Simultaneous Exhibition #2
Women's Fide Master Amanda Benggawan has been a tremendous force on the Canadian chess scene representing the country on numerous occasions including the World Youth Chess Championships from 1997-2000. She was selected to represent Canada at the Women's Olympiad in 2002 and had a strong showing at the World Amateur Championship with a 6th place finish. Despite her relative inactivIty over the last few months, Amanda willingly offered to perform a simultaneous exhibition challenging 15 people at one time!!
Amanda was in for quite a surprise when the entire Western Chess Team showed up with fighting spirits. Amanda showed no sign of any rust and convincingly disposed of the participants with ease. She would concede only one game on the day to a determined Geoffrey Ruelland who caught her off guard in his pet line of the Alekhine's Defense. Western "A" team member Hadi Mohammadi showed poise with precise play on the black side of a Pirc Defense and held her to a draw. After 2 hours of fighting chess, Andre Chirpac remained the last man standing. Amanda regained her composure and mercilessly pressed on in front of a crowd of people before Andre finally succumbed.
Canadian University Championships
The Western Chess Team recently returned from the 2005 Canadian Post-Secondary Chess Championships held at the University of Toronto from January 14th-16th. The event was the largest in its rich history fielding 23 teams from across the country. In the hotly contested Championship section, the Western A team bounced back from a slow start to collect 2.5 match points in the last 3 rounds. Notable performances were turned in by Hadi Mohammadi and Andrew Pastor who finished with 3/4.
However, it was the Western 2nd team that proved triumphant capturing the Reserves Section ahead of 10 other teams. First yr Social Sci student Jeffrey Mo captured top board honors for his brilliant performance. Other exceptional performances included a strong showing by Josh Morris on Board 1 and some solid play by Andrei Chirpac and Ben Sinclair.
Simultaneous Exhibition
Women's Fide Master Stefanie Chu will be making a guest appearance on Thursday, October 16th challenging 25 lucky participants. Stefanie has been one of the strongest women in Canada for close to a decade representing Canada at the World Chess Olympiad in 1996 and 2000. For just $2, you have the opportunity to meet one of Canada's strongest players face to face. For those of you who are unfamiliar with a simul, Stef Chu will challenge all 25 players at on time! As soon as a game finishes, anyone can join the action and take over the empty seat. You will never get a better opportunity to get your first win against a world renowned chess player. The event will be held on Thursday in the UCC atrium from 12 - 2:30.
Stef handled herself with compusure, battling 20 people at one time without even breaking a sweat. The event sparked a lot of publicity with TV Western and The Gazette covering the event. The UCC was buzzing with large groups of people gathered around the tables to witness the action mesmerized by Stefanie's feat.
Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championships
The Western Chess Club recently participated in the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championships held in Miami, Fl from December 26-30. The Pan-Am’s are the largest and most prestigious collegiate chess event in the Western Hemisphere. The playing site was beautiful, accommodations were excellent and the competition was fierce. We played our hearts out and managed to place first and second in our respective sections. Jeff Hawel, a member of the Western team won the top individual honor with an amazing score of 5/6 finishing ahead of the Canadian Champion!!! For more information, you can check out:
Western Chess Club Championships
Bad weather and a heavy workload resulted in a smaller turnout to this year's edition of the Western Chess Club Championship. This did not dampen the spirits of the competitors and some fighting chess ensued. When the dust had settled, Andrei Chripac emerged with a perfect score and the Western Club Championships!!!Round 1:
In a tense struggle, Jeff Hawel prevailed in convincing fashion with a flurry of sacrifical brilliance. Despite his opponent's attempts at complications, Jeff would not falter and won best honours for game of the round.
James came sprinting out of the gates in Round 2 with some inspired play demonstrating mastery of the Petroff Defense. However, Chris was able to come out on top after a positional sacrifice led to an unstoppable chain of passed pawns.
Round 3:
In the critical encounter, Andre caught his opponent off guard with an offbeat line in the English Attack. After a few precise moves he was able to exchange into an endgame with a pawn advantage. His technique was impeccable and the win secured the title.
Congratulations to all the competitors and Andre Chirpac for his remarkable achievement!!!
Pan-Am Qualifier
The Pan-Am qualifier will take place at Sommerville House (Room 3305) from 12-5 p.m. The top eight participants will qualify for the Western team and represent UWO at the Pan-Am Games in Miami, Florida. It will be a 4 round tournament and is open to all full-time Western students.
The Pan-Am qualifier was a hard fought affair with numerous games going the distance. Despite a long period of inactivity, Richard Guttam and Liat Dobrishman seperated themselves from the field with decisive victories in the early rounds. Andrei Chirpac came charging out of the gates but would falter in the later stages. A last round draw secured the victory for Rich and Liat while Andre and Jeff finished the event in style. In a tense playoff session, Hansen Law prevailed in convincing fashion clinching the final spot on the team.
ON InterUniversity Team Chess Challenge
The Western Chess Club has played an active role on the collegiate chess scene. This past year Western played host to the ON InterUniversity Team Chess Challenge. This was a two-day CFC rated event which saw 50 chess enthusiasts from across the province gather to defend their school's honour. This was the first event of its kind since 1997 and featured some of the strongest players across the country.
Waterloo entered the event as the clear favorite with an average rating exceeding the 2300 benchmark. However, the critical encounter saw perennial powerhouse, University of Toronto, draw first blood with a crucial win on board 4. Stephen Glinert, Canadian Junior Champion, had few opportunities to avenge Raheb's loss and was swiftly defeated with some crafty play on the part of Vincentiu Tipu. Andrew Peredun kept his teams' hopes alive with a crushing attack on board 3. If there was ever any doubt, Hacat sealed the victory with a draw against FM Artem Gurevich. Waterloo would press hard in rounds 4 and 5 but U of T would not relent and were crowned the 2003 provincial champs!!!
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