Canadian Chess - Sponsor Us - History of the Canadian Open Chess Championship

Written and copyright 2011 by David Cohen.
Main web site & contact: Canadian Chess.

History of the Canadian Open Chess Championship

The Canadian Open Chess Championship was first held in Montreal in 1956, attracting 13 year-old future World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer up from New York City. From the beginning, chess players gathered from all across Canada to meet across the chessboard. Each year, they are joined by players of all strengths from around the world. Some come for vacation, some come to compete. The possibilities for both make for an attractive event.

The format of the Open was originally used in the Canadian Chess Championship itself. As the game grew, it was necessary to restrict the Chess Championship to a Closed format, by invitation only. The Open was launched to revive the chess competition as a meeting place for all.

The Open was initially held every two years, to permit it to alternate with the Closed Chess Championship. However, since 1973 the Open has been held annually. Seven different provinces have hosted, with Ontario being the most popular location.

Individual accomplishments:

A rare feat in the chess world occurred in 1962, when Laszlo Witt won with a perfect score of 9/9!
The most notable event was in 1971, when reigning World Chess Champion Boris Spassky played in and won the competition.
Kevin Spraggett holds the record for most first place finishes, an amazing eight times during his career.
Five players won (or tied for first place in) the Canadian Closed and Open Chess Championships in the same year: Igor Ivanov, 1981 and 1985; Ron Livshits, 1995; Bryon Nickoloff, 1995; Kevin Spraggett, 1996; and Pascal Charbonneau, 2002.
Hugh Brodie played in the Canadian Open Chess Championship 32 times - including 29 years in a row! (1968, 1974-2002, 2005, 2009)

Canadian Open Chess Championship

No. Year Location Winner

1 1956 Montreal, QC Larry M. Evans, William Lombardy

2 1958 Winnipeg, MB Elod Macskasy

3 1960 Kitchener, ON Anthony Saidy

4 1962 Ottawa, ON Laszlo Witt

5 1964 Scarborough, ON Pal Benko

6 1966 Kingston, ON Larry M. Evans

7 1968 Toronto, ON Bent Larsen

8 1970 St. John's, NL Bent Larsen

9 1971 Vancouver, BC Hans Ree, Boris Spassky

10 1973 Ottawa, ON Duncan Suttles

11 1974 Montreal, QC Ljubomir Ljubojevic

12 1975 Calgary, AB Leonid Shamkovich

13 1976 Toronto, ON Lawrence Day, Nick DeFirmian

14 1977 Fredericton, NB Jan Green-Krotki

15 1978 Hamilton, ON Gyula Sax

16 1979 Edmonton, AB D. Abraham Yanofsky

17 1980 Ottawa, ON Lawrence Day

18 1981 Quebec City, QC Igor Ivanov

19 1982 Vancouver, BC Gordon Taylor

20 1983 Toronto, ON Bozidar Ivanovic, Kevin Spraggett

21 1984 Ottawa, ON Denis Allan, Brett Campbell, Igor Ivanov, Dave Ross

22 1985 Edmonton, AB Brian Hartman, Igor Ivanov

23 1986 Winnipeg, MB Viktor Kupreichik, Artur Yusupov

24 1987 Toronto, ON Kevin Spraggett

25 1988 Scarborough, ON Lawrence Day

26 1989 Edmonton, AB Vladimir Tukmakov

27 1990 Edmundston, NB Georgi Timoshenko

28 1991 Windsor, ON Walter Browne

29 1992 Scarborough, ON Alexei Barsov, Bryon Nickoloff

30 1993 London, ON Kevin Spraggett

31 1994 Winnipeg, MB Vladimir Tukmakov

32 1995 Toronto, ON Deen Hergott, Ron Livshits, Bryon Nickoloff, Eduardas Rozentalis, Kevin Spraggett

33 1996 Calgary, AB Kevin Spraggett

34 1997 Winnipeg, MB Julian Hodgson

35 1998 Ottawa, ON Michael Oratovsky, Evgeny Prokopchuk, Kevin Spraggett, Dimitri Tyomkin

36 1999 Richmond, BC Georgi Orlov, Kevin Spraggett

37 2000 Edmonton, AB Joel Benjamin, Jonathan Rowson, Kevin Spraggett

38 2001 Sackville, NB Larry Christiansen, Anthony Miles

39 2002 Montreal, QC Pascal Charbonneau, Jean-Marc Degraeve, Jean H&eacaute;bert

40 2003 Kapuskasing, ON Alexander Moiseenko

41 2004 Kapuskasing, ON Alexander Moiseenko, Dimitri Tyomkin

42 2005 Edmonton, AB Mark Bluvshtein, Viktor Bologan, Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexei Shirov

43 2006 Kitchener, ON Walter Arencibia, Abhijit Kunte

44 2007 Ottawa, ON Xiangzhi Bu

45 2008 Montreal, QC Matthieu Cornette, Victor Mikhalevski, Alexander Moiseenko, Eduardas Rozentalis

46 2009 Edmonton, AB Mark Bluvshtein, Edward Porper

47 2010 Toronto, ON Luke McShane

48 2011 Toronto, ON

			Canadian Open Chess Championship
No.	Year	Location	Winner
1	1956	Montreal, QC	Larry M. Evans, William Lombardy
2	1958	Winnipeg, MB	Elod Macskasy
3	1960	Kitchener, ON	Anthony Saidy
4	1962	Ottawa, ON	Laszlo Witt
5	1964	Scarborough, ON	Pal Benko
6	1966	Kingston, ON	Larry M. Evans
7	1968	Toronto, ON	Bent Larsen
8	1970	St. John's, NL	Bent Larsen
9	1971	Vancouver, BC	Hans Ree, Boris Spassky
10	1973	Ottawa, ON	Duncan Suttles
11	1974	Montreal, QC	Ljubomir Ljubojevic
12	1975	Calgary, AB	Leonid Shamkovich
13	1976	Toronto, ON	Lawrence Day, Nick DeFirmian
14	1977	Fredericton, NB	Jan Green-Krotki
15	1978	Hamilton, ON	Gyula Sax
16	1979	Edmonton, AB	D. Abraham Yanofsky
17	1980	Ottawa, ON	Lawrence Day
18	1981	Quebec City, QC	Igor Ivanov
19	1982	Vancouver, BC	Gordon Taylor
20	1983	Toronto, ON	Bozidar Ivanovic, Kevin Spraggett
21	1984	Ottawa, ON	Denis Allan, Brett Campbell, Igor Ivanov, Dave Ross
22	1985	Edmonton, AB	Brian Hartman, Igor Ivanov
23	1986	Winnipeg, MB	Viktor Kupreichik, Artur Yusupov
24	1987	Toronto, ON	Kevin Spraggett
25	1988	Scarborough, ON	Lawrence Day
26	1989	Edmonton, AB	Vladimir Tukmakov
27	1990	Edmundston, NB	Georgi Timoshenko
28	1991	Windsor, ON	Walter Browne
29	1992	Scarborough, ON	Alexei Barsov, Bryon Nickoloff
30	1993	London, ON	Kevin Spraggett
31	1994	Winnipeg, MB	Vladimir Tukmakov
32	1995	Toronto, ON	Deen Hergott, Ron Livshits, Bryon Nickoloff, Eduardas Rozentalis, Kevin Spraggett
33	1996	Calgary, AB	Kevin Spraggett
34	1997	Winnipeg, MB	Julian Hodgson
35	1998	Ottawa, ON	Michael Oratovsky, Evgeny Prokopchuk, Kevin Spraggett, Dimitri Tyomkin
36	1999	Richmond, BC	Georgi Orlov, Kevin Spraggett
37	2000	Edmonton, AB	Joel Benjamin, Jonathan Rowson, Kevin Spraggett
38	2001	Sackville, NB	Larry Christiansen, Anthony Miles
39	2002	Montreal, QC	Pascal Charbonneau, Jean-Marc Degraeve, Jean H&eacaute;bert
40	2003	Kapuskasing, ON	Alexander Moiseenko
41	2004	Kapuskasing, ON	Alexander Moiseenko, Dimitri Tyomkin
42	2005	Edmonton, AB	Mark Bluvshtein, Viktor Bologan, Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexei Shirov
43	2006	Kitchener, ON	Walter Arencibia, Abhijit Kunte
44	2007	Ottawa, ON	Xiangzhi Bu
45	2008	Montreal, QC	Matthieu Cornette, Victor Mikhalevski, Alexander Moiseenko, Eduardas Rozentalis
46	2009	Edmonton, AB	Mark Bluvshtein, Edward Porper
47	2010	Toronto, ON	Luke McShane
48	2011	Toronto, ON