Alberta Chess Association
Welcome to the Alberta Chess Association!
The Alberta Chess Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of chess in Alberta. We are affiliated with the Chess Federation of Canada, and provide support to players and organizers province wide.
We gratefully acknowledge the support we receive from the Alberta Sport, Recreation Parks & Wildlife Foundation!
ACA Contact Info
Executive Director: Vlad Rekhson
Phone: 403-970-8032
email: vrekhson@yahoo.ca
ACA News
June 10: Edmonton International Reserves is full
Please note that the final spots in the Edmonton International Reserves have now been filled. The full list is available at: http://www.edmonton-international.com/Reserves.html There are still 9 spots open in the GM Bruzon simul on June 22nd and unlimited spots for the GM Short lecture.
http://www.edmonton-international.com/Side_Events.html
June 9: 54 players take part in first ever AB Schools Championship
This Saturday, June 8th Calgary hosted the first ever Alberta Schools Chess Championship. The tournament consisted of three sections: Div I (Gr. 1-3), II (4-6) and III (7-9). Div. IV will take place in October in Calgary.
The format was borrowed from a very successful American scholastic scene, where players compete individually in their Divisions, but the top four individual scores from a school are accumulated for a team score. This way, both individual and team results are important.
The tournament itself was quite successful considering that it was the first such event in Alberta. A total of 54 participants took part coming from Calgary and region (33), Edmonton (19), Red-Deer and Lethbridge (one player each). A total of 13 girls were among the players.
Div. 1 had a total of 16 participants and it was very tightly contested on the individual level. In the end Quirck Migrino from Calgary (Holy Cross school) emerged as the champion ahead of Kenneth Mah from Edmonton (Stratford) due to head to head victory (4/5 each). Third place went to Julian Lau from Edmonton (Grandview Heights) who edged out Khino Tolentino (St. Jerome) from Calgary due to head to head victory (3.5/5 each).
On the team level, this division was not close at all, as Stratford Elementary from Edmonton won it easily.
Division II was the largest and the most challenging. A total of 27 players took part and in the end, the Tolentino brothers took the first two spots. Patrick won all of his games on the way to first, while Andre took second with 4.5/5 (both from St. Jerome). A total of six players tied for third with 4/5 meaning that a special tie-break round-robin was required. In the end, Sydney Mah edged out Dennis Robitu (both from Stratford Elementary in Edmonton) as she won the head to head game between the two (4/5 in tie-break). This meant that the best girl prize went to Shaira Munoz from St. Jerome in Calgary. Best Unrated/U-800 went to Jazer Buan (Erin Wood) from Calgary. This division also head the closest contested team competition as St. Jerome from Calgary edged out Stratford from Edmonton to take the first place.
Division III had 11 participants and first place went to Sisan Escoegene Fregene Elmer S. Gish in St. Albert. Sisan was perfect! Second was taken by Josh Oba from GS Lakie in Lethbridge with 4/5. Third place had to be figured out in a complicated tie-break system. Rahul Bhatnagar from Elmer S. Gish in St. Albert emerged as the 3rd place finisher since he defeated both other competitors who finished 3.5/5 head to head. Bhumika Jejurkar from Crescent in Calgary defeated Rachel Gagne to take the Best Girl award. Best U-800/UNR in this section was awarded to: Daniel Lund-Rachinski from Elmer S. Gish in St. Albert (2.5/5). At first it appeared that Bearspaw from Calgary could give St. Elmer Gish some competition for first, but it wasn't to be this time as Elmer S. Gish was the clear winner.
A special thanks goes to Angelo Tolentino for directing and organizing the tournament, and to all the other volunteers who helped make the tournament happen! See you in Edmonton next year!
Final Standings are available at: http://www.albertachess.org/2013Abschoolsprereg.html
June 9: Fort McMurray Open/Women's Championship venue change
The tournament will take place at the Chez Dube hotel. See the flyer for all the details and special rates.
June 4: 22 players take part in the 30th annual Trumpeter Classic in Grande-Prairie
Trumpeter Classic has been a staple even of the Alberta Chess Association schedule for 30 years now. For the anniversary year, Wade Caughlin Financials and the Alberta Chess Association helped boost the prize fund by $1000. The prize fund was boosted by entry fees which made out the Class prizes for the total prize fund of $1750! The total attracted a crowd of 22 players from all over Alberta, and even one person came from BC. The event itself took place at the Sandman Hotel on June 1-2, 2013. As someone who visited the tournament when it was held in January, the change to certainly nice as I got to see some green spaces in the "trumpeter city." As for the results, I (Vlad Rekhson) won first with 4.5/5 ahead of Peter Kalisvaart from Edmonton who finished with 4/5. Third was shared by the "Rocket" Rob Gardner from Edmonton and the surprising local hero-Tim Pradzinski. Tim was also the Tournament Director, which makes his accomplishment even more impressive. Tim and Rocket were joined by: Ali Razzaq who also tied for third with 3.5/5; however, Ali was eligible for the best under 1900 prize. Second best in the under 1900 section went to Archie Robertson from Fairview who finished with: 3/5, while third in the same division went to Phil Holmstrom from Edmonton and Chris White from La-Crete (2.5/5). Best under 1700 went to: Joel Stainer from Dawson Creek, BC and Piotr Pisanski from Grande-Prairie with 2.5/5 each. In addition to the main prizes, the organizers added some door prizes which were won by everyone who attended. Those included some nice chess books, as well as various treats! A special thanks goes to Wade Caughlin and Wade Caughlin financials, for sponsoring and organizing the event and to Tim Pradzinski for directing the tournament. Final Standings:
May 27: IM Porper earns GM norm in Chicago
IM Edward Porper made an incredible accomplishment at the Chicago Open. The tournament had a total of 21 Grandmasters in the field but Edward finished with 6.5/9 and a tie for 4th-5th. On his way he defeated Grandmasters: Zherebukh (2629), Holt (2511), and Finegold (2505), as well as, drew Grandmaster Wesley So (2705) among others. With this performance Edward earned his second GM norm (if you don't count the disputed norm from the 2009 Canadian Open) and quite a few good memories from Chicago. Final standings and games are at: www.chicagoopen.net
May 22: GM Wesley So wins the 2013 Calgary International
Congratulations to super Grandmaster Wesley So for winning the 2013 Calgary International Chess Classic. Wesley's domination was never in doubt, as he finished full two points ahead of his nearest rivals with 8/9. It is quite clear that Wesley will be one of the most successful players in the world for years to come, thus it will be quite an honour to have his name on our permanent winners trophy. Second was shared by the local hero-Grandmaster Eric Hansen, GM Victor Mikhalevski from Israel and GM Robin Van Kampen with 6/9 each. http://calgaryinternationalchessclassic.com/IStandings.html
The weblink above, also contains the final standings of the International Blitz event, which was also won by GM So with a perfect 9/9!
The Reserves section was won by: Jose Gatica from the US with 5.5/6! Second was shared by Sherzod Khodjimatov and Hamid Abdelrhman with 4.5/6 each. Full standings are available at: http://calgaryinternationalchessclassic.com/RStandings.html
A special thanks goes to Chief Organizer: Jim Daniluk, Head Arbiter: FA Ali Razzaq, Reserves Arbiter: Frank Kluytmans and webmaster: Tony Ficzere for making this event happen. I would also like to thank all the players for taking part in this year's festival and hope that they will come back for many more years to come.
May 22: RIP Chris Kuczaj 10.28.1944-05.18.2013
It is with a great deal of saddness that I relay the It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Chris Kuczaj. He was a fixture of our chess community for decades and was one of the stronger Alberta Players in the 1970s winning the 1972 and 1975 Alberta Open. Several of us will
be attending his funeral service and his wife has invited those of you in the chess community who knew Chris to attend as well.
The funeral services will be at Heritage Funeral Home (1708 - 16 Ave N.W.) on Friday (May 24) at 8:00 p.m.
May 6: GM Eric Hansen goes perfect at AB Active Championship
The tournament was held at the Red-Deer Lodge hotel and attracted 23 participants ranging from Grandmaster to novice levels. GM Hansen was dominant as he normally is and won the tournament with 5/5. On his way Eric had to defeat masters: Dale Haessel, Vladimir Pechenkin and Alex Yam. The only one who gave Eric some real challenge was Alex but eventually he succumbed to pressure. Second place was shared between FM Vladimir Pechenkin and Jim Daniluk with 4/5 each. Best Under 2000 was the new Albertan-Projjwal Pramanik. Projjwal scored 3.5/5. Best under 1600 was taken by Suresh Kadavil with 2.5/5. A special recognition must also be given to Ben Boody, who in his first ever tournament scored 3/5 including wins over two experienced A class players! Alexey Taranik did a great job with the organization of the event. Full standings can be seen at: http://albertachess.org/2013ABact.html
Apr 30: Congratulations to GM Eric Hansen for becoming the highest rated player in Canada
GM Eric Hansen continues to break records and becomes the first Albertan (at least in modern history) to become the highest rated Canadian. In the May FIDE rating list Eric surpassed Canadian chess legend GM Kevin Spraggett. http://ratings.fide.com/topfed.phtml?ina=1&country=CAN
For all those who want to take on Eric or see him play there will only be two more opportunities in the near future before Eric goes to Europe. He will play in the Alberta Active Championship in Red-Deer on Sunday, May 5th and the Calgary International, May 14-20.
April 30: Brad Willis and Sardul Purewal share first in the first AB Seniors championship
The two highest rated players drew each other and defeated the rest of the field to win the inaugural AB Seniors championship which took place in the Edmonton Chess Club on Apr 27-28. Third place went to George Sponga who finished with 2/4. A special thanks to Brad Willis for running the event. Brad will now represent Alberta in the Canadian Seniors championship which will take place in Kitchener this August.
Apr 30: Check out the new and exciting Lethbridge CC website at: www.lethbridgechess.ca
Apr 15: Calgary International Fund Raiser Open
The Calgary Chess Club will host the Calgary International Fund Raiser Open this coming weekend. The tournament will have a total of 5 rounds and it will be played in a Swiss System. Visit the tournament site to see the details: http://calgarychess.com/WORDPRESS/?page_id=3130
Apr 15: New Chess Club formed in Banff
Congratulations to the newly formed club in the community of Banff, AB. Bec Johnson did a great job and the first meeting attracted a sizeable attendance. The club meets every Thursday night at 7 pm. The location of the very nice and spacious room is at: 107 Bear St. (pioneer room). Club website is at: www.banffchess.com
Archived News: Pg. 1 Pg. 2
The Alberta Chess Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of chess in Alberta. We are affiliated with the Chess Federation of Canada, and provide support to players and organizers province wide.
We gratefully acknowledge the support we receive from the Alberta Sport, Recreation Parks & Wildlife Foundation!
ACA Contact Info
Executive Director: Vlad Rekhson
Phone: 403-970-8032
email: vrekhson@yahoo.ca
ACA News
June 10: Edmonton International Reserves is full
Please note that the final spots in the Edmonton International Reserves have now been filled. The full list is available at: http://www.edmonton-international.com/Reserves.html There are still 9 spots open in the GM Bruzon simul on June 22nd and unlimited spots for the GM Short lecture.
http://www.edmonton-international.com/Side_Events.html
June 9: 54 players take part in first ever AB Schools Championship
This Saturday, June 8th Calgary hosted the first ever Alberta Schools Chess Championship. The tournament consisted of three sections: Div I (Gr. 1-3), II (4-6) and III (7-9). Div. IV will take place in October in Calgary.
The format was borrowed from a very successful American scholastic scene, where players compete individually in their Divisions, but the top four individual scores from a school are accumulated for a team score. This way, both individual and team results are important.
The tournament itself was quite successful considering that it was the first such event in Alberta. A total of 54 participants took part coming from Calgary and region (33), Edmonton (19), Red-Deer and Lethbridge (one player each). A total of 13 girls were among the players.
Div. 1 had a total of 16 participants and it was very tightly contested on the individual level. In the end Quirck Migrino from Calgary (Holy Cross school) emerged as the champion ahead of Kenneth Mah from Edmonton (Stratford) due to head to head victory (4/5 each). Third place went to Julian Lau from Edmonton (Grandview Heights) who edged out Khino Tolentino (St. Jerome) from Calgary due to head to head victory (3.5/5 each).
On the team level, this division was not close at all, as Stratford Elementary from Edmonton won it easily.
Division II was the largest and the most challenging. A total of 27 players took part and in the end, the Tolentino brothers took the first two spots. Patrick won all of his games on the way to first, while Andre took second with 4.5/5 (both from St. Jerome). A total of six players tied for third with 4/5 meaning that a special tie-break round-robin was required. In the end, Sydney Mah edged out Dennis Robitu (both from Stratford Elementary in Edmonton) as she won the head to head game between the two (4/5 in tie-break). This meant that the best girl prize went to Shaira Munoz from St. Jerome in Calgary. Best Unrated/U-800 went to Jazer Buan (Erin Wood) from Calgary. This division also head the closest contested team competition as St. Jerome from Calgary edged out Stratford from Edmonton to take the first place.
Division III had 11 participants and first place went to Sisan Escoegene Fregene Elmer S. Gish in St. Albert. Sisan was perfect! Second was taken by Josh Oba from GS Lakie in Lethbridge with 4/5. Third place had to be figured out in a complicated tie-break system. Rahul Bhatnagar from Elmer S. Gish in St. Albert emerged as the 3rd place finisher since he defeated both other competitors who finished 3.5/5 head to head. Bhumika Jejurkar from Crescent in Calgary defeated Rachel Gagne to take the Best Girl award. Best U-800/UNR in this section was awarded to: Daniel Lund-Rachinski from Elmer S. Gish in St. Albert (2.5/5). At first it appeared that Bearspaw from Calgary could give St. Elmer Gish some competition for first, but it wasn't to be this time as Elmer S. Gish was the clear winner.
A special thanks goes to Angelo Tolentino for directing and organizing the tournament, and to all the other volunteers who helped make the tournament happen! See you in Edmonton next year!
Final Standings are available at: http://www.albertachess.org/2013Abschoolsprereg.html
June 9: Fort McMurray Open/Women's Championship venue change
The tournament will take place at the Chez Dube hotel. See the flyer for all the details and special rates.
June 4: 22 players take part in the 30th annual Trumpeter Classic in Grande-Prairie
Trumpeter Classic has been a staple even of the Alberta Chess Association schedule for 30 years now. For the anniversary year, Wade Caughlin Financials and the Alberta Chess Association helped boost the prize fund by $1000. The prize fund was boosted by entry fees which made out the Class prizes for the total prize fund of $1750! The total attracted a crowd of 22 players from all over Alberta, and even one person came from BC. The event itself took place at the Sandman Hotel on June 1-2, 2013. As someone who visited the tournament when it was held in January, the change to certainly nice as I got to see some green spaces in the "trumpeter city." As for the results, I (Vlad Rekhson) won first with 4.5/5 ahead of Peter Kalisvaart from Edmonton who finished with 4/5. Third was shared by the "Rocket" Rob Gardner from Edmonton and the surprising local hero-Tim Pradzinski. Tim was also the Tournament Director, which makes his accomplishment even more impressive. Tim and Rocket were joined by: Ali Razzaq who also tied for third with 3.5/5; however, Ali was eligible for the best under 1900 prize. Second best in the under 1900 section went to Archie Robertson from Fairview who finished with: 3/5, while third in the same division went to Phil Holmstrom from Edmonton and Chris White from La-Crete (2.5/5). Best under 1700 went to: Joel Stainer from Dawson Creek, BC and Piotr Pisanski from Grande-Prairie with 2.5/5 each. In addition to the main prizes, the organizers added some door prizes which were won by everyone who attended. Those included some nice chess books, as well as various treats! A special thanks goes to Wade Caughlin and Wade Caughlin financials, for sponsoring and organizing the event and to Tim Pradzinski for directing the tournament. Final Standings:
May 27: IM Porper earns GM norm in Chicago
IM Edward Porper made an incredible accomplishment at the Chicago Open. The tournament had a total of 21 Grandmasters in the field but Edward finished with 6.5/9 and a tie for 4th-5th. On his way he defeated Grandmasters: Zherebukh (2629), Holt (2511), and Finegold (2505), as well as, drew Grandmaster Wesley So (2705) among others. With this performance Edward earned his second GM norm (if you don't count the disputed norm from the 2009 Canadian Open) and quite a few good memories from Chicago. Final standings and games are at: www.chicagoopen.net
May 22: GM Wesley So wins the 2013 Calgary International
Congratulations to super Grandmaster Wesley So for winning the 2013 Calgary International Chess Classic. Wesley's domination was never in doubt, as he finished full two points ahead of his nearest rivals with 8/9. It is quite clear that Wesley will be one of the most successful players in the world for years to come, thus it will be quite an honour to have his name on our permanent winners trophy. Second was shared by the local hero-Grandmaster Eric Hansen, GM Victor Mikhalevski from Israel and GM Robin Van Kampen with 6/9 each. http://calgaryinternationalchessclassic.com/IStandings.html
The weblink above, also contains the final standings of the International Blitz event, which was also won by GM So with a perfect 9/9!
The Reserves section was won by: Jose Gatica from the US with 5.5/6! Second was shared by Sherzod Khodjimatov and Hamid Abdelrhman with 4.5/6 each. Full standings are available at: http://calgaryinternationalchessclassic.com/RStandings.html
A special thanks goes to Chief Organizer: Jim Daniluk, Head Arbiter: FA Ali Razzaq, Reserves Arbiter: Frank Kluytmans and webmaster: Tony Ficzere for making this event happen. I would also like to thank all the players for taking part in this year's festival and hope that they will come back for many more years to come.
May 22: RIP Chris Kuczaj 10.28.1944-05.18.2013
It is with a great deal of saddness that I relay the It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Chris Kuczaj. He was a fixture of our chess community for decades and was one of the stronger Alberta Players in the 1970s winning the 1972 and 1975 Alberta Open. Several of us will
be attending his funeral service and his wife has invited those of you in the chess community who knew Chris to attend as well.
The funeral services will be at Heritage Funeral Home (1708 - 16 Ave N.W.) on Friday (May 24) at 8:00 p.m.
May 6: GM Eric Hansen goes perfect at AB Active Championship
The tournament was held at the Red-Deer Lodge hotel and attracted 23 participants ranging from Grandmaster to novice levels. GM Hansen was dominant as he normally is and won the tournament with 5/5. On his way Eric had to defeat masters: Dale Haessel, Vladimir Pechenkin and Alex Yam. The only one who gave Eric some real challenge was Alex but eventually he succumbed to pressure. Second place was shared between FM Vladimir Pechenkin and Jim Daniluk with 4/5 each. Best Under 2000 was the new Albertan-Projjwal Pramanik. Projjwal scored 3.5/5. Best under 1600 was taken by Suresh Kadavil with 2.5/5. A special recognition must also be given to Ben Boody, who in his first ever tournament scored 3/5 including wins over two experienced A class players! Alexey Taranik did a great job with the organization of the event. Full standings can be seen at: http://albertachess.org/2013ABact.html
Apr 30: Congratulations to GM Eric Hansen for becoming the highest rated player in Canada
GM Eric Hansen continues to break records and becomes the first Albertan (at least in modern history) to become the highest rated Canadian. In the May FIDE rating list Eric surpassed Canadian chess legend GM Kevin Spraggett. http://ratings.fide.com/topfed.phtml?ina=1&country=CAN
For all those who want to take on Eric or see him play there will only be two more opportunities in the near future before Eric goes to Europe. He will play in the Alberta Active Championship in Red-Deer on Sunday, May 5th and the Calgary International, May 14-20.
April 30: Brad Willis and Sardul Purewal share first in the first AB Seniors championship
The two highest rated players drew each other and defeated the rest of the field to win the inaugural AB Seniors championship which took place in the Edmonton Chess Club on Apr 27-28. Third place went to George Sponga who finished with 2/4. A special thanks to Brad Willis for running the event. Brad will now represent Alberta in the Canadian Seniors championship which will take place in Kitchener this August.
Apr 30: Check out the new and exciting Lethbridge CC website at: www.lethbridgechess.ca
Apr 15: Calgary International Fund Raiser Open
The Calgary Chess Club will host the Calgary International Fund Raiser Open this coming weekend. The tournament will have a total of 5 rounds and it will be played in a Swiss System. Visit the tournament site to see the details: http://calgarychess.com/WORDPRESS/?page_id=3130
Apr 15: New Chess Club formed in Banff
Congratulations to the newly formed club in the community of Banff, AB. Bec Johnson did a great job and the first meeting attracted a sizeable attendance. The club meets every Thursday night at 7 pm. The location of the very nice and spacious room is at: 107 Bear St. (pioneer room). Club website is at: www.banffchess.com
Archived News: Pg. 1 Pg. 2
Upcoming events
AB Schools Championship
June 8 Calgary
Organizer: Paul Gagne
8th Edmonton International
June 23-July 1 Edmonton
Organizer: Micah Hughey
8th Edmonton Intl. Reserves
June 29-July 1 Edmonton
Organizer: Micah Hughey
1st Fort McMurray Open/ AB Women's Championship
July 6, 7 Fort McMurray
Organizer: Jina Burn
Calgarians NM David Zhang and Nicka Kalaydina, 2012 Canadian Jr. champions
Calgary Chess Club
2012 John Schleinich Memorial
2012 John Schleinich Memorial
2011 AB Junior, Girls section
2011 WBX Team Tournament winners: "The Road Warriors" from right to left: Phil Holmstrom, Aaron Sequillion, Mike Zeggelaar with co-organizer Terry Seehagen