Canadian Open- Overview
July 30, 2011 Leave a Comment
| # | Name | Rtng | Post | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Tot | Prize |
| 1 | GM Joel Benjamin | 2641 | 2646 | +70 | =27 | +45 | +21 | =10 | +9 | +18 | =3 | =2 | 7.0 | $4,200. |
| 2 | GM Dejan Bojkov | 2544 | 2550 | -95 | +104 | =136 | +74 | +67 | +26 | +31 | +29 | =1 | 7.0 | $4,200. |
| 3 | GM Walter Arencibia | 2537 | 2556 | +96 | +49 | =34 | +33 | +16 | +4 | =29 | =1 | =7 | 7.0 | $4,200. |
| 4 | IM Leonid Gerzhoy | 2647 | 2645 | +113 | +37 | +13 | =10 | +15 | -3 | =14 | +21 | =9 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 5 | GM Mark Bluvshtein | 2634 | 2634 | +93 | +46 | +22 | -11 | +44 | =12 | +13 | =7 | =10 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 6 | GM Alexander Shabalov | 2618 | 2613 | +71 | =47 | =39 | +48 | +25 | +20 | =10 | =12 | =13 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 7 | GM Eduardas Rozentalis | 2614 | 2619 | +136 | +106 | +44 | =29 | =20 | =11 | +16 | =5 | =3 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 8 | IM Nikolay Noritsyn | 2597 | 2594 | +72 | +48 | =16 | =14 | +88 | -13 | +25 | =10 | +30 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 9 | GM Vitali Golod | 2576 | 2577 | +73 | +89 | =33 | +34 | =14 | -1 | +45 | +28 | =4 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 10 | IM Artiom Samsonkin | 2532 | 2549 | +74 | +90 | +67 | =4 | =1 | +17 | =6 | =8 | =5 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 11 | GM Eugene Perelshteyn | 2532 | 2543 | +75 | +63 | +25 | +5 | -29 | =7 | =21 | =14 | +31 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 12 | FM Bindi Cheng | 2500 | 2514 | +77 | +51 | -29 | +42 | +37 | =5 | +32 | =6 | =17 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 13 | IM Tomas Krnan | 2470 | 2486 | +78 | +110 | -4 | +51 | +38 | +8 | -5 | +18 | =6 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 14 | GM Luis Manuel Perez Rodriguez | 2467 | 2488 | +114 | +52 | +17 | =8 | =9 | =19 | =4 | =11 | +35 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 15 | IM David Cummings | 2459 | 2461 | =56 | +115 | +47 | +50 | -4 | =40 | +48 | =19 | +41 | 6.5 | $255. |
| 16 | FM Shiyam Thavandiran | 2447 | 2461 | +57 | +66 | =8 | +27 | -3 | +43 | -7 | +46 | +29 | 6.5 | $255. |
You can find the full final standings here. When it was all said and done, GMs Benjamin, Bojkov and Arencibia tied for first place with 7/9. They were followed by a thirteen way tie for 4th place.
6.5/9 was not a good result for me. Prior to the tournament, I decided to play very sharp/risky chess. I felt like I could play every game, with both colours, for the win. This resulted in a lot of tactical and imbalanced positions. In my fourth round loss, I ran into serious problems after the opening. Just fell apart early on. I did not play that game well. When the position is extremely sharp, the price of every move goes up. The price for mistakes was very high in that one.
In rounds 6 and 8 I let my opponents out alive when the win was close. I let them slip at crucial points just when my advantage was becoming very clear. The killer instinct was missing towards the end. Could not squeeze the points when they were needed most. The 8th round could have ended differently, and with it a different story would be told. This was also true in rounds 3 and 7, even though resilience pulled out those wins in the end. But chess and life are not about “what ifs”. I did not maximize on points and fell half a point short.
You can see lots of photos from the event on the Monroi site.
I’d like to thank the organizing committee for running a great event. During the tournament, I found out that Victoria (BC) will organize next year’s Canadian Open. This is great news. I know a lot of members of their organizing crew and look forward to seeing them take on the challenge. Their CYCCs in 2005 and 2009 were very memorable ones. I was present at both.
It was also a great surprise to find out that the Toronto team is planning on having an annual international tournament in Toronto, called the Toronto International, to continue the tradition of good annul tournaments that started in 2009.
Next on my blog is my own version of “The Decision”. More chess or no chess after the World Cup? As well as why. I promise that I am not going to Miami.
