2011 Canadian Chess Challenge

2011 Canadian Chess Challenge

Chess'n Math Association Sponsors Residences Volunteer Page Maps Q and As More Info Tours

Friday May 20 Whale watching tour 1pm to 4pm 20% off for Chess Challenge Register/pay through Orca Spirit

Friday May 20 New University Tours Friday May 20 at 7pm and 8pm Sign up online http://uviccampustour.eventbrite.com/ Tours are Free!

Saturday May 21 Morning Downtown Victoria, Chinatown, Legislature, Beach Front Bus Tour 1 Leaves UVIC at 9:45am Tour 2 Leaves UVIC at 10:45am

Saturday May 21 Whale watching tour 9am-12pm 20% off for Chess Challenge Register/pay through Orca Spirit

Saturday May 21 Afternoon Beach Chess Fest Details below Willows Beach Blitz, games, BBQ and more. See below for detailed schedule

Saturday May 21 Afternoon Walking Tour Visit a local artist's studio, visit shops and great places to eat. 2km self guided walk through Oak Bay adjacent to Willows Beach

Sunday May 22 Day 1 Canadian Chess Challenge UVIC Qualified Players Only

Monday May 23 Day 2 Canadian Chess Challenge UVIC Qualified Players Only

Monday May 23 Canadian National Bughouse Championships UVIC Open to all players all ages

The 23nd Canadian Chess Challenge will be held at the University of Victoria May 22nd and 23rd, 2011. The Canadian Chess Challenge is an impressive event with 120 players from across Canada. This will be the first Canadian Chess Challenge to be held in Victoria and the first in BC in the history of the event. The Provincial Champion from each grade in each province is eligible to compete at the Canadian Chess Challenge.

We recommend to players and their families that they arrive in Victoria a few days early to enjoy the city and get used to the time zone. Players and their families will be met at the airport and shuttled by volunteer drivers and buses to the University of Victoria starting on Thursday May 19th. Players and their families will be shuttled back to the airport on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning after the tournament is finished.

On Saturday May 21^st a Beach Chess Festival is planned for Willows Beach in Oak Bay (5 km from UVIC residences). The Beach Chess Festival schedule is below. Events are rain or shine. Preregistration is mandatory and may be limited. Provincial Chess Champions and their families can register through their provincial coordinator. Others can register online starting in early May space permitting. Check www.victoriajuniorchess.com for details and updates. Photos of Willows Beach.

GM Sambuev wins the 2011 Canadian Closed Championship!

Here is the link to many pictures from the 2011 Canadian Closed Championship.

GM Bator Sambuev and IM Eric Hansen tied for top spot in the Canadian Closed & Zonal held in Guelph, Ontario from May 6th through May 10th. A total of 29 players were registered and competed for a spot in the next World Cup as well as a spot on the next Canadian Olympic team.

Bator and Eric finished the event with identical undefeated scores of 7.5/9 (+6 =3) and a Rapid play-off was held to see who would be the Canadian Champion. Before the play-off, it was decided that Eric would represent Canada at the World Cup as Bator would not be able to due to the fact that the fee to change his federation has yet to be paid (Bator moved to Canada from Russia). The play-off would then determine who would win the title and earn a spot on the Olympic team. In the first game, Eric had white, built up a big advantage only to let it slip away. Bator held on to draw. In the 2nd game, Bator, with white, got an early advantage after Eric played a poor opening and forced Hansen to resign on move 39. Bator is the new Canadian Champion and gets a spot in the Olympics.

Report by Tony Ficzere

Five-time Grammy Award winner Canadian country pop singer Shania Twain

Shania Twain is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s with her album The Woman in Me (1995), and achieved worldwide success with her 1997 album Come On Over, which became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million copies worldwide and is the 9th best-selling album in the U.S.



A five-time Grammy Award winner, Twain has also achieved major success as a songwriter, winning 27 BMI Songwriter awards. Twain is one of the first country artists to achieve major crossover success in pop music. She is the only female musician to have three albums certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and is also the second best-selling artist in Canada, behind fellow Canadian Céline Dion, with three of her studio albums being certified double diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. Twain has sold over 76 million albums worldwide, including 49 million in the U.S. She is ranked as the 10th best-selling artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era, with approximately 34 million in sales through April 2008. She was also ranked the 72nd Artist of the 2000–10 decade by Billboard. Most recently, Twain will have her own series, Why Not? with Shania Twain, that is set to premiere on the OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network on May 9, 2011.







Birth name     Eilleen Regina Edwards

Also known as     Eilleen Twain (1967-1992)

Born     August 28, 1965 (age 45)

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Genres     Country, country pop, pop

Occupations     Singer-songwriter

Years active     1993–present

Labels     Mercury Nashville



Personal Life

Twain married music producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange on December 28, 1993, and they have a son, Eja D'Angelo (pronounced "Asia") who was born on August 12, 2001. On May 15, 2008, a spokesperson for Mercury Nashville announced that Twain and Lange were separating after Lange had an affair with Twain's best friend, Marie-Anne Thiebaud. Their divorce was finalized on June 9, 2010. On December 20, 2010, Twain's manager confirmed that Twain was engaged to Swiss business executive Frederic Thiebaud, the ex-husband of Marie-Anne Thiebaud. They married on January 1, 2011 in Rincón, Puerto Rico.



Twain practices Sant Mat, which calls for daily meditation and vegetarianism.



In a 2009 study to determine what measurable parameters create "beauty", scientists correlated a set of measures for the positions of various facial features in women with ratings of attractiveness. According to the study, beauty is a product of having as many features as close to the average measurement for each feature as possible. Shania Twain was noted in a BBC News article concerning the study due to the fact that her face is a close approximation to the ideal measurements found by the study.



One of Twain's practices for her skin is using ointment known as Bag Balm, which is applied to cows' udders during winter months to protect them from harsh weather. Twain says she uses it on her legs and face for softer skin.

Grand Pacific Open

Saturday, 23 April 2011 23:15 Grand Pacific Open

The 5th annual Grand Pacific Open Chess Tournament is being played on Easter Weekend April 22nd to 25th at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, Canada. The main event is a 6 round FIDE and CFC rated Swiss with $4000 in prizes. There are also a number of side events, including a Scholastic tournament, an active tournament, Midnight Blitz with $100 in prizes, and a Bughouse tournament. Play begins at 6:00 pm Friday and continues during the afternoon and evening on Saturday and Sunday, concluding with the final round Monday at 10:00 am. Top contenders are Grandmaster Igor Rausis of the Czech Republic, BC Champion Jack Yoos of Vancouver, Women's Grandmaster Nino Maisuradze of France, International Master Lawrence Day of Toronto (last year's winner) and Women's FIDE Master Valeria Gansvind of Estonia. However, the younger generation is out in force, led by World Under 10 Champion Jason Cao of Victoria. Also present will be US Grade One Champion Praveer Sharan of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Canadian Under 16 Champion Tanraj Sohal of Surrey, US National Girls Champion Alexandra Botez of Burnaby, Canadian Under 8 Champion Joshua Doknjas of Surrey and Canadian Under 8 Girls Champion Andrea Botez of Burnaby. The tournament hall itself is the very nice ballroom at the 5 Star Hotel Grand Pacific. The hotel is located on the Inner Harbour in downtown Victoria, close to tourist destinations and across the street from the Seattle Clipper and Coho ferry connections.

Sections: Open (FIDE and CFC rated); U1400 (CFC rated) - 6 round Swiss
Time Control: Game in 90 minutes with a 30 second increment

Prize Fund: $4000 Guaranteed:

Open Section: $1000+Trophy, $600, $400
U2000 $400 + Trophy, $300
U1700 $350 + Trophy, $250;
Top BC Player qualifies for BC Closed.
U1400 Section: $300 + Trophy, $200;
Top Unrated (Highest score in either section) $100
Biggest Upset $100

2011 Calgary International Chess Classic

4th Calgary International Chess Classic

From May 19^th through May 23^rd, the Calgary Chess Club will be hosting the Calgary International Chess Classic. Now in it's 4^th year, the Calgary International provides a unique opportunity for Alberta's strongest players to meet high caliber competition from around the world and compete for prize money and perhaps an IM norm. In 2009 and 2010, Calgary's Eric Hansen performed very well and earned IM norms in both events. His norm in 2010 earned him the IM title. Eric will be returning this year to compete.

Calgary International Reserve Championship

The Calgary International Reserves will take place along side of the Calgary International from May 21^st through May 23^rd. This 6 round swiss event will be both CFC and FIDE rated. Players in the Reserve section will have the opportunity to play in the same room as players from the International section and experience an international chess event. Space will be limited to the first 32 who enter. Enter early to guarantee your spot!

The Festival

The Calgary International Chess Classic will have a number of side events. There will be 5 Active Chess fundraiser events taking place from early March through mid May. This year we will also be organizing the Calgary International Blitz Championship. A lecture and simul will also be held. Click on the "Events" link for information on the various events that comprise the Calgary International Chess Classic

Official website: http://www.calgarychess.com/2011CICC/index.html

4

9-year old Canadian Wins 2010 Canadian Chess Player of the Year Award

Press Release

9-year old Canadian Wins 2010 Canadian Chess Player of the Year Award

Each year the Canadian Chess Journalists, supplemented by one public Fan Ballot, pick the player who has achieved the most in Canadian chess in the past year – this is run by Canadian chess historian and organizer David Cohen.

This year the choice of the journalists, and the Fan Ballot were the same ( first time this has happened ) – 9-year old Victoria, B.C. junior, FM Jason Cao, Under 10 Years Old World Chess Champion. Jason is a grade 5 student at Campus View Elementary School in Victoria, B.C..

Jason pulled ahead of well-known Canadian players like Thomas Roussel-Roozman, Canada’s newest G rand Master, Grand Master Mark Bluvshtein, who defeated then # 2 in the world, Veselin Topalov ( Bulgaria ) at the 2010 Chess Olympiad, top Chess Federation of Canada-rated Canadian, Grand Master Bator Sambuev, and top female Canadian chess player, Women’s International Master Yuanling Yuan

It is Jason’s dream to one day be World Chess Champion. On October 30, 2010 in the last round of the World Youth Chess Championships in Turkey, Jason, representing Canada, took the first step towards that goal. He won his game, and won the World Under 10 Years Old Chess Championship. This had not been done for Canada since 1986, when it had been won by Jeff Sarwer (and his sister, Julie Sarwer, had won the World Girls U 10 Championship ). As a result of this accomplishment, Jason achieved his FIDE Master title.

Prior well-known Canadian winners are ( adapted from David Cohen’s Canadian Chess website ):

2009 IM Jean Hébert
2008 GM Mark Bluvshtein
2007 IM Nikolay Noritsyn
2006 GM Kevin Spraggett
2005 GM Mark Bluvshtein
2004 GM Mark Bluvshtein
(1st) 2003 GM Pascal Charbonneau
(1st) 1979 GM Kevin Spraggett

Fan Ballot

2009 FM Shiyam Thavandiran
2008 FM Shiyam Thavandiran (1st)
2007 WCM Alexandra Botez

Jason has a great chess future in Canada, and in the world !

PRESS RELEASE #7/2010

DATE: Monday, December 13, 2010

BY: the Chess Federation of Canada ( CFC )
B.C. WRITER/CONTACT: Brian Raymer, President, Victoria Junior Chess Society (250-595-0025; braymer@telus.net)
CFC CONTACT: Bob Armstrong, CFC Governor ( 416-469-5905; bobarm@sympatico.ca )
INTERVIEW: can be arranged

Travel Thursday on Empty Streets: Toronto, Canada

I love going to places where there is a lot of growth and where living is fun and the people are warm and welcoming. One of these places is Toronto, Canada. Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in Southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, which is home to 8.1 million residents and has approximately 25% of Canada's population. The census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 5,113,149, and the Greater Toronto Area had a population of 5,555,912 in the 2006 Census.
As Canada's economic capital, Toronto is considered a global city and is one of the top financial centres in the world. Toronto's leading economic sectors include finance, business services, telecommunications, aerospace, transportation, media, arts, film, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education, tourism and sports industries. The Toronto Stock Exchange, the world's seventh largest, is headquartered in the city, along with a majority of Canada's corporations.
Toronto's population is cosmopolitan and international, reflecting its role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, as about 49% of the population were born outside of Canada. Because of the city's low crime rates, clean environment, high standard of living, and friendlier attitudes to diversity, Toronto is consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Mercer Quality of Living Survey. In addition, Toronto was ranked as the most expensive Canadian city in which to live in 2006. Residents of Toronto are called Torontonians.
To find out more about this wonderful place now ranked 4th best place to live in the world click here: Toronto, Canada

To tease your senses just a little bit more, here is a video presentation of what there is to see in Toronto: