PDA

View Full Version : 2011 Canadian Closed/Zonal Chess Championship



Bob Armstrong
05-03-2011, 02:59 AM
PRESS RELEASE #1/2011

TOPIC : 2011 Canadian National Chess Championship

DATE: Tuesday, May 3, 2011
BY: The Chess Federation of Canada ( CFC )
TOURNAMENT WRITER/CONTACT: Hal Bond, CFC World Chess Federation Representative/Organizer ( Tel: 519-822-2162; halbond@sympatico.ca )
CFC CONTACT: Bob Armstrong, CFC Public Relations Coordinator ( 416-469-5905; bobarm@sympatico.ca )
INTERVIEWS: can be arranged

The 2011 Canadian Closed/Zonal Chess Championship Starts May 6th

This week starts the most important Canadian chess tournament in the calendar – the Canadian Closed/Zonal Chess Championship. The first full championship was held in 1873, the winner being Albert Ensor ( in 1872, the tournament was not completed ). The 2011 tournament is the 81st edition of the Canadian Championship.

The CFC top-ranked Canadian Grandmaster, Bator Sambuev,

http://www.canadianchess.info/images/history/bio/SambuevBator.jpg

will be seeking his first Canadian Championship. He recently immigrated to Canada from Russia, and now lives in Montreal, Quebec. He has achieved the highest CFC rating of any Canadian ever. Also in the hunt for the title is 19 year old, International Master Nikolay Noritsyn, 2007 Canadian Champion. The runner-up in the 2007 Championship, 21 year old International Master Artiom Samsonkin, is also playing. Also in the fray is the newly crowned 18 year old Alberta Champion, IM Eric Hansen. It is anticipated there will be over 25 players in all.

The tournament is being played May 6-11, at Guelph University, in Ontario. It will consist of 9 games, with a cash prize, and travel expenses paid to the World Chess Championship Qualifying Tournament, the FIDE World Cup, later this year. As well, the winner plays on the Canadian Chess Olympiad Team in 2012 in Istanbul. There are a number of sponsors of this event: SAP Software, the U of Guelph, CFC, OCA and SWOCL.

Here are the 26 Pre-registered players to date:

1 GM Bator Sambuev, Quebec ( FIDE – 2513; CFC – 2750 )
2 IM Eric Hansen, Alberta ( FIDE – 2425; CFC – 2572 )
3 IM Nikolay Noritsyn, Ontario ( FIDE – 2419; CFC - 2584 )
4 IM Artiom Samsonkin, Ontario ( FIDE – 2394; CFC - 2561 )
5 FM Shiyam Thavandiran, Ontario ( FIDE – 2335; CFC – 2463 )
6 FM Christian Stevens ( FIDE 2320; CFC 2378 )
7 Roman Sapozhnikov, Ontario ( FIDE – 2318; CFC – 2451 )
8 Victor Plotkin ( FIDE 2228; CFC 2422 )
9 FM Michael Barron, Ontario ( FIDE – 2223; CFC – 2328 )
10 Réjean Tremblay, Quebec ( FIDE – 2216; CFC – 2238 )
11 Arthur Calugar, Ontario ( FIDE – 2210; CFC - 2401 )
12 FM Michael Dougherty, Ontario ( FIDE – 2207; CFC – 2312 )
13FM Aman Hambleton, Ontario ( FIDE – 2206; CFC – 2349 )
14 Michael Kleinman, Ontario ( FIDE – 2195; CFC – 2284 )
15 Miladin Djerkovic, Ontario ( FIDE – 2186; CFC – 2280 )
16 FM Dale Haessel, Alberta ( FIDE – 2184; CFC - 2255 )
17 Zi Yi ( Joey ) Qin, Ontario ( FIDE – 2159; CFC - 2353 )
18 FM Hans Jung, Ontario ( FIDE – 2139; CFC - 2289 )
19 David Filipovich, Ontario ( FIDE – 2127; CFC – 2174 )
20 Josh Guo, Ontario ( FIDE – 2123; CFC - 2272 )
21 Nikola Anastasovski, Quebec ( FIDE – 2110; CFC – 2190 )
22 Vladimir Drkulec, Ontario ( FIDE – 2027; CFC - 2202 )
23 John Upper, Ontario ( FIDE – 1987; CFC - 2196 )
24 David Itkin, Ontario ( FIDE – 1952; CFC – 2160 )
25 Matthew Nicholson, Ontario ( FIDE – 1928; CFC – 2020 )
26 Morgon Mills, Newfoundland/Labrador ( FIDE – unr; CFC - 2056 )

Background to CFC Press Releases :

In Aug., 2010, I volunteered for the CFC non-executive officer position created at the Toronto July 2010 CFC AGM, the " Public Relations Coordinator " position ( upgrading the prior position of Director of Publicity ), first in an " acting " capacity, and then permanently. I am the first one to take on this position.

Bylaw 3 of the CFC Handbook, under Duties of Officers in Section 8C, gives the mandate of this position as:

8C. The Public Relations Coordinator will be responsible for promoting the image of the CFC and for promoting chess generally to the public. As such the Public Relations Coordinator will, among other things:

- deal with mainstream media to promote significant chess news, such as Canadian Chess Champions, a new Canadian GM, major tournaments like the Can. Closed, Canadian Open, Can. Women’s Closed, CYCC, etc., the various benefits accruing from playing chess and other positive aspects of the chess culture.

I will write some press releases myself, and on some I will be collaborating with others, under who's name the press release will appear. I look forward to the cooperation of the many Canadian chess personalities who may find themselves the subject of CFC Press Releases. CFC cannot do it alone – chess promotion requires the cooperation of everyone, if we are to make chess a more mainstream activity in Canada.

Feel free to make use of the CFC Press Releases in any publicity efforts you might be undertaking. I would appreciate being advised of any efforts made and use of the material, so CFC can build a file on the efforts being made to promote chess in Canada.

Newspapers do not acknowledge press releases ( too many daily ) and to my knowledge do not notify you if they make use of one. So if you see an article on this in any of the papers, please advise me. I have been warned that it has not been easy to get chess material into the mainstream media, and so CFC should have very modest expectations of success on this front. But hopefully, over time, with developing contacts, this will change.

Because the CFC has never before had this position filled, it has never developed a bank of Canadian mainstream media contacts who might be willing to publish CFC Press Releases on chess items, or to write articles on chess. So, if anyone has any newspaper, television or radio contacts I might be able to use, or any advice on this effort, please e-mail me : bobarm@sympatico.ca

Further info on the Closed/Zonal: http://www.chess.ca/canclosed.shtml

Bob Armstrong, CFC Public Relations Coordinator