Cecil's Saturday Puzzle - November 28, 2015

from the Winnipeg Free Press

White to mate in 2
1.Nf6

2016 Manitoba Closed Championship Qualifying Update

2016 Manitoba Closed Championship Qualifying -

Manitoba Closed 2016 format : 8 player knockout 

(Note: on February 23, 2014 the MCA board approved the adding up to two spots to the the Manitoba Championship at discretion of the Board; if the Board add the two spots, qualifiers 7 and 8  (ordered by CFC rating, along with the new 2 additions will play in a preliminary knockout round, producing two winners who then play with the top six qualifiers by CFC rating. On November 23, 2014, the Board approved continuation of this procedure for 2015 forward) 

Qualifiers -
Players must be Manitoba Permanent residents.

(Persons  who are not citizens or permanent residents, but who have been a resident of Manitoba for a twelve-month period immediately preceding the tournament, may be admitted to the Tournament provided they can clearly demonstrate to the MCA Board of Directors that they have a settled intention to continue to reside in Manitoba. The admittance to the Tournament of such exceptions shall be entirely at the discretion of the MCA Board of Directors.)
 

Qualifiers must play 10 standard rated games (somewhere in the world) during calendar 2015 in order to qualify. In order of preference - if the qualifying player does not want to participate or the qualifier is redundant, we continue down the list until there are 8 willing participants.

     1. Previous Year's Champion (KEVIN GENTES)
     2. Winner of the Reserve (not held)
     3. MB Junior Champion (if rated above 1900)  - 
     4. Top Manitoban in AY Memorial (KEVIN GENTES)
     5,6. Top 2 finishers in the Tournament of Champions (Nov-Dec) 
     7. Player with the best MTPPS (Modified Tournament Performance Point Score) 
     8. Player with the 2nd best MTPPS (Modified Tournament Performance Point Score) 
     9. 2nd Manitoban in the AY Memorial (Babb, Moncal, Baron tied for 2nd, Moncal has only played 4 games)
    10. Player with the 3rd best MTPPS 
    11. Player with the 4th best MTPPS  
    12. etc.from the MTPPS 

The above players will be contacted in early January 2016 to determine their willingness to participate in the knockout.  If any of the players decline, invitations will be provided to next players on the list below.  Then there will be a short period when wild-card bids (as described above) will be entertained.

MTPSS -  Modified Tournament Performance Point Score
MTPPS is calculated as follows:
A Loss = 0 points
A Draw = the rating of the opponent
A Win = the greater of [your opponent's rating + 200] or [your rating]

The top ten performance scores for each player are counted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The current top MTPPS scores as of November 1. are as follows:
(Tournaments scored included all Manitoba CFC Standard rated tournaments, Canadian Closed,  Montreal Open.) If you believe a result has been missed or is incorrect, please contact me.

Name	Total	Count	Min
Kevin Gentes	23950	10	2342
Isaac Wiebe	22907	10	2213
Gustav L Baron	22333	10	2140
Marcos Valentino	22135	10	2187
Anthony Boron	21706	10	2075
Rolando Bince	21463	10	2059
Leor Wasserman	21447	10	2076
Theo Wolchock	21131	10	1957
Jeff Clark	20964	10	2039
Derek Ma	20661	10	1947
Jim Green	20521	10	1908
Myron Kernetsky	20374	10	1926
Blair Rutter	20257	10	1955
James Atem	20252	10	1916
Brock Beach	20231	10	1807
Jeff Babb	19810	9	2015
Jamie Campbell	19678	10	1804
Phil Le Dorze	19290	10	1785
Ken Einarsson	19124	10	1773

Cecil's Saturday Puzzle - November 14, 2015

from the Winnipeg Free Press

White to mate in 2 (Funk)

1.Nd4

Cecil's Saturday Puzzle - October 31, 2015

from the Winnipeg Free Press

White to Mate in 2 (Funk)

2015 Earl Rosenbloom Memorial and 2015 Frank Milord Memorial Tournaments start Tuesday, November 3

Two tournaments start Tuesday. November 3, running in parallel: The 2015 Earl Rosenbloom Memorial Tournament (the Rosenbloom), and the 2015 Frank Milord Memorial Tournament,    Both will run for 7 Tuesdays (Nov 3 to Dec 15. Details are below, but in brief, both tournaments will be CFC rated, but the Rosenbloom will also be FIDE rated.  The Earl Rosenbloom will be open to all; the Frank Milord Memorial Tournament is restricted to those rated Under 1800.
Earl Rosenbloom
Both tournaments are Swiss (pairing) style tournaments with a time control of G /110 minutes [Each player has 1 hours 50 minutes to complete their moves, the game will be be 3  hours, 40 minutes maximum] FIDE Rule Appendix G4 will also be in effect.
Registration for both tournaments - November 3 - approximately 6:30 pm to 6:50 pm.
Late Registration for tournament - November 10 or 17 - approximately 6:30 pm to 6:45 pm - you will receive a 1/2 point bye for each of the first two rounds missed.
All players must be CFC (Chess Federation of Canada) members (can be obtained during registration on-site) $20 for a one-tournament adult membership or $ 49
for 12 months- new adult members pay only $ 36 for a twelve-month CFC membership; Junior (under 20) members pay $ 10 for a one-tournament membership, $ 34 for a twelve-month CFC membership, new junior members pay only $ 24 for a twelve month CFC membership).
Top 2 Manitoba Finishers in the 2015 Earl Rosenbloom Memorial  qualify to the 2016 Manitoba Championship
Entry Fee:
$ 25
Great opportunity to Start, add to, or complete your FIDE Rating requirements.
For the Rosenbloom, Tentative Pairings to be Published prior to Rounds 2-6
Location: University of Winnipeg - Rm 4CM42
The Frank Milord Memorial Tournament is restricted to those rated Under 1800. CFC rated.
Entry Fee $ 20.  CFC Membership is required as indicated above.
(These are not   knockout tournaments, players will play all 7 rounds)(If you can not play on one or more weeks, please contact the TD BEFORE the round.) Maximum of 2 half-point byes allowed, must be requested before beginning of round 4.  Any number of zero-point byes allowed.
facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/178247284305/

The CFC has rated the 2015 Les Mundwiler Memorial tournament

See the crosstable here: http://chess.ca/crosstable?tournament_check_number=201510046

For the first time (that I can recall) that I have been noting peaks, no one achieved established a new peak rating.

Cecil's Saturday Puzzle - October 17, 2015

from the Winnipeg Free Press

White to mate in 2 (Funk)

2015 Les Mundwiler Memorial (October TNT) starts Tuesday, October 6

2015 Les Mundwiler Memorial (October TNT) - 
CFC  rated.

 $ 15 entry fee  -   Prizes will be based on entries. A

Location: University of Winnipeg - Rm 4CM42

 4 rounds - October 6,13,20, 27,  - (This is not a knockout tournament, players will play all 4 rounds) 
(Players may take up to 1  half-point and any number of zero-point byes.  Half-point byes for round  4 must be requested before Round 2.

Time Control: G/110  + FIDE Appendix Rule G.4

Please note that we intend to start the first round at 7:00 p.m. sharp. There is one game per week.

All of the TNTs are Swiss (pairing) style tournaments with a time control of G /110 minutes [Each player has 1 hour 50 minutes  to complete their moves, the game will be be approx. 3 hours and 40 minutes maximum]. We will also be using FIDE Rule Appendix G.4 for situations with players having under 2 minutes remaining.
.

Start time is 7:00 pm and the TD will confirm costs

$ 15 entry fee and CFC membership required.

All players must be CFC members (can be obtained during registration on-site)

[$ 20 for a one-tournament adult membership or $ 49 for 12 months- new adult members pay only $ 36 for a twelve-month CFC membership, or $ 16 for a one-tournament membership]

Junior (under 20)  members pay $ 10 for a one-tournament membership, $ 34 for a twelve-month CFC membership, new junior members pay only  $ 24 for a twelve month CFC membership, or $ 8 for a one-tournament membership]

Registration for tournament -Tuesday, Oct 6  - approximately 6:35 pm to 6:50 pm

Registration will be cut off at 6:50 pm. (If you think you may be late, please send an email to chessmanitoba 'at' gmail.com) before 5 pm (you can try later, but the wireless access at the U may be problematic) . Players can join in Round 2, they will receive a half-point bye for Round 1. 

Location: University of Winnipeg - Rm 4CM42

Easiest way to get there is to take the elevator at the north end (Ellice) to the 5th Floor(if that Elevator is operating) Otherwise, there is an elevator just to the west of the old Bookstore location.  Our goal is to start the first round at 7:00 p.m. sharp.

Cecil's Saturday Puzzle - October 3, 2015

from the Winnipeg Free Press

White to mate in 2 (Funk)
1. Kxf6