The entries are open for the Calgary International Reserves on the 2022 tournament schedule. This is a five round Swiss to be held at the Calgary Chess Club. There is a 30 player limit, so enter quickly. Also the information for the Calgary International is linked there.

The Medicine Hat Open will return after 2 years absence due to Covid. Mark your calendars. The ACA is contributing $500 to enhance the prize fund in cash prize(s). Entries are now open on the link on the 2022 Schedule.

*** As of September 6 there are 10 pre-registered players including National Master Patrick Angelo Tolentino ***

The NAYCC concluded August 14. Vlad Rekhson, the CJCC and all the volunteers should be congratulated for an outstanding tournament. The results can be found here. https://naycc2022.com/NAYCC/WebPage/WebPage/3292/Standings

Entries are open for the 2022 Over/Under 1800 to be held in Calgary at the CCC, Aug 20-21 organized by Lars Lowther. Go to the 2022 schedule and follow the link.

Congratulations to Patrick Angelo Tolentino who won the Calgary International Qualifier with a score of 4.5/5 points. He secured a place in the Calgary International Classic (IM norm tournament) later this year. Thank you also to Vlad Rekhson and Bhavik Dave for organizing and directing this event. Bhavik also did a suberb job of reporting this event on FB and using digital boards.

1st: Patrick Angelo Tolentino (4.5/5)

2nd: Mike Zeggelaar (4/5)

3rd: Maxim Vasic (3.5/5)

Emil Soberov (3.5/5)

Sherzod Khodjimatov (3.5/5)

Dale Haessel (3.5/5)

Roy Yearwood (3.5/5)

U2000:Jonathan Wu (3/5)

David Yao (3/5)

Nicholas Zacharias (3/5)

Hafiz Karamali (3/5)

U1600:Liangyou Jiao (2.5/5)

Aaqil Alpuri (2.5/5)

International Chess Arbiter Vlad Rekhson will be conducting a Tournament Director workshop on Saturday, July 23rd over Zoom.  The workshop will cover chess tournament procedures, official rules of chess, potential complicated situations, as well as, how to do “Swiss” pairings and prize giving procedures.  At the end there will be an option to write a National Arbiter exam for those who are interested.  The workshop will take place from 12:15-5:15 pm and the National Arbiter exam will follow immediately afterwards. Attendance is free to all Albertans.  To register please fill out the form at:  https://tinyurl.com/3cz4buym by July 21st.  The Zoom link will be sent to you on July 22nd.For any questions please send an email to Vlad Rekhson at: vrekhson@yahoo.ca

FM Dale Haessel coasted to victory with 4.5/5 to win the $1500 1st prize. There was a 4 way tie for 2nd place including FM Ian Findlay, Rafael Arruebarrena, Omid Malek and James Windram. This tournament provided wonderful food and hospitality, including a banquet the day before honoring the memory of Jina Burns. The meal at the banquet was prepared by Top Chef Paul Clement. FM Ian Findlay won the blitzed tournament with 5/5. Many thanks to the organizers and TD.

I am delighted to announce that Branimir Brebrich was inducted into the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame. This is also on the Canadian Hall of Fame Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/Canadian-Chess-Hall-of-Fame-108425768549804

Here is even more detail of Branimir Brebrich’s accomplishments. Sorry about the formatting.1968 He arrived in Calgary from his native Croatia1969 Calgary chess club president (1969-1975)1969 Popularized chess by playing Simultaneous chess exhibitions of many types around the City (1969-1979)1971 Founder and first President of Calgary Chess Association 1971 (dissolved in 1975)1971 Organized and conducted Calgary’s Schools Team Championships (1971-1976)1971 Teaching and instructing chess in Park and Recreation Department (1971-1973)1971 Won numerous Calgary City and Calgary Chess Club Championships over two decades1972 Teaching and instructing chess at the Calgary School Board Continuing Education teaching chess (1972-1978)1972 TV Producer and Host from 1972- 1981 (10 seasons) (1972-1981)1973 First player in Alberta who obtained titles Master Candidate (1969) and Chess Master (1973) 1973 Founded and was first President of Alberta Chess Association 1973-1975. ACA is active to this day.1973 Lecturer at Mount Royal College in 1973, one semester1974 Won first AB Closed Chess Championship in 19741975 First full time Programme Coordinator for TAYCA paid by Government of Alberta 19751975 Founder and first President of the Alberta Youth Chess Association (TAYCA) 1975, absorbed by ACA.1975 Tournament Director for the very first ever Canadian Individual Provincial Junior Chess Championship held in Edmonton in 19751976 Broke Canadian Simultaneous Chess Record in 1976 (29 November) playing tournament players only; score: +188, -8.=18, +92.05 performance. Games played on a replacement basis. Still unbroken.1977 Broke North American Simultaneous Chess Record in 1977 (dates and particulars not available) with 80% wins against tournament players only (50 players CCC) this record lasted for over 30 yrs1978 Broke the World Record in Simultaneous Chess in 1978 (27-28 January) in Edmonton, with 533 wins, 15 loses and 27 draws, +92.04% performance; This record stood for six years.1978 Calgary Herald chess columnist in 19782000 Moved to Richmond B.C. where he spent many years advancing chess to youth groups in and around Vancouver2006 2006-2009 teaching chess in the Richmond park public library (2006-2009)2008 Home teaching students in the Vancouver and surrounding areas (2008-2019) 2014 Teaching chess at a private school in Richmond 2014-20172018 Inducted into the Calgary Chess Club Hall of Fame2019 At age 85 participated in a top level Alberta competition the “2019 Battle of Alberta” and scored 1.5/2 points

I want to thank Derek Thomas for all the work he did organizing the 2022 Alberta Chess Challenges and coordinating the winners for the Canadian Chess Challenge. Derek gives a report below. Congrats to our many winners!

Hi Chess Players and Parents,
I wanted to update you all on how the Alberta team did at the 2022 National Chess Challenge.
The team scored 77.5 out of 108 possible points and was 3rd place (Quebec was first and Ontario second). I believe this is the most points team Alberta has ever scored in the 33 year history of the event. Additionally, Alberta had three national champs this year: Matthew Ivanescu grade 5, Jonathan Wu grade 6 and Anand Rishi Chandra Grade 8. Four other team members also earned trophy finishes at the event. 
Congratulations to the entire team on their excellent performance! You can see the full results here: http://www.chess-challenge.chess-math.org/national/results/2022/English/index.xml
The next major tournament is an in person event happening in Calgary on August 10 – 14 . You can see the details here: https://naycc2022.com/NAYCC/Home/Home
Thank you all for participating in the provincials this year and hope to see you at next year’s provincials. Derek