Congratulations to FM Blagoj Gicev, who won the first Qualifier with a 4/5 score, half a point ahead of a six-way tie! Gicev, Mahan Eshraghi, and Ron Offengenden (top of the second place tie) earn free entry into the Edmonton International at the end of the Summer.

Registration for the second qualifier, June 15-16, is now open. Full information here.

Reminder about the Steinitz-Menchik Classic May 31 to June 2 and the Trumpeter Open June 8-9.

Registration is open for the Steinitz-Menchik Classic, May 31st to June 2nd. This is a six round classical event, held at the Calgary Chess Club. Full information here.

The 39th Trumpeter Open will take place June 8-9 in Grande Prairie. The ACA is contributing an extra $500 to the prize fund, so make sure to register soon.

Full information on the event here.

Reminder also that the Edmonton International Qualifier is next weekend, May 11-12 — information here.

Congratulations to the winners at the Alberta Youth Championship:

U8 Platon Bilyk
U10 Lucas Wang
U12 Zongyan Yu
U14 Jonathan Wu
U16 Eric Jin
U18 Tymur Keleberda

Big thanks to organizer Cristian Ivanescu, and thanks also to directors Dustin Koperski and Dmytro Komarov.

Congratulations to 2024 Alberta Closed champion Gary Ng! This is his first Alberta Championship win after several runner-up finishes.

Ng started off in crushing fashion (as the writer of this post can ruefully attest) and never looked back, settling only for a final round draw and a 4.5/5 score, having secured first place after four games. Second and third places went to Tymur Keleberda (3.5/5) and Anand Rishi Chandra (3/5).

Thanks to intrepid director Mike Zeggelaar for running the event.

Registration is open for the Edmonton International Qualifier, May 11-12 at the Edmonton Chess Club.

Top finishers will receive free entry into the Edmonton International, August 30 – September 2. Full information on the Qualifier here.

Congratulations to the winners at the Alberta Chess Challenge on April 6th:

Grade 1: Raphael Lee
Grade 2: Kaisser Nguyen
Grade 3: Michael Prianichnikov
Grade 4: Lucas Wang
Grade 5: Jack Sheng
Grade 6: Zongyan Yu
Grade 7: Zlata Butenko
Grade 8: Benjamin Williams
Grade 9: Tri Tran
Grade 10: Eric Jin
Grade 11: Nathan Marsh
Grade 12: Mark Ivanescu

Good luck to everyone in New Brunswick! Big thanks to Lili Ou and the CJCC for organizing.

The Alberta Youth Championship takes place April 27-28 at the Quality Inn West Edmonton. This event has sections by age group — U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18 — and leads into the Canadian Youth Chess Championship in Laval, QC, in July.

Information and registration here.

And a reminder that the grade-based (1-12) Alberta Chess Challenge is April 6th in Red Deer: info.

The 2024 Alberta Closed will be held April 19-21 at the Edmonton Chess Club, and the Alberta Reserves alongside it April 20-21. Information on the six-player championship can be viewed here.

Info and registration for the Reserves here.

Reminder that the Lethbridge Open is the week before, April 13-14: info.

Registration is open for the Lethbridge Open, April 13-14. Full information and sign-up here.