BCCF E-MAIL BULLETIN #90
 
Your editor welcomes any and all submissions for this Bulletin - news of upcoming events, tournament reports, and anything else that might be of interest to the BC chess community.
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Stephen Wright

[Back issues of the Bulletin are available on the above webpages.]
 
2006 B.C. INTERSCHOOL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
 
The finals of the interschool team championship, the sixth annual edition of this event, took place at the Vancouver Bridge Centre on February 25th.  Originally scheduled for West Point Grey Academy, the tournament had to be moved at the last minute, and we were very fortunate the Bridge Centre was both available and empty of bridge players - the eighty chess players and accompanying persons took up the whole building.
 
Elementary Finals
                     1    2    3    4    5    6    7
1 St. George's A    ***  4.0  3.0  3.0  4.0  4.0  4.0   22.0
2 St. George's B    0.0  ***  3.0  2.0  4.0  3.0  3.0   15.0
3 Westcot           1.0  1.0  ***  1.5  2.5  2.0  4.0   12.0
4 Chartwell         1.0  2.0  2.5  ***  1.0  3.0  2.0   11.5
5 Pauline Johnson   0.0  0.0  1.5  3.0  ***  3.0  2.5   10.0
6 St. John's        0.0  1.0  2.0  1.0  1.0  ***  2.0    7.0
7 York House        0.0  1.0  0.0  2.0  1.5  2.0  ***    6.5
 
This round-robin featured the top seven teams from the elementary preliminary tournament held on January 28th (see Bulletin #88).  The inclusion of seven teams necessitated the use of a complex pairing system to avoid having to give anyone a bye, but the competition itself ran very smoothly.
 
The final standings closely matched those of the preliminary event.  The two St. George's teams finished first and second by a wide margin, followed by the three teams from West Vancouver (with Westcot coming out ahead this time round), then St. John's and York House.  Perhaps what was a little surprising was the degree to which the St. George's A squad dominated both competitions, with 18/20 and 22/24 scores respectively.  The team has not just one or two stars but strength in depth on all boards; they will be hard to unseat as champions.  Indicative of this were the board prizes, where St. George's A took three of the four trophies for best percentage result by board:
 
Board 1    Andy Lee (St. George's A), Hafiz Dhanani (Westcot)
 
Board 2    Donovan Zhao (St. George's A), Alexandre Radelet (Pauline Johnson)
 
Board 3    David Choi (St. George's A), Dennis Wang (St. George's B)
 
Board 4    Luca Wilmer (St. John's), Josh Dumaresq (St. George's B)
 
 
Secondary Competition
 
                       Rd 1       Rd 2       Rd 3       Rd 4       Rd 5      Total 
 1 Port Moody          W 9 [4.0]  W 4 [4.0]  W 2 [3.0]  W 7 [4.0]  W 6 [4.0]  19.0 
 2 Seaquam             W 6 [3.0]  W 8 [4.0]  L 1 [1.0]  W 3 [4.0]  W 7 [3.0]  15.0 
 3 Winston Churchill   D 7 [2.0]  D 6 [2.0]  W 9 [4.0]  L 2 [0.0]  W10 [4.0]  12.0 
 4 Johnston Heights    W10 [4.0]  L 1 [0.0]  L 7 [1.0]  W 5 [3.0]  W 8 [3.0]  11.0 
 5 St. John's B        L 8 [1.5]  L 7 [1.0]  W10 [4.0]  L 4 [1.0]  W 9 [3.0]  10.5 
 6 St. John's A        L 2 [1.0]  D 3 [2.0]  W 8 [3.0]  W 9 [3.5]  L 1 [0.0]   9.5 
 7 David Thompson      D 3 [2.0]  W 5 [3.0]  W 4 [3.0]  L 1 [0.0]  L 2 [1.0]   9.0 
 8 University Hill     W 5 [2.5]  L 2 [0.0]  L 6 [1.0]  W10 [3.0]  L 4 [1.0]   7.5 
 9 Prince of Wales     L 1 [0.0]  W10 [3.0]  L 3 [0.0]  L 6 [0.5]  L 5 [1.0]   4.5 
10 Handsworth          L 4 [0.0]  L 9 [1.0]  L 5 [0.0]  L 8 [1.0]  L 3 [0.0]   2.0 
 
The secondary school portion of the events attracted ten teams from nine schools, including newcomers David Thompson, Prince of Wales, and Handsworth.  The latter two teams did not score very well but nevertheless enjoyed themselves: leaving aside the inevitable problems of crowd control and noise, it is always a pleasure to direct an event containing so many fine, upstanding young adults.
 
As with the elementary finals, the secondary competition was dominated by one team - in this case Port Moody Secondary.  They led from start to finish and were well-deserving of their margin of victory.  Seaquam placed second, achieved largely through defeating Winston Churchill 4-0 in round four; Churchill then went on to win by the same score in the last round, leap-frogging over several other teams to claim third place.
 
Port Moody also dominated the board prizes:
 
Board 1    Vlad Gaciu (Port Moody), Andrei Kostin (David Thompson)
 
Board 2    Stefan Trandafir (Port Moody), Henry Ji (Winston Churchill)/John Lin (Johnston Heights)
 
Board 3    Michael Wee (Port Moody), Keddy Ko (Seaquam)/Surbinder Bolina (St. John's)
 
Board 4    Jimmy He (Seaquam), Mike Lee (St. John's)/David Hou (Johnston Heights)
 
The tournament director was Stephen Wright; many thanks to Elizabeth Towers for her assistance through the day.
 
This was the decisive game on board 1:

Kostin,A - Gaciu,V [B07] Interschool team ch (4), Vancouver 25.02.2006

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 Nc6 6. O-O-O a6 7.Bh6 0–0 8.Bxg7 Kxg7 9.h4 h5 10.f3 b5 11.g3 b4 12.Nce2 a5 13.Bh3 a4 14.d5 b3 15.cxb3 axb3 16.a3 Ne5 17.Qc3 Bxh3 18.Nxh3 c6 19.Qxb3 cxd5 20.exd5 Qa5 21.Kb1 Rfb8 22.Qa2 Nc4 23.Qxc4 Qxa3 24.Qd4 Ra4 0-1
INTERNATIONAL CHESS JAM
 
For the past eight years a large junior tournament, the Chess Jam, has been held at the Ferndale High School (just north of Bellingham, Washington), and Canadians have often done well in the international event.  Such was again the case in this year's Chess Jam, which attracted eight-four players in two sections.  The High School Division was won by Washington player Lane van Weerdhuizen (no stranger to B.C. junior events) with a perfect score, but clear second was B.C. junior Jorge Prieto, who lost only to van Weerdhuizen en route to a 4/5 score.
 
In the Junior Division there were three Canadian participants: Richard Huang took first with a perfect score, Tanraj Sohal's 5.5/7 placed him in a three-way tie for third, and David Choi scored a respectable 4.5/7.  Congratulations to all!
 
Tournament website: http://mysite.verizon.net/kaech/jam06.html
 
 
ABRAHAM M. ("ABE") HELMAN (10 December 1907 - 16 March 1952)
 
As intimated last issue, an important figure in B.C. chess just after the Second World War was Abe Helman - here are some details of his life.
 
 
Born in Russia, Helman came to Winnipeg around 1926; he was involved in the retail business, as he owned a store on Main Street.  Helman moved to Vancouver in the autumn of 1945 and became the proprietor of Tip Top Furniture; he died of heart failure at the relatively young age of forty-four.
 
It is not known when Helman learnt to play chess, but he became involved in the local chess scene soon after emigrating to Winnipeg.  He was a member of the Winnipeg Jewish Chess Club, at that time the strongest club in Western Canada, and played in the Winnipeg team championships for the club.  Helman won the Manitoba championship in 1933 and 1944; he participated in three Canadian championships (1931, 1933, and 1945), his best result being clear second place in 1933, just a half-point behind winner Robert Martin.  In 1939 Helman was a member of the Canadian team at the Buenos Aires chess olympiad. 
 
After moving to Vancouver in 1945 Helman was quick to join with former Winnipegers Dave Creemer and Frank Atnikov in founding the Vancouver Jewish Chess Club.  Helman was the first president, played board one for the club in the interclub league, and won the club championship in three consecutive years, thus becoming the permanent holder of the Rothstein trophy.  He was B.C. champion in 1947 and 1948, and was also B.C. speed chess champion in the latter year. 
 
Helman appears to have been less active chess wise in the last few years of his life.  Perhaps the arrival of Miervaldis Jursevskis in 1949 discouraged competition to some degree, or business concerns became too pressing; it is know that Helman did not play in the 1951 Canadian championship in Vancouver because of illness.  Apart from his winning of the speed title in 1948 there is no particular mention of Helman's prowess at speed chess, but judging by the form of two memorials one assumes this must have been the case.  After his untimely death in 1952 the Vancouver Jewish CC held a Helman Memorial Speed Tournament (won by Jack Taylor and Charlie Millar), and his friends back in Winnipeg donated the Abe Helman Memorial Trophy, to be held by the winner of the Canadian speed chess championship.  This competition was first held during the 1953 Canadian championship in Winnipeg, and was fittingly won by another Abe from Winnipeg - Abe Yanofsky.

Helman,A - Redman,R [D43] MB ch Winnipeg (3), 28.02.1933

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 0–0 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 b5 9.Bd3 Nd5 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.0–0 Nd7 12.Rc1 Bb7 13.Ne4 h6 14.Bb1 a6 15.a3 Rac8 16.Qd3 f5 17.Nc5 Nxc5 18.Rxc5 Nb6 19.Ba2 Kh7 20.Ne5 Nd7 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.Re5 Rf6 23.Bxe6 Rxe6 24.Qxf5+ Kh8 25.Rxe6 Qc7 26.Qe5 Qxe5 27.Rxe5 a5 28.Rc1 Ra8 29.Re7 Rb8 30.h3 Ba8 31.Rc7 Kh7 32.d5 b4 33.d6 bxa3 34.bxa3 Bb7 35.d7 Ba6 36.R7xc6 Bb5 37.Rb6 1–0

Helman,A - Dreman,J [B44] Winnipeg ch, 02.1936

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Ndb5 Nxe4 8.Qg4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Bf8 10.Qg3 e5 11.Ba3 a6 12.Nd6+ Bxd6 13.Bxd6 Qf6 14.Rd1 Kd8 15.Be2 Re8 16.0–0 Re6 17.c5 Qh6 18.Rfe1 f5 19.Bc4 f4 20.Qf3 Re8 21.Bf7 Rh8 22.Qd5 a5 23.Rxe5 Qf6 24.Rf5 Qxc3 25.Bg8 1–0

Cayo,J (Peru) - Helman,A [D52] Buenos Aires ol-preliminaries (7), 1939

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.Nf3 c6 6.e3 Qa5 7.Bxf6 Nxf6 8.Qc2 Bb4 9.Nd2 0–0 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 h6 12.0–0 Bd6 13.h3 Be6 14.Rae1 Rad8 15.f4 Qc7 16.Nf3 a6 17.Ne5 c5 18.Ne2 c4 19.Bf5 Bxf5 20.Qxf5 Ne4 21.Rc1 b5 22.Kh2 Bb4 23.Nc3 Bxc3 24.bxc3 Rfe8 25.Qh5 a5 26.Rc2 b4 27.cxb4 axb4 28.Rfc1 Ra8 29.Qf3 Qb7 30.Qe2 Ra7 31.Ng4 Qa6 32.Ne5 Qe6 33.Nxc4 dxc4 34.Rxc4 Nc3 35.Qf3 Qxc4 0–1

Helman,A - Yanofsky,D [C14] MB ch (3) Winnipeg, 1941

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.Qg4 0–0 8.Bd3 c5 9.Nf3 f5 10.Qg5 Nc6 11.Qxe7 Nxe7 12.Ng5 cxd4 13.Nb5 Nxe5 14.Nc7 Rb8 15.Ncxe6 Nxd3+ 16.cxd3 Rf6 17.Nf4 Ng6 18.Nh5 Rb6 19.b3 Ne5 20.Kd2 h6 21.Rae1 hxg5 22.Rxe5 g6 23.Ng3 Ra6 24.Ra1 Be6 25.Ne2 Kf7 26.Nxd4 Rd8 27.a4 Rad6 28.Rae1 Bd7 29.Re7+ Kf8 30.Nf3 Re8 31.Rxe8+ Bxe8 32.Nxg5 Bd7 33.Nf3 Be6 34.Nd4 Bd7 35.Rc1 Ke8 36.h4 Kd8 37.Ke3 Rb6 38.Kf4 Rb4 39.Ke5 b5 40.a5 1–0

Divinsky,N - Helman,A [D18] MB ch Winnipeg, 1944

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 Na6 7.Bxc4 Nb4 8.0–0 e6 9.Qe2 Nbd5 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 Bxd3 12.Qxd3 Bd6 13.b3 Qe7 14.Nd2 0–0 15.f4 Rfe8 16.Rf3 Rad8 17.Rh3 c5 18.Bb2 h6 19.Rg3 Qe6 20.Re1 b6 21.Nf3 Ne4 22.Rh3 c4 23.bxc4 dxc4 24.d5 Qxh3 25.Qd4 Qg4 26.Ng5 Nf6 27.Nf3 Bc5 28.Qxc4 Rxe3 29.Rxe3 Bxe3+ 30.Kh1 Qxf4 31.Qb3 Bc5 0–1

Helman,A - Haley,P [A07] CAN ch Saskatoon (13), 1945

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bd7 4.b3 Qc8 5.h3 g6 6.Bb2 Bg7 7.c4 dxc4 8.bxc4 c5 9.Ne5 Nh5 10.Qb3 Nc6 11.Nxd7 Qxd7 12.Bxg7 Nxg7 13.0–0 Nf5 14.e3 Rd8 15.Na3 a6 16.Qb6 Nd6 17.Qxc5 Rc8 18.Qg5 f6 19.Qg4 f5 20.Qe2 Ne5 21.d3 Ndf7 22.d4 Nc6 23.c5 h5 24.Nc4 Qc7 25.Nb6 Rd8 26.Nd5 Qc8 27.Rab1 e6 28.Nf4 g5 29.Nxh5 Ke7 30.Rfd1 Nh6 31.Qb2 Rd7 32.d5 1–0

Noarse,J - Helman,A [C01] BC - WA m Washington, 17.08.1947

1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Bd3 0–0 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.Qh5 g6 9.Qxd5 Bxd4 10.Qxd8 Rxd8 11.Nge2 Bb6 12.Ne4 Nc6 13.0–0–0 Be6 14.a3 Kg7 15.Ng5 Bxf2 16.Nxe6+ fxe6 17.Rhf1 Be3+ 18.Kb1 Ne5 19.Nf4 Bxf4 20.Rxf4 Nxd3 21.cxd3 Rf8 22.Re4 Rf6 23.Rde1 Kf7 24.R1e2 Rd8 25.Kc2 Rd6 26.Rc4 c6 27.a4 Rd5 28.Kc3 Ke7 29.b4 Rdf5 30.b5 Kd6 31.bxc6 bxc6 32.Rd4+ Rd5 33.Rb4 Rc5+ 34.Kb3 Rf7 35.Rbe4 e5 36.d4 exd4 37.Rxd4+ Rd5 38.Rc4 a5 39.Rec2 c5 40.Re4 Rb7+ 41.Ka2 Rd4 42.Rxd4+ cxd4 43.Rc8 Rc7 44.Rd8+ Ke5 45.Re8+ Kd5 46.Ra8 Rc5 47.Ra7 h5 0–1

Helman,A - Millar,C [D10] BC ch Vancouver, 03.1948

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 f5 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Qb3 e6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Bxe7 Ngxe7 9.e3 0–0 10.Bd3 h6 11.Rc1 g5 12.g3 Ng6 13.h3 Kg7 14.a3 a6 15.Qc2 e5 16.dxe5 Ngxe5 17.Nxe5 Nxe5 18.Be2 Be6 19.Qd1 Rc8 20.Qd4 Qf6 21.f4 Nc6 22.Qxf6+ Kxf6 23.Rd1 Rcd8 24.Kf2 Rf7 25.g4 fxg4 26.hxg4 Kg7 27.Kg3 d4 28.f5 Bxf5 29.gxf5 dxc3 30.Rxd8 Nxd8 31.e4 Re7 32.Bf3 c2 33.Rc1 Rc7 34.e5 Rc4 35.f6+ Kf8 36.Bg4 Kf7 37.Bf5 Rc5 38.Bxc2 Rxe5 39.Rf1 h5 40.Bb3+ Ne6 41.Ba2 Re3+ 42.Kg2 h4 43.a4 b5 44.axb5 axb5 45.Rf5 g4 46.Kf2 Rf3+ 47.Rxf3 gxf3 48.Kxf3 Kxf6 49.Kg4 Nc5 50.Kxh4 b4 51.Kg4 Ke5 52.Kf3 Kd4 53.Ke2 Na4 54.Kd2 Nxb2 55.Bg8 Nd3 56.Kc2 Nc5 57.Kb2 ½–½

Helman,A - Duval,L [D85] Interclub major ch playoff Vancouver, 04.1948

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 9.Ne2 Bg7 10.0–0 cxd4 11.cxd4 Nc6 12.Be3 0–0 13.Qd2 Rfd8 14.Rad1 b6 15.f4 Qe6 16.e5 Qd5 17.f5 Rac8 18.fxg6 hxg6 19.Nf4 Qe4 20.Qf2 e6 21.Nh3 Rd7 22.Ng5 Qd5 23.Qh4 Qc4 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Qxg6 Kg8 26.Rxf7 Rxf7 27.Qxf7+ Kh8 28.Qh5+ Kg8 29.Qh7+ Kf8 30.Rf1+ Ke8 31.Qxg7 Ne7 32.Qf7+ Kd7 33.Rc1 Qe2 34.Qxe6+ Kd8 35.Nf7+ 1–0

Joachim,C - Helman,A [C17] BC - WA m Washington, 08.08.1948

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Qg4 Ne7 6.Bd2 cxd4 7.Qxd4 Nbc6 8.Qg4 Ng6 9.Bb5 Qa5 10.Nge2 Bd7 11.a3 Bxc3 12.Nxc3 Ncxe5 13.Qe2 Bxb5 14.Nxb5 Qd8 15.Bb4 Nc4 16.b3 a6 17.bxc4 axb5 18.cxb5 Qf6 19.0–0 Ne7 20.Rfd1 0–0 21.Rab1 Rfd8 22.Rd3 Nf5 23.Rbd1 Rac8 24.Ba5 Re8 25.c3 h6 26.g4 Nd6 27.Rf3 Qg6 28.Kh1 Rc4 adjudicated a draw ½–½
 
 
NORTH SHORE OPEN
 
Site: Mollie Nye House, 940 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver, East of Kirkstone Dr., parking west of the site under the power lines.

Date: March 18-19, 2006

Format: 4 Round Swiss CFC rated

Time control:  90 minutes + 30 second increments

Entry fee: $25 for Adults; $17 for Juniors and Seniors

Registration: Pre-registration is recommended. Send cheques payable to Chess First! Enterprises to: Suite 408-1641 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, BC, V7M 2J5.  Or Saturday in person 9-9:30 am

Rounds: 9:30am; 2 pm; 6 pm; Sunday 1:00 pm.

Prizes:  Entry fees-less expenses; 50% of that money.  First prize 12 Month ICC membership.  Best Junior prize is donated by Chess First! Enterprises www.chessfirst.com

Sponsors: Schlockbuster Video; Chess First Enterprises www.chessfirst.com ; ICC www.chessclub.com

Organizer and TD. : Joe Oszvald and Vas Sladek

Info: oszisakk@telus.net  or chessfm@telus.net

Bring sets and digital clocks  CFC membership required: $10 for the event or $48 for one year

 
31st PAUL KERES MEMORIAL
 

Dates Friday, May 19 to Monday, May 22, 2006

Location Hungarian Cultural Centre, 728 Kingsway, Vancouver BC

Sections Open, Under 2000, Under 1600

Time Control 40/120, SD/60

Rounds Open: 7 Rounds; U2000, U1600: 6 Rounds

Round Times Friday 5:30 (Open Section only); 11:30, 5:30 / 10, 4 / 9, 3 or ASAP

Prizes Based on entries. Unrated players may play in any section, but are only eligible for prizes if they play in the Open section. Unrated players who place in the other sections will have their entry fee returned.

Entry Fees (Open / U2000 / U1600)

Before or on March 30, 2006 $110 / $95 / $80
Before or on May 12, 2006 $130 / $110 / $90
At site $150 / $125 / $100
 
Discounts Born after May 20, 1986: 50% (proof of date of birth required)
            Born before May 20, 1941: 50% (proof of date of birth required)
            FIDE rated players w/o Titles 25%
            FIDE Titled Players Free entry
 
Surcharge $25 extra for those players who wish to play in the Open Section, but who have a lifetime highest rating under 2000
 
Registration please mail cheques (payable to BCCF) to: British Columbia Chess Federation, PO Box 15548, Vancouver, BC V6B 5B3

On-site Open Section: Friday, May 19, 3:00 to 5:00 pm
             U2000 and U1600: Friday, May 19, 3:00 to 10:00 pm, Saturday, May 20, 9:00 to 9:30 am

Those registering after the respective deadlines (5:00 pm Friday for the Open, 9:30 am Saturday for the other sections) will receive pot-luck pairings or a half-point bye in the first round

Miscellaneous CFC rated, Open Section also FIDE rated; half-point byes may be requested for all but the last round; sets and boards provided, please bring clocks.  The BCCF Annual General Meeting will be held at 9:00 am on Saturday, May 20

Contact Stephen Wright, swright2@telus.net , (604) 221-7148
 
UPCOMING EVENTS
 
Junior Events
 
Mar. 5    March Junior Open, Vancouver Bridge Centre
Mar. 5    Victoria Regional Chess Challenge
Mar. 25  Vancouver Regional Chess Challenge, BCIT
Mar. 25-26  Victoria Regional CYCC
Apr. 15  Provincial Chess Challenge, BCIT
 
See http://www.chess.bc.ca/juniorevents.html
 
 
For full details for the events below, see www.chess.bc.ca
 
UBC Tuesday Night Swiss
 
Date: Tuesdays - next game February 21
Location: Room 213, Student Union Building, UBC
Format: 5-round Swiss
Time control: 2 hours sudden death
Time: 6:30 sharp
Entry fees: $20 for adults, $15 for juniors and UBC club members, $12 under 1100 (excluding unrated)
TD info.: Aaron Cosenza, 604 327-4714, xramis1@yahoo.ca
 
March Sunday Open
 
Date: March 5
Place: Vancouver Bridge Centre
Type: 3-round Swiss
 
North Shore Open
 
Dates: March 18-19
Place: Mollie Nye House, North Vancouver
Type: 4-round Swiss
 
Worker's Memorial
 
Dates: April 14-15
Place: Village Square, Kamloops
Type: 6-round Swiss