Semiahmoo Open Chess Tournament
Jeffrey (organizer), Joshua (tied 2nd $250), Raymond (Champion $400), and John (tied 2nd $250)
Jonathan, winner of U1600 section, trophy and $300
Avi, winner of Best Score for Unrated Player, trophy and $50
Andrew, winner of U1200 section.
Other photos
Standings & Pairings
All CFC ratings have been updated on the chess.ca website.
Winners
Premier Section
1st Place Champion: IM Raymond Kaufman $400 and trophy
2nd Place tie: FM John Doknjas and CM Joshua Doknjas $250 each
Top U2200: Brian McLaren $100
U2000 Section
1st Place: Paul Leblanc $300 and trophy
2nd Place tie: Jose Kagaoan and Louis Cheng $100 each
Top U1800: Deepanshu Dhall $100
U1600 Section
1st Place: Jonathan Steif $300 and trophy
2nd Place tie: Ethan Su and Leo Chung $100 each
Top U1400: Tristan Taylor $100
U1200 Section
1st Place: Andrew Yu Qiu $200 and trophy
2nd Place: Taylor Gower $100
Top U1000 tie: Miles Hamilton-Sommer and Peter Yong Qiu $37.50 each
Top Unrated: Avi Kay $50 and trophy
Blitz side tournament 5-way tie: IM Raymond Kaufman, IM Vicente Lee Jr., Kevin Goodman, Leo Qu, and Peter Ferguson $15 each
Total Prize fund: $2700
Door prizes: weighted chess pieces with mat and bags, 2 DVDs Queen of Katwe, heavy chess-piece bookends, books: Chess Words of Wisdom by Mike Henebry and The History of Chess in Fifty Moves by Bill Price, DGT EASY+ Chess Timer, 4 Magnetic Mini Chess Sets, cookies from Italian life-size chess competition, bags for chess pieces, Solitaire Chess Quizzer
Thank You
Thank you to all who participated, and parents who brought their kids to play.
Thank you to those who traveled from afar to attend: Victoria, Nanoose Bay, Bellingham, Sooke, Nanaimo, Seattle, Caledonia ON, North Vancouver, to name many.
Special thanks to IMs Raymond Kaufman, Vicente Lee Jr., and Brian Hartman for playing in this tournament!
And special thanks to my tournament director, Stephen Wright, for running things so smoothly, and for your timely humour!
Thank you to Michael and Lara Lo from Chess2Inspire for the sets, boards, clocks, and help with set-up and clean-up.
Thank you to Paul Leblanc from Victoria Chess for all the email reminders and helping with registration on Saturday! I couldn't have done this without your help! Thank you to Andrew Hoyer, who helped me set up the website! We can't do this without one these days!
And thank you to my mom and step-dad, Sandi and Lawrence, who helped calm my nerves by volunteering in so many ways from June through to the post-tournament debriefing; with people like the above mentioned helping out, it makes me want to do it all again next year. It was a lot of fun!
I think I'll have to do another one, because I have so many Semiahmoo Open scoresheets left over!
Kindest regards to all,
Jeffrey Street
Venue
Pacific Inn Resort
1160 King George Blvd.
Surrey (White Rock), BC
V4A 4Z2
Plenty of free parking
Right beside Hwy 99, near USA border
Heading SOUTH on Hwy 99, take EXIT 2B; the hotel is to the immediate right.
Translink schedule: Bus 321 goes from just in front of the hotel to White Rock Centre, then on to Surrey Central Station, with last one leaving at 11:20pm through the weekend.
Tournament Details
Date: BC Day long weekend
August 5-7, 2017 (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday)
Tournament Director: Stephen Wright, IA
Tournament Organizer: Jeffrey Street, with help from Paul LeBlanc (Victoria Chess) and Andrew Hoyer
Tournament Room: Côte D'Azure
"Skittles" in the Pacific Conference Room, at the top of the near stairs on the right.
Format: Six Round Swiss
Four Sections: Premier (FIDE and CFC rated), U2000, U1600, U1200 (all CFC rated)
Tiebreaker(s): head-to-head result, cumulative score, Blitz side-tournament score
Time control: 90 minutes/game + 30 seconds added from move one
Players are required to record all the moves of both players BEFORE making subsequent moves.
CFC tournament rules will be applied and enforced.
Score sheets will be provided.
Sets and clocks will be provided.
Prize Fund
$2700 in total
Premier 1st $400; 2nd $300; 3rd $200; best U2200 $100
U2000 1st $300; 2nd $200; best U1800 $100
U1600 1st $300; 2nd $200; best U1400 $100
U1200 1st $200; 2nd $100; best U1000 $75; best unrated $50
Blitz side tournament 1st $50; 2nd $25
Door Prizes!!
I've decided to use board numbers to determine the winners of door prizes; it'll make things go much more smoothly.
Door prize winners will be announced 10 minutes prior to the start of each round; if you are not present, another board will be called.
Some door prizes already acquired; you won't want to miss out on your opportunity to win one!
The Trophies are in!!
All of the door prizes are in! I've even received some donated prizes!! All are brand new!!!
Rounds and Other Events
Check-in and late registration: Saturday 10:30am-11:30am
Round One: Saturday at noon
Chess lecture at 4:45pm (History of chess in BC)
Round Two: Saturday at 6:00pm
Round Three: Sunday 10:00am
Round Four: Sunday 3:00pm
Sunday 7:30pm or as soon as the last Round 4 game is completed: Blitz side tournament (not-rated)
Semiahmoo Open participants can sign up for free on Saturday after Round 1; open to the public ($10 entry fee) on Sunday after the start of Round 3.
Maximum of 50 players; if players bring their own clock, we can accommodate more players (so bring one just in case).
The Blitz tournament will be used as tie-breaker for trophies, so something more than a cash prize is at stake!
Round Five: Monday 10:00am
Round Six: Monday 3:00pm
Awards: immediately following last completed game
Please advise tournament director (swright2@telus.net) no less than one hour before the round if you will not be attending a round to ensure everyone has an opponent; this does not constitute a bye, but is better than a forfeit.
Byes are permitted iff requested in writing before the end of the previous round.
If a Round One bye is required, include that information at the time of registration.
1/2 point will be granted for approved byes, except for the last round.
Cancellations and Refunds
Should something arise that prevents you from being able to attend the tournament, you can email Jeffrey (semiahmooopen@gmail.com) expressing the need to cancel, and your entry fee will be refunded in the manner of your entry fee payment, less any costs that may be required to administer the refund (e.g. E-transfer fee of $1.50, PayPal flat fee of $0.50 ).
The deadline for any cancellations is Wednesday, August 2, 2017, at NOON Pacific Time. After this time, refunds are 50%!!
Entry Fees
Must have valid CFC membership (can be purchased/renewed on August 5 before Round One, but purchasing or renewing directly through the CFC website will help to ensure Round One starts on time)
U1200 section: $10 reduction, refunded on August 5 AFTER Round 1.
See Jeffrey or the person at the registration table as soon as you complete your first round game.
Second or more family member: $10 reduction per additional player from same household, refunded on August 5 (see line above)
Playing up one section is permitted, iff current CFC, FIDE, or USCF rating is within 100 rating points of desired section: $20 additional fee, payable in cash on August 5, 2017 between 10:30 and 11:30am.
Current rating will be determined on August 3-5, before Round One.
Free entry for GM, IM, WGM, WIM
Prizes won by GM, IM, WGM, or WIM will be less full entry fee.
Accommodations
At Pacific Inn Resort: $119 + tax / night (regular $139/night); parking is FREE!
Book hotel room directly by phone (604-535-1432), and specify that you are participating in the Semiahmoo Open Chess Tournament. The special rate for tournament participants (and family) cannot be booked online.
The hotel will end the hold on rooms for tournament participants about three weeks before the tournament to make the rooms available for other guests (i.e. weddings), so book soon!
Other accommodations in area:
Best Western Peace Arch Inn: 604-541-8100; 2293 King George Blvd
Breakaway Motel: 604-535-1110; 2160 King George Blvd
Cedar Lane Motel: 604-531-4973; 926 160 Street
Ocean Promenade Hotel: 604-542-0102; 15611 Marine Drive
Numerous B&B nearby.
Food
Restaurant in Pacific Inn Resort (it's called Manyana)
Other food options about five minutes drive north on King George Blvd.
White Rock Beach is a few minutes drive away, so you can stroll the promenade or walk down the pier between rounds, and enjoy fish and chips or ice cream in the sunshine!
Contact Jeffrey Street:
semiahmooopen@gmail.com
Contact Tournament Director, Stephen Wright:
swright2@telus.net
Special thanks to Rainbow Kitchen Craft, in Surrey, for a donation that helps make this event possible!
The Semiahmoo Open has been organized in cooperation with Victoria Chess
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