With only 22 chess events acrosss Canada in June and July, who can doubt this is the end of the beginning of the end of chess in Canada?! 

Find an event, and pay your last respects, while there's still time...*

JUNE 2018

June 2, 2018

Championnat Jeunesse Rapide du Québec
Centre Père Marquette, Montréal

Ages: U8 to U18
Must be Quebec resident for 1 year

https://www.tourdelareussite.org/championnat-jeunesse-rapide

June 2-3, 2018

Golden Horseshoe Championship
Sandman Signature Mississauga Hotel, Mississauga

5 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

Registered players include: GM Bator Sambuev, GM Razvan Preotu, IM Tomas Krnan, IM Kaiqi Yang

https://elevatemychess.com/golden-horseshoe-championship/

35th Trumpeter Classic
Sandman Hotel, Grande Prairie, AB

5 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://gpchessclub.com/trumpeter-classic

June 8-10, 2018

George Beals Open
Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax

5 round Swiss
TC: 120 + 30

http://www.nschess.ca/?p=1142

June 9, 2018

Aurora Chess Day
Aurora Public Library, Aurora, ON

4 round Swiss
TC: 55m + 5s

http://www.aucc.club/aurora-chess-day/aurora-chess-day-details/

June 9, 2018

Vancouver Active
Bridge Center, 2776 East Broadway

5 rounds
G/30 or G/25 + 10

http://www.chess.bc.ca/events.shtml

June 9-10, 2018

5th Harbourfront Chessfest
Toronto

• Jumbo boards for anyone to play
• displays and info
• Toronto Blitz Championship on Sunday

http://annexchessclub.com/harbourfront-chessfest/

Calgary International Qualifier
Calgary Chess Club

Details: 5 round Swiss.
TC: 90 + 30

http://www.albertachess.org/2018CIQF.php

June 16-17, 2018

Guelph Pro-Am
Peter Clark Hall, Guelph University

5 round Swiss
G 90 + 30

details

June 19-24, 2018

13th Edmonton International
Edmonton Chess Club

Details: TBA
Organizer: CM Rafael Arruebarrena

June 22-24, 2018

Championnat Ouvert de Laval
Hôtel Holiday Inn, Laval

5 round Swiss
TC: 40/90 + g30 + 30s

http://www.fqechecs.qc.ca/activite/championnat-ouvert-de-laval-0

Eastern Ontario Open
RA Centre, Ottawa

5 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

https://s3.amazonaws.com/eoca/data/2018%20Eastern%20Ontario%20Open%20Chess%20Championship.pdf

June 22-24, 2018

Edmonton International Open

Organizer: CM Rafael Arruebarrena
Details: TBA

June 22-24, 2018

2018 BC Senior Championship 
Comfort Inn, Surrey, BC

5 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://victoriachessclub.pbworks.com/w/page/112397404/BC%20Senior

June 27-29,  2018

Fort McMurray All-Girls Chess Camp
Fort McMurray

Organizer: Jina Burn
Details: TBA
 

June 30-July 2,  2018
Fort McMurray Open

Organizer: Jina Burn
Details: TBA

July 2-5, 2018

2018 Canadian Youth Chess Championships
Quebec City

7-round swiss for the National Championships in U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18, girls and boys.

Winners qualify to represent Canada at:

• the World Cadet Chess Championship (U8, U10, U12) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain (Nov 3-16).
• the World Youth Chess Championship (U14, U16, U18) in Halkidiki, Greece (Oct 19 - Nov 1).

Note: players must qualify for entry to the CYCC. Final qualification events will be held May 26 in Mississauga and June 3 in Montréal.
See CFC tournaments site for details.

Opening Ceremony July 1; round 1 July 2.

https://www.cycc2018.com/

July 7-14, 2018

Canadian Open
Quebec City

• 9-round Swiss
• one round per day, except Sunday July 8, which sees rounds 2 and 3.
• TC: 40/90 + G/30 + 30s
• 5 sections: Open, U2000, U1800, U1600, U1400/unrated
• Eligibility based on highest rating of: FIDE, CFC, FQE, or USCF (for US residents).
• $15,000 guaranteed

Other events: Blitz championship; GM simul; GM lecture.

https://www.chessopen-canada.com/

July 13-15, 2018

2018 New Brunswick Open Championship
Chinese Commerce Centre, Saint John

5 round Swiss
TC: 40/2 + G/60

http://mcc.cdevastation.com/nbop18.html

July 21, 2018

Vancouver Active
Bridge Center, 2776 East Broadway

5 rounds
G/30 or G/25 + 10

http://www.chess.bc.ca/events.shtml

July 21-28, 2018

Québec Open
Montréal-Longueuil, Québec

• 9-round Swiss
• one round per day, except Sunday July 22, which sees rounds 2 and 3.
• $15,000 guaranteed
• GMs confirmed: Romain Edouard (FRA), Victor Mikhalevski (ISR), Bator Sambuev (CAN), Alexander Chernaiev (RUS)
• Blitz tournament July 28.

Cool location: South side of the St.Lawrence, next to Île Notre Dame. On the Metro, and only a 1km walk to the Six Flags amusement park on Île Sainte-Hélène.

http://www.fqechecs.qc.ca/activite/championnat-ouvert-du-quebec-coq

July 27/28-29, 2018

PEI Open Chess Championship
UPEI, Charlottetown

5 round Swiss
TC: rd. 1-2: G/75 + 15s delay; rd. 3-5: G/120 + 30s delay

Note: two schedules of play are available: 1 Fri + 2 Sat, or 3 Saturday. Schedules merge on Sunday with 2 games.

http://mcc.cdevastation.com/peiop18.html

*... or enjoy the weather and come back again when things get chilly ;) 

Another interesting chess study by Canadian WGM Qiyu Zhou published on ChessBase. Here she revisits experiments from 1925 by Djakow, Rukid and Petrovsky (later repeated and reported by de Groot) which compare chess players of varying skills at their ability to recall positions ranging from a common opening tabiya, to complex middlegames and endgames, to completely random positions. 

SPOILER: her results support the original conclusions, but there are two interesting outliers -- one being a chess master who is a Go afficianado, and scored much better at the random positions.

https://en.chessbase.com/post/pattern-recognition-in-chess

The Golden Horseshoe Championship is a two-day, five-round Swiss at the Sandman Signature Mississauga Hotel,  June 2-3, 2018.

Top seeds are Canadian titleists: GM Bator Sambuev, GM Razvan Preotu, IM Tomas Krnan, and IM Kaiqi Yang

homepage
https://elevatemychess.com/golden-horseshoe-championship/

Live games: the top three boards are DGT and can be followed live
https://forum.chesstalk.com/showthread.php/17016-2018-golden-horseshoe-chess-championship-live-games

Our Canadian Game of the Week is between Eric Ning and IM Tomas Krnan, from round 2 of the Golden Horseshoe Championship.

It is Black to play in the diagram. White played an early g4 against a KID and has a protected passed pawn and a nice outpost on c4. Black's pieces are all poised, but is there any way to break through that light-square stonewall to feast on the juicy juicy dark squares?...

..

[Event "Golden Horseshoe Ch."]
[Site "Mississauga"]
[Date "2018.06.02"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Ning, Eric"]
[Black "Krnan, Tomas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2068"]
[BlackElo "2499"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "56"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. g4 $6 {A side-line where
Black scores well.} c5 $1 (6... a6 {is recommended in the Kotronias series on
the KID for Quality Chess, though ...c5 is still more popular and
better-scoring.}) 7. d5 e6 {Black scores 65% and Elo +80 from here.} 8. Be3 $6
(8. g5 Ne8 9. h4 Nc7 {White's g5-push has dislodged the Nf6, but it has found
useful employment on c7, while the g5-pawn is arguably impeding any White
kingside attack.} 10. Bf4 exd5 11. exd5 Re8 12. Kf1 b5 13. cxb5 a6 $1 14. a4
axb5 15. axb5 Rxa1 16. Qxa1 Bb7 $15 {1/2-1/2 (35) Mamedyarov,S (2765)-Romanov,
E (2624) Baku 2011}) 8... exd5 9. cxd5 $2 (9. exd5 {leaves one less target to
attack (e4) but now the g4-pawn push looks silly.}) 9... Qa5 $5 (9... Qe7 $1
$17 10. Bf3 (10. f3 Nxg4 $1 $19 11. fxg4 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Qxe4 $19) 10... Nbd7
11. g5 Ne8 (11... Nh5 $1) 12. Qc2 Nc7 13. Bg2 b5 $17 14. Nf3 Re8 15. O-O b4 {
Black has an excellent Benoni at no cost.} 16. Na4 Ba6 $19 {(0-1, 54) Hansen,
L (2525)-Antonsen,M (2250) Aarhus 1991}) 10. f3 b5 11. Kf1 b4 12. Nb1 Ne8 13.
Nd2 f5 14. Kg2 Qd8 {[#]A funny picture, as almost all Black's pieces are on
the back rank, but White (as in the Saemisch KID) will struggle to extract his
minors from behind the f3-e4 pawn wall.} 15. Qc2 Nd7 16. Rf1 Qe7 17. h3 Bb7 18.
Nc4 Nef6 19. Bf4 Ne5 $2 (19... Nb6 $3 $19 20. Bxd6 (20. Nxd6 fxe4 21. Nxb7
Nfxd5 $19) 20... Nxc4 21. Bxe7 Ne3+ $19) 20. Bxe5 dxe5 21. Bd3 Rae8 (21... fxe4
{is better} 22. fxe4 Nxd5 $3 23. exd5 Rxf1 $8 (23... Bxd5+ $4 24. Be4) 24. Kxf1 Rf8+
25. Kg2 (25. Ke2 Qf6 $19) 25... Qf7 26. Nd6 Bxd5+ 27. Be4 Bxe4+ 28. Nxe4 Qf1+
29. Kg3 Bh6 30. Qe2 Bf4+ 31. Kh4 Qc1 {Black still has just two pawns for the
piece, but the Rh1 is indefinitely out of the game, his K is not safe, and
Black can just push the c-pawn.}) 22. Ne2 $2 {[#]Black's pieces are all ready,
but how to break through that light-square stonewall to get at the juicy juicy
dark squares?} (22. Na5 {is better}) 22... Nxd5 $3 23. exd5 e4 $8 24. Ng3 (24. fxe4
fxe4 25. Rxf8+ Bxf8 $19 26. Bxe4 Qxe4+ 27. Qxe4 Rxe4 {and there's no way to
save both Ns.}) 24... exd3 25. Qxd3 Bd4 26. d6 Qh4 27. d7 f4 $1 28. Ne4 (28.
dxe8=Q Qxg3#) 28... Rxe4 $1 (28... Rxe4 29. fxe4 Bxe4+ 30. Rf3 Qf2#) 0-1

..

ChessBase asks readers to send in their games for GM Jon Speelman's "Agony" column. This week, Speelman analyzes three games by Canadian Miroslav Stefanovic, against three Canadian opponents: Alex Ferreira, David Southam, and Nameer Issani... all of whose names are misspelled in the article :(

Replayable games and analysis on the ChessBase site:

https://en.chessbase.com/post/speelman-agony-77

Based on advice from professors of nursing and education at the University of Lethbridge, a Lethbridge Judge has sentenced five young offenders to study chess with instructors once a week. 

The "Chess For Life" program ran from February to May of 2018, and may be renewed. 

Read about it at these links:

• University of Lethbridge
• ChessBase report
• Donate to Chess for Life

June 26, 2018

Speed Chess Knockout Qualifier

A four player knock-out match to qualify for the 2018 Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, which includes  Caruana, Mamedyarov, Nakamura, Karjakin, So, MVL, Grischuk, Aronian and more... essentially, all the world's top players except Carlsen (who won in 2017). 2018 Speed Chess Championship

Players (rank based on chess.com rating):

1. Eric Hansen (Canada)
2. Georg Meier (Germany)
3. Leinier Dominguez (Cuba)
4. on Ludvig Hammer (Norway)

Format:

• 5 games of 5+1
• 5 games of 3+1
• 10 games of 1+1

Hansen plays Hammer in round 1, and the winner plays the winner of Meier - Dominguez. Hansen is the clear favourite in the first round, if only because he is a much better bullet player than Hammer. Meier may be the slight favourite overall, as he has consistently won the chess.com blitz and bullet arena events over the past few months.

Live Games 1pm Eastern
Commentary: IM Daniel Rensch and GM Robert Hess

https://www.chess.com/tv

https://www.twitch.tv/chess

Our Canadian Game of the Week is the final round board 1 pairing at the 2018 Charlottetown Open between top seeds Robert Sasata (2336) and Jason Manley (2157). How about an Evans Gambit to decide first place bragging rights?  Jason Manley annotates...

The 2018 Charlottetown Open was held May 25-26 at UPEI, attracting 17 players, including 4 experts. Complete results can be found in the CFC results database.

..

[Event "Charlottetown Open"]
[Site "Moncton"]
[Date "2018.05.27"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Manley, Jason"]
[Black "Sasata, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C52"]
[WhiteElo "2157"]
[BlackElo "2336"]
[Annotator "Jason Manley"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{Board one in the last round of the Charlottetown Open was not a place I'd
expected to find myself the day prior. After overpressing in an equal ending
against Richard Bowes in the second round, I was at 1/2 and didn't expect to
have a shot at a tournament victory. However, after two comfortable wins,
combined with Fred McKim holding the tournament favourite, NM Robert Sasata,
to a hard-fought draw in the third round, I found myself in a three-way tie
for second, half a point behind the leader, heading into the last round.  I
wasn't familiar with Robert; I don't believe we'd ever played in the same
tournament before, much less against each other. However, I'd gathered from
watching his earlier games that he was a very aggressive player, so I steeled
myself for a highly combative game in what was a must-win situation for me.} 1.
e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 {The first surprise. I'd taken a quick survey of
what games of Robert's that I could find, and noticed that the Two Knights'
Defence was part of his repertoire. After a minute's reflection, I resolved to
put him on the back foot with an opening where White is undoubtedly the
aggressor: the Evans Gambit.} 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 {So far, so good. It
had been a couple of years since I'd last essayed the Evans in a serious
tournament game, but everything had felt natural thus far.} d6 $6 {Now this
was unexpected. For a start, d6 offers to immediately concede the pawn back 
(see variation on seventh move). Simplifying the position like that didn't
attract me, though; I'd played the Evans, I wanted to keep up the pressure. So
I instead played:} 7. Qb3 {With the target on f7, Black is left with a choice:
to defend the pawn and hinder his development, or to strike in the centre and
allow his king to be displaced?} (7. dxe5 dxe5 8. Qxd8+ {and Black must
concede either f7 or e5.}) 7... Nxd4 {Perhaps unsurprisingly, Robert opted for
the more agressive option, though his king's placement would suffer.} (7... Qd7
{was the other option, as leaving the e8-a4 diagonal unprotected would leave
Black vulnerable to d5.}) 8. Nxd4 exd4 9. Bxf7+ Kf8 10. O-O Bb6 11. Bc4 Qf6 {
Now let's take account of the position. Black is up a pawn, though White's
development appears freer. White's domination of the a2-g8 diagonal will make
it tough to develop his kingside, though Black's pressure on the long diagonal
will make it difficult for White to develop his queenside properly. I elected
to try to solve the problem of my queenside knight by immediately shifting it
to f3.} 12. Nd2 $6 Ne7 13. Nf3 Nc6 {And here I paused to think. ...Na5 is none
too pleasant of a move for me to meet. Capturing on d4 would crystallize the
position, with Black dominating the diagonal and keeping key lines, like the
e-file and the a3-f8 diagonal, closed. I took a deep breath, told myself that
if I was going to play the Evans I couldn't be afraid to sacrifice a few pawns,
and played:} 14. e5 $5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 {Robert opted to keep the diagonal
closed in lieu of the e-file. Now I had a clear cut goal: to take that file
and entomb his king.} 16. Bd2 Bd7 17. cxd4 $1 {This move opens up the third
rank, as well as providing a key square on e3 for bringing White's rooks into
the fray, while also putting the question to Black's queen.} Qf5 $2 {The
question was asked, and I do not think this was the right answer: f5 has the
same disadvantage as f6 in terms of potential pins against the king, while also
limiting the range of the light squared bishop and removing an attacker from
d4. Instead, ...Qf6 or ...Qxd4 must have been better, although White is
noticeably better either way.} 18. Rae1 g5 {Understandable, as after either ...
Bxd4 or ...Re8, Re3 is still powerful, as the capture of the rook would allow
for a winning pin by the f1-rook after fxe3. However, now Black's fate is
sealed.} 19. Re3 g4 20. f3 g3 21. Re4 Qh5 22. hxg3 {Safety first. With Rfe1
followed by Rf4+ a devastating threat, Black must relinquish material.} Re8 23.
Rf4+ Ke7 24. Bf7 Bxd4+ 25. Be3 (25. Rxd4 {is actually possible, as after} Qxf7
26. Re1+ {followed by the activation of the dark squared bishop is deadly. The
text is sufficient, however.}) 25... Bxe3+ 26. Qxe3+ {And with material loss
inevitable, Robert resigned.} 1-0

..

19 chess events across Canada from Canada Day to Labour Day....

July 2-5, 2018

2018 Canadian Youth Chess Championships
Quebec City

7-round swiss for the National Championships in U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18, girls and boys.

Winners qualify to represent Canada at:

• the World Cadet Chess Championship (U8, U10, U12) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain (Nov 3-16).
• the World Youth Chess Championship (U14, U16, U18) in Halkidiki, Greece (Oct 19 - Nov 1).

Note: players must qualify for entry to the CYCC. Final qualification events will be held May 26 in Mississauga and June 3 in Montréal.
See CFC tournaments site for details.

Opening Ceremony July 1; round 1 July 2.

https://www.cycc2018.com/

July 7-14, 2018

Canadian Open
Quebec City

• 9-round Swiss
• one round per day, except Sunday July 8, which sees rounds 2 and 3.
• TC: 40/90 + G/30 + 30s
• 5 sections: Open, U2000, U1800, U1600, U1400/unrated
• Eligibility based on highest rating of: FIDE, CFC, FQE, or USCF (for US residents).
• $15,000 guaranteed

Other events: Blitz championship; GM simul; GM lecture.

https://www.chessopen-canada.com/

July 13-15, 2018

2018 New Brunswick Open Championship
Chinese Commerce Centre, Saint John

5 round Swiss
TC: 40/2 + G/60

http://mcc.cdevastation.com/nbop18.html

July 21, 2018

10th Brantford Food Bank Open
89 Dalhousie St, Brantford

TC: 25 + 5
EF: $30 + 2 canned goods

http://www.miltonchess.ca/images/cfc/10th_brantford_food_bank_op_updated.pdf

Vancouver Active
Bridge Center, 2776 East Broadway

5 rounds
G/30 or G/25 + 10

http://www.chess.bc.ca/events.shtml

July 21-28, 2018

Québec Open
Montréal-Longueuil, Québec

• 9-round Swiss
• one round per day, except Sunday July 22, which sees rounds 2 and 3.
• $15,000 guaranteed
• GMs confirmed: Romain Edouard (FRA), Victor Mikhalevski (ISR), Bator Sambuev (CAN), Alexander Chernaiev (RUS)
• Blitz tournament July 28.

Cool location: South side of the St.Lawrence, next to Île Notre Dame. On the Metro, and only a 1km walk to the Six Flags amusement park on Île Sainte-Hélène.

http://www.fqechecs.qc.ca/activite/championnat-ouvert-du-quebec-coq

July 27/28-29, 2018

PEI Open Chess Championship
UPEI, Charlottetown

5 round Swiss
TC: rd. 1-2: G/75 + 15s delay; rd. 3-5: G/120 + 30s delay

Note: two schedules of play are available: 1 Fri + 2 Sat, or 3 Saturday. Schedules merge on Sunday with 2 games.

http://mcc.cdevastation.com/peiop18.html

July 28, 2018

Cowichan Rapid Open
Island Savings Centre, Duncan BC.

5 round Swiss, unrated
TC: 25 + 5

http://www.miltonchess.ca/images/cfc/2018_cowichan_rapid_open_chess_championship.pdf

AUGUST 2018

August 4, 2018

New Brunswick Day Tornado
University of New Brunswick, Fredericton

4 round Swiss
TC: g/60

http://mcc.cdevastation.com/nbdayftontor18.html

August 4-6, 2018

2nd Semiahmoo Open
Pacific Inn Resort, Surrey BC

6-round Swiss (BC long weekend)
TC: 90 + 30

http://semiahmooopen.pbworks.com/w/page/117147288/FrontPage

August 8-12, 2018

Canadian Junior Championship
Humber College, Toronto

Sections: 10-player invitiational RR, Open Swiss, U1800, U1300
TC: 90 + 30

Winners of the 10-player RR represent Canada at the World Junior in Turkey (Sept 4-16), and get $1500 travel.

https://elevatemychess.com/canadian-junior-chess-championship/

August 14-19, 2018

11th Calgary International Chess Classic
Calgary Chess Club

Includes: Blitz Championship (Aug 19)

http://www.calgary-international.com/

August 18-19, 2018

2nd Smiths Falls Open
Smiths Falls Lions Club, Smiths Falls ON

5 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://www.miltonchess.ca/images/cfc/2018_smith_falls_open.pdf

August 25-26, 2018

Hamilton Summer Open
Emmanuel United Church, Hamilton

5 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://chesshamilton.mygamesonline.org/news.php

11th Calgary International Open
Details: TBA

August 26, 2018

FAAAR Rapid Chess
Sheraton Airport, Toronto

5 round Swiss; unrated
TC: G/30

http://chess.faaar2018.com

Labour Day Events

August 31-September 2, 2018

16th Abe Yanofsky Memorial
Lockhart Hall, University of Winnipeg

5-round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30; except rd.1: G/110

https://chess.chessmanitoba.org/?page_id=34

September 1-3, 2018

Paul Hake Labour Day Open
Saint Mary’s University, Halifax

6-round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://www.nschess.ca/?p=1261

Toronto Open
Annex Chess Club

6-round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://annexchessclub.com/2018-toronto-open/

The 2018 CYCC took place July 2-5, 2018 in Quebec City.

It attracted a record 363 players! Complete results below.

The Canadian Youth Chess Championships is a set of 7-round swiss for the National Championships in U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18, girls and boys. Winners qualify to represent Canada at:

• the World Cadet Chess Championship (U8, U10, U12) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain (Nov 3-16).
• the World Youth Chess Championship (U14, U16, U18) in Halkidiki, Greece (Oct 19 - Nov 1).

Complete Results

Playoffs

The playoff format was two games of (G/15 + 10) followed, if needed, by two/four/six games of (G/5 + 3). Two sections ended with ties for first and required playoffs:

• Kevin Zhong won the U10 by beating Daniel Xu 1.5/2.
• Brandon Zhu won the U18 in a three-way playoff over Willaim Bremner (2nd) Andrew Colvin (3rd).  Curiously, Brandon was given a 01 point bye in the final round. [corrected - 2018.07.05]

Links

Homepage
https://www.cycc2018.com/

Crosstables on chess-results.com
http://chess-results.com/fed.aspx?lan=1&fed=CAN

Photos on FQE facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/pg/fqechecs/photos/?tab=albums

photo at the top of page by Victoria Jung-Doknjas:
2018 Olympiad teammates faceoff in the decisive game of the U16 girls: 2017 Canadian Women's Champion Maili-Jade Ouellet defeated Svitlana Demchenko en route to an uncatchable 6-out-of-6 start. 

Our Canadian Tactic comes from a first-round game between Canada and TSG Markkleeberg at the World Senior Team Chess Championship (+50). It is FM Ian Findlay as Black to move in the diagram. 

Solution: see game below at move 23, but don't miss Kamsky - Chiku-Ratte (Calgary, 2016) in the notes for even more tactics.

2018 World Senior Team Chess Championship

July 7-15, 2018 in Radebeul (a suburb of Dresden), Germany.

It is a 9-round team swiss, 4 players per team,  in 2 sections: 50+ and 65+.

The US team of GMs Shabalov, Benjamin, Ehlvest and Yermo are ranked first. Russia's 65+ team has an average rating of 2428, and would be ranked 3rd in the 50+ section. The Canadian Team is ranked 9th in the 50+ section:

1. IM David Cummings 
2. FM Victor Plotkin 
3. FM Ian Findlay
4. IM Michael Barron

Homepage
http://schachfestival.de/world-team-championship-50-65-2018.html

Live Games
http://www.schachfestival.de/world-team-championship-50-65-2018-en/live-games.html

..

[Event "World Senior"]
[Site "Dresden"]
[Date "2018.07.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Hahn, Andreas"]
[Black "Findlay, Ian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "1863"]
[BlackElo "2244"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2018.07.07"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[WhiteTeam "TSG Markkleeberg 1"]
[BlackTeam "Canada"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. Nc3 g6 5. h3 {White's setup looks pretty
inoccuous, but Kamsky has played it and scored an instructive attacking win
against Kenta in Calgary in 2016 (see note to move 9).} ({White could
transpose into a regular Dragon with} 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Bg7 7. Be3) 5... Bg7
6. O-O Nf6 7. d3 O-O 8. a3 a6 9. Ne2 $6 (9. Ba2 b5 10. Bg5 Bb7 (10... h6 $1 {
prevents White from trading the Bg7}) 11. Qd2 Rc8 12. Rfe1 Nd7 13. Bh6 Nd4 14.
Nxd4 Bxh6 15. Qxh6 cxd4 16. Ne2 Rxc2 17. Nxd4 Rc5 (17... Rxb2 $2 18. Qc1 $16 {
traps the R.}) 18. b4 Rc3 (18... Rh5 19. Qe3 {and the Rh5 is way offside.}) 19.
Nf3 Rxd3 20. Ng5 Nf6 {Now White plays to remove the defender on f6.} 21. Re3 $1
{The threat of Rf3xf6 forces Black to exchange Rs and so open the f-file.} Rxe3
22. fxe3 Bxe4 23. Rf1 Bf5 24. e4 $18 e6 25. exf5 exf5 26. Nxh7 $3 {Gives back
the piece for three pawns, a much better structure, and a long-term initiative
against the black K.} (26. g4 {keeps a big advantage, but exposes the white K.}
) 26... Nxh7 27. Qxg6+ Kh8 28. Bxf7 Qb6+ 29. Kh1 Qe3 30. Rxf5 d5 31. Qd6 $1 {
taking away checks on the h2-b8 diagonal.} (31. Rh5 $4 Qc1+ 32. Kh2 Qf4+ {
wins the Bf7 and defends h7.}) 31... Qe4 32. Rf3 d4 33. Kh2 Qh4 34. Qe5+ {
1-0 Kamsky,G (2660)-Chiku Ratte,O (2386) Calgary, 2016.}) 9... d5 $11 10. exd5
Nxd5 11. c3 b5 12. Ba2 Bb7 13. Be3 Qd6 14. Qc2 ({White has no time to maneuver
a N to e4, e.g.} 14. Ng5 Nxe3 15. fxe3 Ne5 16. Ne4 (16. d4 Nc4 $17) 16... Qxd3
17. Nxc5 Qxe3+ $19) 14... Ne5 (14... Nxe3 $1 15. fxe3 Ne5 $17 {with two
well-placed Bs and pressure against White's center pawns.}) 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16.
Bc1 (16. Bxc5 Nxc3 $1 17. bxc3 (17. Qxc3 $2 Qg5 {Only move.} $19) 17... Qxc5 $17) 16...
Rad8 17. f4 Qd6 18. f5 Qe5 19. fxg6 hxg6 (19... Ne3 $1 {looks like it gives
White a lot of play, but is strong for Black:} 20. gxf7+ (20. gxh7+ Kh8 21.
Bxe3 Qxe3+ 22. Kh2 (22. Kh1 Qxh3+) 22... Be5+ 23. g3 Rxd3 $19) 20... Kh8 21.
Bxe3 Qxe3+ 22. Rf2 c4 23. dxc4 Rxf7 $19) 20. d4 cxd4 21. Nxd4 Ne3 (21... Nxc3
$3 22. bxc3 Rxd4 $1 $19) 22. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 23. Rf2 {[#]} ({White may have better
drawing chances by trading Qs with} 23. Qf2 Qxf2+ 24. Rxf2 Bxd4 25. cxd4 Rxd4
26. Raf1 Bd5 $17 {with an extra passed pawn in what will probably be a R
ending.}) 23... e6 $1 (23... Rxd4 $2 {looks deadly, but overlooks White's
threats.} 24. cxd4 Bxd4 {hoping for} 25. Raf1 $2 ({but White draws with} 25.
Qxg6+ {Only move.} Kh8 {Only move.} 26. Qh5+ Kg7 {Only move.} (26... Kg8 $2 27. Bxf7+ $18) 27. Qg4+ $11)
25... Qg3 $19) (23... e5 $1 24. Nf3 e4 $17 {is also clearly better for Black,
but ...e6 leaves both diagonals open for the black Bs.}) 24. Nf3 Bxf3 25. gxf3
Rd7 (25... Rd3 $1 {prepares to double while restricting White's Q.}) 26. Qe4
Qc5 27. h4 $2 (27. Kg2 Rfd8 $17) 27... Rd2 $19 28. Raf1 Rxb2 29. Kg2 Qxa3 $1 {
Not afraid of ghosts.} 30. Bxe6 {White's only hope, but with his rooks doubled
behind his own f-pawn, there aren't enough attackers.} Rxf2+ 31. Kxf2 Qc5+ $1 (
31... fxe6 32. Qxe6+ Kh7 33. h5 Rf6 $4 {might have been White's hope} (33...
Qc5+ 34. Kg2 Qg5+ $1 {pushing the K away before taking on h5 so there will be
no Rh1.}) 34. hxg6+ Rxg6 35. Rh1+ $11) 32. Kg2 fxe6 33. Qxe6+ Kh7 34. Qxa6 Re8
35. Qb7 Re2+ 36. Kg3 Qe5+ 37. f4 Qxc3+ 38. Kg4 Re3 39. Rg1 {and White resigned
before losing everything to ...Qd3 or ...Qc2.} 0-1

..

The 2018 Canadian Open was held July 7-14, in Quebec City. It was a 9-round Swiss in five sections, with 145 players competing.

The Open section was won by Bitan Banerjee and IM Raymond Kaufman (USA). Banerjee takes the title on first tie-break, having beaten Kaufman in round 5. GM Bator Sambuev and IM Kaiqi Yang tied for 3rd-4th, both losing to Banerjee. 

With the gain of rating points, Bitan goes way over 2400, and will become Canada's next IM!

Note: Bitan's FIDE affiliation is listed as India, but he lives in Alberta and plays there often. Suggestion: get FIDE to change his federation before the title is confirmed and FIDE's "paperwork fee" goes up. ;)

Special mention to CFC President Vlad Drkulec, who played nearly 200 points above his FIDE rating in the Open section.

Section winners:

• U2000 William Bremner 8/9 (no losses)
• U1800 Kevin Hong Li Yun 7/9 (no losses)
• U1600 David Gauthier et Arnaud Pelletier 7/9
• U1400 Jessica Qian 8/8 + BYE, for the only perfect score!

Final Crosstable from Open section

Links

Homepage

Chess-Results.com

photos (via FQE facebook)

photo above by Victoria Jung-Doknjas: Bitan Banerjee at the 2018 Canadian Open in Quebec City

The 2018 Québec Open was held July 21-28, 2018, at the Sandman Hotel in Longueuil, Québec, just across the river from Montréal.

It was a 9-round Swiss, with one round per day, except Sunday July 22 with rounds 2 and 3.

It had a prize fund of $15,000 and attracted 175 players in five sections, with Open section topped by six GMs: Romain Edouard (FRA), Victor Mikhalevski (ISR), Alexandre Le Siege (CAN), Bator Sambuev (CAN), Razvan Preotu (CAN), and Alexander Cherniaev (RUS).

GM Razvan Preotu (CAN) won with an undefeated 7.5/9, including wins over 2nd and 4th place GMs Edouard and Mikhalevski. GM Romain Edouard (FRA) was second with 7/9. GMs Bator Sambuev (CAN) recovered from a stretch of 0.5/3 to win his last four games to tie with GM Victor Mikhalevski (ISR) for =3rd-4th with 6.5.

Open Section Results: (via Chess-Results.com)

• U2000: David Craciun 7/9
• U1800: Victor Morin-Pare 8.5/9 
• U1600: Jean-Guy Bergeron 7/9 
• U1400: Martin Laroche 7.5/9

Other Winners

William Bremner was the big rating winner at the Quebec Open, where he earned 155 FIDE rating points! Add that to the 62 points he got in the U18 section at the CYCC  (where he tied for 1st), and the 91 points from the U2000 section at the Canadian Open (which he won with +7 =2 -0), and William finishes an awesome July in Quebec by earning a total of 307.8 FIDE Rating points!

FM GV Sai Krishna, Indian federation but playing out of Montreal, registered for only the first four rounds before he had to head out of town, but in those four games scored +3 =1 -0, including a win against GM Sambuev and a draw vs GM Le Siege. That score earned him 21 FIDE rating point so push his rating over 2400 and that combines with earlier IM Norms is enough for him to become an IM!

Links

2018 CoQ Homepage

photos
see Album on Chess Canada facebook page

Final Standings on Chess-Results

28 chess events across Canada in August and September 2018. Choose wisely...

AUGUST 2018

August 3-6, 2018

Kitchener Chess Festival
Kitchener City Hall, Kitchener ON

13th annual Festival includes multiple events: 6-round Swiss, 60+ Seniors Section, Team Prizes, Family Prizes, Blitz Tournament, daily BBQ.

http://www.chessfest.ca/

Canadian Senior Championship
Calgary Chess Club

• 7-round Swiss in two sections: 50+ and 65+.
• Must be at least 50 or at least 65 by December 31, 2018.
• Canadian citizens or residents only.
• Maximum 40 players

http://albertachess.org/2018CSC.php

August 4, 2018

New Brunswick Day Tornado
University of New Brunswick, Fredericton

4 round Swiss
TC: g/60

http://mcc.cdevastation.com/nbdayftontor18.html

August 4-6, 2018

2nd Semiahmoo Open
Pacific Inn Resort, Surrey BC

6-round Swiss (BC long weekend)
TC: 90 + 30

http://semiahmooopen.pbworks.com/w/page/117147288/FrontPage

August 7, 2018

Manitoba Active
University of Winnipeg

• 4 round Swiss
• TC: 20 + 10
• CFC membership not required

https://chess.chessmanitoba.org/?page_id=34

August 8-12, 2018

Canadian Junior Championship
Humber College, Toronto

Sections: 10-player invitiational RR, Open Swiss, U1800, U1300
TC: 90 + 30

Winners of the 10-player RR represent Canada at the World Junior in Turkey (Sept 4-16), and get $1500 travel.

https://elevatemychess.com/canadian-junior-chess-championship/

August 12

Bowser Builders Open
Bowser Legion Hall, Vancouver Island

4 rounds
TC: 45 + 5

http://bowserchess.pbworks.com/w/page/123435870/10th%20Bowser%20Builders%20Open%20Chess%20Tournament

August 14-19, 2018

11th Calgary International Chess Classic
Calgary Chess Club

Features: GMs Victor Mikhalevski (ISR), Melikset Khachiyan (USA), Aman Hambleton (CAN), Enrico Sevillano (USA)

Includes: Blitz Championship (Aug 19)

http://www.calgary-international.com/

August 18

Brantford Olympiad Waive
Harmony Square (Bell Stage), Brantford ON

5 round Swiss
TC: 25 + 5

$20 From each Entry to the Olympiad Team 

http://www.miltonchess.ca/images/cfc/2018_brantford_olympiad_waive_open.pdf

August 18-19, 2018

2nd Smiths Falls Open
Smiths Falls Lions Club, Smiths Falls ON

5 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://www.miltonchess.ca/images/cfc/2018_smith_falls_open.pdf

August 25-26, 2018

Hamilton Summer Open
Emmanuel United Church, Hamilton

5 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://chesshamilton.mygamesonline.org/news.php

August 26, 2018

FAAAR Rapid Chess
Sheraton Airport, Toronto

5 round Swiss; unrated
TC: G/30

http://chess.faaar2018.com

Labour Day Events

August 31-September 2, 2018

16th Abe Yanofsky Memorial
Lockhart Hall, University of Winnipeg

5-round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30; except rd.1: G/110

https://chess.chessmanitoba.org/?page_id=34

September 1-2, 2018

Over/Under 1800
Edmonton Chess Club, Edmonton

2 sections, 5 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://www.albertachess.org/2018OU1800.php

September 1-3, 2018

Paul Hake Labour Day Open
Saint Mary’s University, Halifax

6-round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://www.nschess.ca/?p=1261

Toronto Open
Annex Chess Club

6-round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://annexchessclub.com/2018-toronto-open/

Langley Open
Brookswood Senior Centre, Langley, BC

6 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://langleychess.com/events/langley-open/

SEPTEMBER 2018

September 7-9, 2018

Championnat Ouvert de Montréal (CHOM)
 Loisirs St-Henri, Montréal

5 rondes, suisse
Cad: 90 + 30

http://www.fqechecs.qc.ca/regions/clubs/tournoi.php?club=&id=13531

September 8

New Brunswick Quick Chess Championship
Mt.Allison University (Avard Dixon), Sackville, NB

5 round Swiss
TC: 25 + 10

http://mcc.cdevastation.com/nbqck18.html

Mississauga 2019 CYCC Qualifier
Tomken Twin Arena Auditorium, Mississauga ON

5 round Swiss
TC: G/30

U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18 qualification for 2019 CYCC

http://www.miltonchess.ca/images/mcc/missqual3.pdf

2018 Battle of Alberta
Red Deer Baymont Inn & Suites

Annual North vs South Team Match

• Northerners contact Rafael Arruebarrena
• Southerners contact Omid Malek

http://www.albertachess.org/2018BOA.html

September 15-16, 2018

September Fall Open
Kitchener, ON

5 round Swiss
TC: 90 + 30

http://kwchess.org/tournaments-2/

Calgary Junior Regional Championship
Calgary Chess Club

Born after January 1, 1999.

• Sept 15: Open: 5 round Swiss, TC: 90 + 30
• Sept 16: U1300 & U800: 7 round Swiss, TC 45 + 30

https://www.calgaryjuniorchess.com/CJCC/event/event/9999

September 21-23, 2018

Tournoi Automnal de Sherbrooke

Système suisse de 5 rondes
Détails à venir

http://www.fqechecs.qc.ca/regions/clubs/evenement.php?club=23&id=13473

September 22-23

24th Medicine Hat Open

Details: TBA

September 23

Chess to Remember
Armenian Community Centre, Willowdale, ON

5 round Swiss
TC: 25 + 5

prevous winners: GM Evgeney Bareev (2x) and GM Avigdor Bykhovsky.

http://homenetmentoronto.com/chess-to-remember/2018/

September 29, 2018 

PEI Quick Chess Open
UPEI (Health Sci Bldg), Charlottetown

5 round swiss
G/40

http://mcc.cdevastation.com/peiqck18.html

2018 Junior Battle of Alberta 
Red Deer Baymont Inn & Suites

First Annual Junior North vs South Team Match

• Northerners contact Cristian Ivanescu
• Southerners contact Vlad Rekhson

http://www.albertachess.org/2018JBOA.html

September 30

PEI Rapid Chess Open
UPEI (Health Sci Bldg), Charlottetown

8 round swiss
G/20

http://mcc.cdevastation.com/peirpd18.html

October 5-7, 2018

11th Varennes International

l'École secondaire Le Carrefour, Varennes, QC

$20,000 guaranteed
5 round swiss

https://www.echecsvarennes.com/

Our Best of the Web includes the 2018 Canadian Junior, the preliminary rounds of the world's top computer chess engine tournament, and a rapid and blitz tournament featuring 9 of the world's top 14 players.... as well as two games!

The diagram comes from the round 2 game bewteen Hiran Liang and Brandon Zhu at the 2018 Canadian Junior Chess Championship. White to play (solution(s) in game viewer below).

The second game in the viewer is Leela Zero's smooth win in the TCEC Division 4 RR.

2018 Canadian Junior Championship

The Canadian Junior Chess Championship runs August 8-12, 2018 at Humber College, Toronto. 

It features four sections: a 10-player invitiational RR, Open Swiss, U1800, and U1300. Male and female winners of the 10-player RR represent Canada at the World Junior in Turkey (Sept 4-16), and get $1500 for travel.

The diagram at the top of the page comes from the round 2 game bewteen Hiran Liang and Brandon Zhu at the Canadian Junior. White to play (solution(s) in game viewer below).

homepage
https://elevatemychess.com/canadian-junior-chess-championship/

live games (top 3 boards in Invitational Section)
http://view.livechesscloud.com/a3a3c64b-2331-456c-af1b-6761974d5b15

Standings
http://chess-results.com/tnr370772.aspx?lan=1&art=0

TCEC Season 13

The only chess engine competition that matters is underway. It features 32 chess engines competing on identical hardware (almost, see below) with identical short opening books. The top engines, including the perennial top 3 Stockfish, Komodo, and Houdini -- are all seeded directly into the Premier Division. Other engines have to qualify via round-robins from one of the four lower divisions, which compete in 4xRRs with a TC of 30 minutes + 10 seconds per game.

This year the hardware cannot be identical, since, for the first time Neural Net engines will be in the competition. Neural Nets are highly parallelized programs, and are typically run on specialized hardware, or on the GPUs in high-end graphics cards. For Season 13, standard chess engines will run on a 44 core CPU, while the two Neural Net engines run on a remote machine with 2x GTX 1080ti GPUs.

Leela

An online group of programmers and chess enthusiasts is attempting to reproduce the  success of Google's AlphaZero by creating an open-source self-taught neural net program, called Leela Zero (L0), based (to the extent possible on the limited informtion released by Google Mind) on what is know about AlphaZero. 

Leela uses distributed processing (including free processing time via Google Colab) to create millions of self-play games, asesses positions based on their winning probability as shown by Monte Carlo Tree Searches, and revises itself constantly, with a newer version being posted on their site approximately every 8 hours. 

Leela's progress has been almost constant -- there were setbacks, e.g. when the programmers found errors in the 50-move rule implementation -- but uneven: Leela frequently played wonderful chess, only to allow a mate-in-three! This is because, unlike the typical alpha-beta engines, Leela doesn't analyze all possible moves at a short distance (and so misses some tactics). This uneven progress has revealed a split among Leela's supporters: the ones I'll call the "science types" think of Leela as an experiment to test the ideas revealed by the AlphaZero developers, while the "chess nuts" want Leela to get better faster, and think the undirected self-play method used by AZ and L0 could be sped up by training it on tactics and table-base positions. 

A result of this split is that there was some controversy when a second NN engine was added to the tournament, DeusX, which turns out to be a derivative of Leela, using some guided training chosen by Albert Silver.

As it turns out, both Leela and DeusX qualified from the Division 4 group and move a step closer to the Premier Division:

TCEC 13: Division 4 Results

1.  LCZero 20/28(+14 =12 -2)
2.  DeusX 1.0   18.5(+13 =11 -4)
3.  Wasp 3.2       18.0(+11 =17 -2)
4.  Rodent III12.5(+4 =17 -7)
5.  Senpai 2.012.5(+3 =19 -6)
6.  Chess22k 1.1011
7.  Tucano 7.0510
8.  Ivanhoe 999946h 9.5

With new versions of Leela released every day, the next round-robin might feature a significantly stronger version: the current Leela Network seems to be approximately 50 Elo points stronger than the one that entered TCEC last week. All developers are able to update their engines each time they advance to the next level, with the caveat that any glitches introduced by the newer version cannot be fixed or replaced once that round-robin has begun. 

The game viewer below shows one of Leela's wins. It is a remarkable example of spatial control, as well as a move (Bxa7, that almost all humans would automatically discount).

TCEC
http://www.chessdom.com/tcec-season-13-the-advance-of-the-nns/

live games (games run 24/7)
http://tcec.chessdom.com/season13/live.php

Leela 
http://lczero.org/

St.Louis Rapid & Blitz

The third stage in the 2018 Grand Chess Tour hits St.Louis August 11-15, 2018. It features two tournaments back-to-back:

• Rapid: a round robin played at 25 min + a 10 second delay.
• Blitz: a double round-robin at 5 min + 3 sec delay.

Players, by FIDE world ranking, are: 

• 2. Caruana
• 3. Mamedyarov
• 6. So
• 8. MVL 
• 9. Nakamura
• 10. Karjakin
• 12. Anand
• 13. Aronian
• 14. Grischuk
• 25. Lenier Dominguez

No Magnus? No worries: he bumps out Dominguez and joins the others to play in the Sinquefield Cup: August 18-28, 2018.

live games

StLCC (Seirawan, Ashley, etc.)
https://grandchesstour.org/2018-grand-chess-tour/2018-saint-louis-rapid-blitz

GMs Hansen and Hambleton
https://www.twitch.tv/chessbrah

[Event "TCEC Season 13 - Division 4"]
[Site "http://tcec.chessdom.com"]
[Date "2018.08.08"]
[Round "25.3"]
[White "LCZero 16.10161"]
[Black "Chess22k 1.10"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B56"]
[WhiteElo "3219"]
[BlackElo "3072"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "144"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3
O-O 9. Qd2 a5 10. Bb5 Na7 {[#]There are over 300 human-played games in
MegaBase from here -- many featuring top-level players -- almost all of which
have continued by retreating the Bb5 to either d3 or e2.} 11. Bxa7 $5 {When I
first saw it I thought this was a bad move -- giving up the DSB looks
completely anti-positional -- but the move has its positonal pluses too:  1)
keeping control over b5 means Black can get play against White's K after 000
only by playing an exchange sac on c3, which is expensive; 2) Black won't be
able to force through ...d5, so the only square his minor pieces might look to
use is c5, and they can't all use it.} (11. Be2 Nc6 12. a3 a4 13. Nc1 Be6 14.
Nd5 Bxd5 $1 15. exd5 Nd4 16. Bxd4 exd4 17. Qxd4 Qa5+ 18. Qd2 Qb6 $5 (18... Nxd5
$15) 19. c4 Nd7 20. Nd3 Nc5 (20... Bf6 $142) 21. Nxc5 Qxc5 $11 22. Qb4 Qe3 23.
Qd2 Qc5 24. Qb4 Qe3 25. Qd2 {½-½ Piorun,K (2655)-Hracek,Z (2599) Jurmala,
2016.}) (11. Ba4 $6 {(the actual game had 11.Be2 Nc6 12.Bb5 Na7 inserted)} Be6
12. Bxa7 Rxa7 13. Qf2 Ra8 14. O-O-O Qb8 $15 15. Bb5 $2 Rc8 (15... a4 $1) 16.
Na4 (16. a4 $5 Rxc3 $5) 16... d5 17. Nb6 a4 $1 18. Bxa4 Qa7 $1 $19 19. exd5 Bd8
(19... Nxd5 $1) 20. dxe6 Bxb6 21. exf7+ Kxf7 22. Nc5 Qxa4 {0-1 Anand,V (2781)
-Kramnik,V (2751) Monte Carlo (blindfold), 1999.}) 11... Rxa7 12. O-O-O Qb6 13.
a4 {At 26 ply, Stockfish 9 rates this position as 0.00} Ra8 (13... Be6 14. Kb1
Rd8 15. g4 Raa8 16. g5 Nh5 17. h4 Nf4 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. exd5 Bd7 20. Bxd7 (20.
c4 $5) 20... Rxd7 21. Rhe1 Qa6 22. Re4 f5 23. gxf6 Bxf6 24. c4 $14 {0-1 (54)
Tomczak,J (2596)-Czarnota,P (2557) Warsaw 2017}) 14. Qe2 Be6 15. Nd2 Rfc8 16.
Nc4 Qc5 17. Ne3 Rc7 18. Ned5 (18. g4 $5) 18... Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. Rxd5 Qb4
21. Kb1 Rac8 22. c4 Rc5 23. Rd3 $1 R5c7 24. g3 Kf8 {Black has nothing
constructive to do, while White can triple on the d-file and/or prepare to
open a file with f3-f4. Any file opening on the kingside will doubly benefit
White, who has more space to swing major pieces that way, and because Black's
K will be a target.} 25. Qc2 Kg8 26. Rb3 Qc5 27. Qg2 Bg5 28. Re1 Rd8 29. h4 Bh6
30. Ra3 {I don't know if I would have to be a better or a worse player to
understand this move. It doesn't LOOK like zugzwang....} Qd4 31. Qf1 Qc5 32.
Rd3 Qb6 {[#]} 33. f4 $1 exf4 34. gxf4 (34. g4 $2 g5) 34... Rcc8 35. h5 Qc7 36.
Qf3 Qe7 37. Red1 Qh4 38. e5 $1 dxe5 39. Qg4 $1 {remember Adams - Torre? Leela
doesn't.} Qe7 (39... Qxg4 $4 40. Rxd8+ Rxd8 41. Rxd8#) 40. fxe5 Rf8 (40... Rxd3
$4 41. Qxc8+ $18) 41. Rd5 Rc7 42. Qe4 Rc5 43. Re1 b6 44. Rd7 Qe6 45. Rd6 Qh3
46. Bc6 {Continuing to dominate the Bh6. Leela's piece coordination to control
space is just teriffic.} (46. Rxb6 Bd2 47. Re2 Qf1+ 48. Ka2 Bb4 49. h6 $18)
46... Qxh5 47. Bd5 Rc7 (47... Bd2 $2 48. Rh1 $18) 48. e6 fxe6 49. Rxe6 $18 Kh8
50. Rxb6 Rcc8 51. Rh1 Qg5 52. Qd4 Rf4 53. Qc3 Qf5+ 54. Ka2 Bg5 55. Be6 Qf6 56.
Qxa5 Rd8 57. Qb5 Qe7 58. Bd5 Rf2 59. Rb7 Qd6 60. Be4 Bh6 61. Qb6 Qxb6 62. Rxb6
Re2 63. Bd5 Bd2 64. Rb5 h6 65. a5 Rd7 66. a6 Ra7 67. Bb7 Bf4 68. c5 Re6 69. Kb3
Kh7 70. Rb6 Re2 71. Kc4 Bc7 72. b4 Bf4 {game was adjudicated a win for White
based on the TCEC win rules.} 1-0

[Event "Canadian Junior"]
[Site "Humber College"]
[Date "2018.08.09"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Liang, Hairan"]
[Black "Zhu, Brandon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B11"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "49"]

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. Be2 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8.
Rd1 O-O (8... b5 $2 9. e5 Nfd7 10. d4 a6 11. Nb1 $5 (11. Qg3 {White attacks
before Black gets play against d4.}) 11... c5 12. c3 Nc6 13. Qg4 g6 14. Bh6 $14
{(1-0, 36) Vachier Lagrave,M (2796)-Topalov,V (2749) Paris (blitz) 2017.}) 9.
d4 Kh8 $6 (9... Nbd7 10. Be3 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Nf6 13. Qf3 Nd5 14.
Bd2 Bf6 15. c3 Qb6 16. Rab1 Rfd8 17. Bd3 $14 {½-½ (41) Trifunovic,P-Filip,M
Oberhausen, 1961.}) 10. a3 a5 11. Rb1 a4 12. Be3 b5 13. Bd3 Qa5 $2 (13... dxe4
$142 14. Nxe4) 14. e5 $1 $16 Ng8 15. Ne2 g6 16. h4 $1 Bxh4 (16... h5 17. Nf4 {
and White sacs a piece on one of the light squares.}) 17. g3 $18 Be7 18. Kg2
Qd8 19. Rh1 Bg5 20. Nf4 (20. Qg4 {also wins} Bxe3 21. fxe3 Nd7 22. Rxh7+ Kxh7
23. Rh1+ Kg7 24. Nf4 Qe7 (24... Re8 25. Bxg6 $18) 25. Nh5+) 20... Kg7 {Black
has expanded on the queenside, but White has 5 of his 6 pieces attacking
Black's K.} (20... Ra7 21. Bxg6 (21. Rxh7+ $1 {also wins.}) 21... fxg6 22.
Nxg6+ Kg7 23. Nxf8 Rf7 24. Rxh7+ $4) 21. Nxe6+ $1 {White is spoiled for choice,
as all plausible sacs win:} (21. Rxh7+ {also wins} Kxh7 22. Nxg6 Nh6 23. Ne7+
Kh8 24. Bxg5 $18) (21. Bxg6 $1 {also wins} hxg6 (21... Bxf4 22. Rxh7+ Kxg6 23.
Qh5#) (21... fxg6 22. Nxe6+ Kh8 23. Nxf8 $18 (23. Rxh7+ $18)) 22. Nh5+ $1 gxh5
23. Qxh5 $18) 21... fxe6 22. Rxh7+ $1 Kxh7 23. Qh5+ Bh6 24. Qxg6+ Kh8 25. Qh7#
1-0

The Canadian Junior Chess Championship ran August 8-12, 2018 at Humber College, Toronto.

It featured four sections:

• a 10-player invitiational RR, where the top male and female win the right to represent Canada at the World Junior in Turkey (Sept 4-16), and get $1500 for travel,
• Open Swiss (25 players, 9-round swiss),
• U1800 (40 players, 9-round swiss),
• U1300 (70 players, 6-round swiss).