam, chess isn’t just a game — it’s a transformative pursuit that fosters positive change across various domains of life.

With the lessons at Hart House, Uttam plans to showcase the dimensions of chess. Players will be able to develop their understanding of the game in various ways and gain insight into the play of current Canadian champions.

The Hart House Chess Club (HHCC) hosts the Hart House August Open Tournament from Sat. August 3rd – Sun. August 4th, 2024. The event is perfect for students and community members wanting to play a classical-rated tournament over only two days. The tournament will be a 5-round Swiss, with 60 mins plus a 30-second increment added per move. We hope to see new and old faces again!

Tournament Details

• WHEN: Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4
• WHERE: Hart House Music and Debates Rooms, (7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, ON)
• FORMAT: 5-Round Swiss Tournament
• ROUND TIMES: 
  • Saturday: 10:00 AM, 2:00 PM, 6:00 PM
  • Sunday: 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM
• TIME CONTROL: 60 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move
• SECTIONS: Crown, U1800, U1200
• RATING: CFC Regular Rated.
• EQUIPMENT: HHCC will supply all chess equipment
• PRIZES: $3000 based on 100 players
• CAPACITY: 100
• REGISTRATION: Online registration is open until August 1st at 11:59 PM. In-person and telephone registration is available through the Hart House Information Desk during Hart House Hours until August 1st.

Registration Details

• Entry Fees: $50 by July 1st, $60 by August 1st. $30 discount for unrated players in their first tournament and UofT students. Max one discount per player. Unrated players are ineligible for prizes. Free entry for IMs/WIMs by July 15th — email us for details.
• Section Eligibility: No playing up allowed. CFC regular ratings are used for pairings. 
• Byes: Up to one 1/2 point bye can be requested via email by 11:59 PM on August 1st
• Prize Payments: All prizes less than or equal to $150 will be paid via gift cards. Prizes greater than $150 will be paid via direct deposit OR via gift cards upon request.
  
• Email: hhchess@studentorg.utoronto.ca

Chess Federation of Canada Memberships are required to register: $12 for a one-time adult, or $48 for one year. https://www.chess.ca/en/players/membership-join/ 

The Hart House Chess Club is hosting a Summer Rapid and Blitz Festival this July 19th – July 20th! The event is a 7-round double-round blitz tournament on Friday, July 19th followed by a 6-round Rapid event on Saturday, July 20th. Come join us this summer for some fun! We’re also participating in the FIDE 100th Year International Chess Day festivities to break the Guinness World Record for most games played in a day!

Tournament Details

Blitz

• WHEN: Friday, July 19
• WHERE: Hart House Music and Debates Rooms, (7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, ON)
• FORMAT: 7 double-round Swiss Tournament
• ROUND TIMES:  Rd #1 at 6 PM, and then ASAP
• TIME CONTROL:  3 minutes + 2 seconds increment per move
• SECTIONS: Crown, U1600
• RATING: CFC Quick Rated, FIDE Blitz Rated (Crown Section)
• EQUIPMENT: HHCC will supply all chess equipment
• CAPACITY: 100
• PRIZES: $1000 based on 100 players
• REGISTRATION: Online registration is open until July 18th at 11:59 PM. In-person and telephone registration is available through the Hart House Information Desk during Hart House Hours until July 18th. Onsite registration available until 5:30 pm.

RAPID

• WHEN: Saturday, July 20
• WHERE: Hart House Music and Debates Rooms, (7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, ON)
• FORMAT: 6 round Swiss Tournament
• ROUND TIMES:  12:00 noon, 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:00 PM, 5:00 PM
• TIME CONTROL: 15 minutes + 10 seconds increment per move
• SECTIONS: Crown, U1800, U1200
• RATING: CFC Quick Rated, FIDE Rapid Rated (Crown and U1800 Sections)
• EQUIPMENT: HHCC will supply all chess equipment
• CAPACITY: 100
• PRIZES: $2000 based on 100 players
• REGISTRATION: Online registration is open until July 18th at 11:59 PM. In-person and telephone registration is available through the Hart House Information Desk during Hart House Hours until July 18th.

Registration Details

• Entry Fees:
  • Blitz only: $15 by July 1st midnight, $20 by July 18th midnight. $10 discount for UofT students. Onsite: $20 before 5:30 pm.
  • Rapid only: $35 by July 1st midnight, $40 by July 18th midnight. $20 discount for UofT students
  • Rapid and Blitz: $40 by July 1st midnight, $50 by July 18th midnight. $20 discount for UofT students
  • Free entry for IMs/WIMs by July 1st — email us for details.
• Section Eligibility: No playing up allowed. Highest of CFC Regular, CFC Quick, and FIDE Rapid/Blitz will be used for section eligibility at arbiters’ discretion. CFC Quick Ratings will be used for pairings.
• Prize Payments: All prizes less than or equal to $150 will be paid via gift cards. Prizes greater than $150 will be paid via direct deposit OR via gift cards upon request.
• Email: hhchess@studentorg.utoronto.ca

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/ 

The Hart House Chess Club is excited to announce Weekly Quads! This June, join us for up to 3 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 gameplay. It is also a great tournament for those new to chess. No commitment to all weeks is necessary, play whenever you can!

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.

Tournament Details

• WHEN: Friday, June 7, 14, and 28 from 7 pm to 9 pm. Rd #1 starts at 7:00 pm. June 28th Quad is cancelled due to President Day Holiday at HH.
• WHERE: Hart House Bickersteth Room (3rd floor), (7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, ON)
• ROUND TIMES:  7:00 pm, 7:40 pm, 8:20 pm
• TIME CONTROL: 10 minutes + 5 seconds increment per move
• SECTIONS: Players are split by ratings into pools of 4, up to 4 pools
• RATING: CFC Quick and FIDE Rapid rated in all quads where all players have FIDE ratings. Otherwise, only CFC Quick Rated. CFC Quick ratings are used for all pairings. All players must have a valid CFC membership to play.
• EQUIPMENT: HHCC will supply all chess equipment
• PRIZES: $50 gift card for first place in each quad.
• CAPACITY: 16 per night
• ENTRY FEES: Free for GMs, IMs, HHCC members, and students of the University of Toronto. $20 for public.
• REGISTRATION: Accepted ONLY in person from 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm in the Reading Room.

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/ 

To join the weekly reminder email list for the Quads, please fill out the form here.

Quad I Results

Quad II Results