GM Bator Sambuev wins Montreal Open Chess Championship 2013

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

The Quebec Chess Federation staged the 2013 Montreal Open Championship on 6-8th September at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, 3200 Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montréal.

The tournament was held in four sections: Section A Open, Section B (U2000), Section C (U1600) and Section D (U1200). All sections were played over five rounds of Swiss system.

The Open section had 34 participants. GM Bator Sambuev took the top prize with perfect 5,0/5 score, a full point ahead of IM Jean Hebert. Full standings below.

The U2000 section had 40 participants. Jonathan Turcotte (elo 1990) is the sole winner with 4,5/5 points.

The U1600 section had 44 participants. Matthieu Johnson-Constantin (elo 1561) took the first place with 5,0/5 points.

The U1200 section had 35 participants. Allison Tsypin (elo 1138) conceded only one draw to finish clear first with 4,5/5 points.

The total prize fund was 5000$. Top prizes in the Open section were $1000/500/300/150. (www.chessdom.com)

Quebec Chess Federation

Open section final standings:

1. Sambuev Bator CAN 2562 – 5
2. Hebert Jean CAN 2421 – 4
3. Qin Ziyi CAN 2333 – 3.5
4. Nicula Marius CAN 2184 – 3.5
5. Masse Hugues CAN 2169 – 3.5
6. Ibrahim Anthony CAN 2157 – 3.5
7. Prahov Valentin CAN 2135 – 3.5
8. Khashper Arkady CAN 2134 – 3.5
9. Kleinman Michael CAN 2292 – 3
10. Libersan Thierry CAN 2143 – 3
11. Le Duin Thierry CAN 2015 – 3
12. Chiku-Ratte Olivier-Kenta CAN 2263 – 2.5
13. Beaulieu Eric CAN 2252 – 2.5
14. Nikulich Oleksandr CAN 2117 – 2.5
15. Trahan Daniel CAN 2115 – 2.5
16. Cardona Misael CAN 2109 – 2.5
17. Robichaud Louis CAN 2083 – 2.5
18. Yu Zong Yang CAN 2070 – 2.5
19. Lopez Linares Lizandro Fernand CAN 2059 – 2.5
20. Zhou Qiyu CAN 2007 – 2.5
21. Luo Zhao Yang CAN 1981 – 2.5
22. Sprumont Oscar CAN 1964 – 2.5
23. Zhu Hong Rui CAN 2066 – 2
24. Nunez Omar CAN 1993 – 2
25. Dumont Félix CAN 2144 – 1.5
26. Vidal Liewellyn CAN 2102 – 1.5
27. Poulin Mathieu CAN 2080 – 1.5
28. Corriveau Philippe CAN 2048 – 1.5
29. Bouchard Jean-Marc CAN 1979 – 1.5
30. Cvetkovic Siméon CAN 1964 – 1.5
31. Barre Michel CAN 1956 – 1.5
32. Gueorguiev Valentin CAN 1887 – 1.5
33. Langlois-Remillard Alexis CAN 1941 – 1
34. Sarrazin-Gendron Roman CAN 2020 – 0

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
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Free lodging for WGMs at Montreal Chess in July - Apply Now!

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012


Hi everyone,


This is for all the lovely and intelligent WGMs out there - You are invited to play chess in the beautiful city of Montreal in Canada with free rooms on offer!


Chess Blog good friend Jan Newton from the GoddessChess sent us this news about a cool tournament in Montreal, ideal for all women chess players! The event will be held from July 21 - 28, 2012 in Montreal. The organisers and the FQE (Quebec Chess Federation) are offering free accommodation for the tournament to WGMs and IMs with preference given to WGMs. The number of rooms available is limited, however.

Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, Canada.

The playing venue is at the beautiful College Brebeuf and the WGMs would have accomodations (single room) either in on-campus housing or sharing a room in a private hotel near the playing venue. There are many confirmed GMs playing so there is a good opportunity for norms under FIDE requirements.

In fact, Quebec Chess Federation dedication to promote chess in Montreal and Quebec - and especially women chess players - is commendable. GoddessChess has been able to bring to Montreal, IM/WGM Salome Melia (GEO) and WGM Alina L'Ami (ROU) in the few short years they have been providing sponsorship to the City of Montreal Open Chess Championships (held in September each year).

Don't miss the opportunity all you chess girls! Find more info here.

Want to see a funny video posted by Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk with a connection to Montreal Chess? Check it out here:

2010 City of Montreal Open Chess Championship

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com

Montreal Chess Open in September

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011

Hi everyone,

Here is news of the 91st Montreal Open.



91st Montreal Open Chess Championship 2011
FIDE rated

Take a chess vacation this September in beautiful Montreal in the province of Quebec. The City, which blends the British and French cultures, will stage its annual Open Championship September 9 – 11, 2011.

You can find detailed regulations at this link.

Accommodation at preferred rates is available at Apartment Hotel Terrasse Royale, located within 10 minutes walking distance from the tournament hall. Just make sure to mention “chess tournament” when making your reservation. For details, check out the official website.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com

2010 City of Montreal Open Chess Championship

Hi everyone!

Jan (Janet) Newton from Goddesschess blog just sent me an email with the results of the 2010 Montreal Chess Championship.

Goddesschess provided six prizes for female chessplayers at the Championnat this year and also financial sponsorship with respect to the appearance of WIM Yuan Yuanling, the highest rated female player in Canada and a member of the 2010 Canadian Women's Chess Olympiad Team. That's great support for women's chess!

The Open was won by IM Leonid Gerzhoy with 4.5/5. Second place to GM Bator Sambuev also with 4.5, but Gerzhoy won on tie breaks. American GM Alex Lenderman took 3rd place with 4.0 and IM Jean Hebert and IM Arnaud Rainfray took 4th and 5th places, respectively, with 4.0 each, based on tie breaks. It was a tough battle this year among the top players for the title and top prize money. Congratulations to all of these fine players.

More information about the tournament can be found here.

Jan also shared with me a funny video with the 1st-2nd placed GM Bator Sambuev, with whom I studied several years back. I only wish he knew I work much harder now than I did 10 years ago ;-) Watch the video you'll understand...

Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion

www.chessblog.com & www.chessqueen.com

Successful 89th Montreal Open Chess Championship

Yesterday I got an email from Janet Newton (Jan), here is what she wrote:

"Dear Alexandra,

Here is an update on the 89th Montreal Open Chess Championship held in Montreal, Quebec September 11 - 13, 2009.

Early in June I read about this tournament. As you know, one of our goals is to promote more chess femmes to play in local tournaments and this one seemed ideal for our purposes. Not too big and not too small, and in Don McLean's hometown. Don is an original founder of Goddesschess and its long-standing webmaster.

We made our offer to fund some prizes for the female players in the B, C and D classes, and our communication had an unexpected result. We received a "yes, thank you", which we hoped we would, but our offer, coming out of the blue, so it seemed to the organizers, had the effect of energizing everyone involved in putting the 89th Championnat together!

New ideas were cooking! The organizers decided upon an intense effort to attract as many female players as possible and also scholastic level players. New initiatives were started -- Early on, Goddesschess was approached for and agreed to provide funds to assist in this endeavor. You and your website became involved when a request was made for your assistance in getting the word out to WGMs who might be interested in appearing at the Championnat. The organizers were determined!

Goddesschess was not involved directly in the process of finding a WGM who would come to Montreal to play in the Championnat, but the organizers kept us informed on developments. Ultimately, WGM Salome Melia (GEO 2441), who read about the Championnat's quest for a WGM at your chessblog.com, was decided upon and the organizers kicked into high gear! Would she be able to get the paperwork processed to get a visa in time? Everyone was on pins and needles!

It was a happy ending after much suspense. WGM Melia arrived on time. The organizers had made all arrangements to provide for the WGM's comfort, including providing a place to stay, meals, and showing her many of the wonderful sights and attractions that Montreal offers when she stayed some days after the conclusion of the Championnat. They also arranged for WGM Melia to play a simul at a popular local chess cafe, Pi.

So, you see, Alexandra, that you and your chessblog.com played an important role in bringing the Championnat and WGM Melia together.

Don McLean was onsite all three days of the Championnat and took over 100 photographs and several videos. They can be found here.

The organizers' efforts to attract more chess femmes met with great success! In all, 19 females registered and 17 actually played in the 89th Championnat. This was about 10% female participation rate, out of 191 players. In the 88th Championnat, approximately 5% of the players were chess femmes. The 191 players was also the highest participation in the Championnat since many years ago!

WGM Melia was the second highest rated player at the Tournament, and she performed excellently, finishing in 2nd place overall in the Open with 4.0/5. She won the title, an old Championnat tradition that was revived this year, as Female Champion of Montreal.

Here is a summary of the final standings of the winners in the Open and Class sections, and all of the chess femmes who played:

Class A:

1 Hebert, Jean MI 2418 +32 +14 +5 +11 =2 4½ 1300,00

2 Salome, Melia GMF 2441 +22 +13 +18 =3 =1 4 235,00

3 Jiang, Louie MF 2278 +31 +15 +12 =2 =4 4 235,00

4 Gerzhoy, Leonid MI 2412 +16 =8 +10 +7 =3 4 235,00

5 Mai, Lloyd 2194 +29 +9 -1 +24 +13 4 235,00

6 Barbeau, Sylvain MF 2365 =20 +41 +8 =9 +12 4 235,00

Class B:

1 Kayembe, Doris 1943 +47 +42 +4 +3 +8 5 650,00

38 Wang, Kelly 1529 -27 -16 -46 +52 +53 2 45,00 (Goddesschess prize)

40 Yang, Marguerite 1317 -10 -34 B--- -20 +50 2

52 Wang, Yan 1620 -48 -45 -50 -38 B--- 1

Class C:

1 Ross, Samuel 1595 +50 +18 +5 +15 =2 4½ 188,33

2 Chang, Michael 1553 +54 +40 +17 +4 =1 4½ 188,33

3 De Gongre, Stephane 1575 +41 =13 +19 +27 +9 4½ 188,33

22 Lee, Mei Chen 1516 +56 +49 -4 -18 +41 3 35,00 (Goddesschess prize)

38 Trottier, Claire 1202 =10 +30 -27 -13 =52 2

48 Ma, Indy 1371 H--- =24 -39 -46 +55 2

53 Bilodeau-Savaria, Cendrina 1109 -11 -21 =45 -57 +60 1½

56 Paquette, Esther 992 -22 -17 B--- -33 -47 1

61 Del Agua, Jesrael Noelle unr. -6 F32 U--- U--- U--- 0

Class D:

1 Saine, Zachary 1034 +30 +23 +20 +2 +5 5 170,00

18 Brichko, Kate 1054 +25 H--- -7 -10 +28 2½ 25,00 (Goddesschess prize)

21 Dormeus, Sandy 850 -12 +30 +23 -4 -16 2

22 Dubois, Lorraine 989 -20 +29 +16 -3 -14 2

27 Gao, Christine 1105 -4 =11 -14 -15 +31 1½

29 Nazarov, Stephanie 743 -9 -22 H--- -28 +32 1½

32 Gao, Catherine 747 -2 -16 -30 -25 -29 0

I understand that the organizers asked the participants in the Championnat to fill out and turn in a survey, and many complied. I do not know the particulars of the survey, but I was told that there was overwhelming support from all of the players, young and old, female and male, for another Championnat next year just like this year's. Don McLean quoted one of the fathers of a young chess femme who was playing in the Class C section, "by adding flowers (women and children) to the trees, (chess kings and princes) something quite precious and magical was discovered."

I have also been told that for the 90th Championnat, the organizers will not settle for anything less than 20% female participation!

I did many posts about the action at the 89th Championnat at the goddesschess blog and Don McLean also posted information and links at the goddesschess."

:-)))))

I'm very glad to hear that my blog helped Montreal to find a strong WGM and I hope that one day this blog will be the leading portal for women's chess player and tournament organizers. I believe that if we work together and cooperate, our efforts will allow many more people to learn about our wonderful game and there will be more women's chess events, and ultimately more women will play chess.

Posted by: Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion

www.chessblog.com