Congratulations to NM Anand Chandra from Calgary who won the 2023 Banff Open in an Armageddon playoff beating IM Raymond Kaufman from Vancouver scoring 5/6. This year saw a record turnout of 132 players. Sherzod Khodjimatov from Calgary let Raymond Kaufman escape with a perpetual check in the last round to tie for 3rd with IM Leon Piasetski from Vancouver.

The exciting finish can be seen here.

https://www.facebook.com/61553555332010/videos/367590772292149

The results can be found here

https://chess-results.com/tnr838720.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=6&flag=30

https://chess-results.com/tnr842224.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=6

https://chess-results.com/tnr838718.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=6

I am happy to announce a change of heart by the organizer Ian Findlay. This will not be the last Banff Open!! Thanks to the encouragement of the new Banff Centre President, we will be back November 9-11. Mark your calendar for Banff Open 2024!

Follow along with the second half of the Banff Open on Lichess here.

Results are posted round by round on Chess-Results, along with updates on the tournament facebook page.

Congratulations to Tymur Keleberda on an Alberta Junior Championship victory! Keleberda scored 3.5/5, just enough to beat out Hemant Srinivasan and Emil Soberov at 3/5.

Crosstable is available on the CFC website.

Registrations will be accepted up to 6:45 p.m. on Friday, October 27th. Payment will be made in cash on-site, and full pairings will be made the night of October 27th.

See the updated tournament page.

The Alberta Junior Championship happens November 4-5 in Calgary. The Championship section is a closed, 6-player round robin, and then there is an Open section, a U1300 section, and a U800 section.

Find full details here.

**** Please note that the change in the Banff Centre Board of Directors as announced in the news recently will in no way impact the Banff Open. Everything is good. ***

Entries are now open for the 2023 Banff Open, Nov 10-12. This will be the last Banff Open organized by Ian Findlay. Entries are limited to 130 players. Last year, we had a waiting list by October 1st, so enter early if you can. Details and entry form can be found in Schedule 2023.

Please pay immediately when you enter. There is a $40 charge to play up a section. 114 entries as of Sept 6, with 4 on the waiting list for under 1600.

I am delighted to announce that two time Banff Open winner IM Mark Ginsburg has entered and Canadian legend Leon Piasetski who has represented Canada many times at the Chess Olympiad.

IM Raymond Kaufman is the latest IM to join.

Entries are now closed in the Under 1600 section. You may play up for $40 surcharge if you still want to play.

The link to the hotel reservations was corrected and should now work.

*** Entries are now CLOSED and waitlist removed ***

*** Anyone 30 minutes late for a round forfeits on time ***

*** Facebook page has been created for this event. ***

https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=banff%20chess%20open%202023

Congratulations to Anand Rishi Chandra, who won the Alberta Open with a perfect 6/6 score! His wins included FM Dale Haessel and former Alberta Champion NM Omid Malek.

Well done to Mahan Eshragi, Tymur Keleberda, and Yash Darvekar tying for second place.

Full standings are posted on the Edmonton Chess Club facebook page. Thanks to Rafael Arruebarrena for organizing and directing.

At the Annual General Meeting on Sunday, October 8th, President Rafael Arruebarrena said his farewells and ceded his office after four years.

Welcome to our newly elected President, Lars Lowther!

Dale Haessel will continue as Treasurer, and alongside Terry Seehagen as a re-elected Director, welcome also to four new Directors: Sam Hoekman, Zeeshan Munir, Sean Wu, and Lili Ou.

Minutes from the meeting can be found on the Minutes page.

Our thanks to all the volunteers who put in the time at the Grand Villa Casino in Edmonton on September 30 + October 1 to help the Alberta Chess Association complete a successful fundraising event.

Dale Haessel led the way, coming from Calgary to do all four shifts as Cashier. Terry Seehagen did three shifts. Paris Dorn, Dustin Koperski, Michael Lee, Andrew Lonegren, Steve Panteluk, John Quiring, Jake Slone, Ford Wong, and Mike Zeggelaar did two shifts each.

Rob Brazeau, John Clemens, David Ludwig, Wade Miller, Dmitri Pogosyan, Gerhard Reuter, Jordan Rohatynski, Dat Tran, and Elly Zeggelaar each did one shift.

Along with our professional Advisors – Heath Clegg, Ev Humphrey, and Andy Jou – these volunteer efforts will give the ACA the ability to continue to support chess activities in Alberta for another two years.

Team South once again earned the victory, starting out with a slim 6.5 – 5.5 lead after round one, and adding a 7 – 5 round two to take it 13.5 – 10.5.

Well done to the 2/2 players: Mark Ivanescu, Matthew Ivanescu, Zongyan Yu, Michael Prianichnikov, April Wang, Jake Chi Hang Li, and Allison Chan. You can find more game results here.

Thanks to Cristian Ivanescu for leading the organization.