2017 QUEBEC CHESS CHALLENGE
BY GRADE
QUEBEC CHAMPIONS 2017
1st row form right to left: K- Félix Ciufudean, Grade 1- Nikita Ramamonjisoa, Grade 2- Alex Jikai Yan, Grade 3- Kevin Zhong, Grade 4- Kevin Liu, Grade 5- David Craciun, Grade 6- Qiuyu Huang, Second row from right to left: Grade 7- FM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, Grade 8- Zi Yu Guan, Grade 9- Run Kun Fan, Grade 10- Ananda Saha, Grade 11- Linda Shi, Grade 12- FM Olivier Kenta Chiku-Ratté and Lefong Hua, captain of the Quebec Team.
438 young champions from all over Quebec were invited to participate in the 29th edition of the Quebec Chess Challenge by Grade, a five round tournament held in Montreal at the Reception Hall The Rizz on April 30th. The best players in each school grade were crowned as the Quebec champions, earning them a spot on the provincial team at the national Canadian Chess Challenge.
This year keen interest and incredible participation gave us the idea to do a two-part report: the competitive side with our new champions and a second part about the degree of popularity of chess with our young students from across Quebec.
Competitive level:
First of all, this tournament invited only the best players in Quebec (except for kindergarten kids where it was open to all). To play the Provincial, you must either be in the top 10 of your school grade or qualify in a qualifying tournament. To give you an idea of the strength of the competition, no less than 11 players already titled took part in this tournament including three Experts, four Canadian Masters and four FIDE Masters.
Nine players in eight different sections finished with a perfect 5-0 scores and for one of them it wasn't enough to win first place. The perfect scores belong to Félix Ciufudean, Nikita Ramamonjisoa, Alex Jikai Yan, Kevin Zhong, Prince Éric Guipi Bopala, Kevin Liu, Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, Run Kun Fan and Linda Shi.
The fight for the title continued with playoff games in five sections. Kevin Liu won the title against Prince Eric Guipi Bopala in grade 4, David Craciun won in grade 5 against Julia Tsukerman in two playoff games (Wow!), Qiuyu Huang managed to keep his title for the sixth consecutive year against Léo Richard in grade 6, Zi Yu Guan won against William Zhao and against last year's winner Gabriel Philip Tinica in grade 8 while last year winner, Ananda Saha, snatched the title to Zachary Saine by Armageddon no less in grade 10. A true battle of nerves!
The twelve provincial grade champions will represent Quebec on May 21-22 at the nationals in Toronto, Ontario. Some of the 2017 champions, Alex Jikai Yan, Qiuyu Huang and Run Kun Fan, already have Canadian titles to their credit. Good luck, Québec!
** Lefong Hua, the Quebec Team captain, trains some of the best players and set up a great video between games with his players who participated at the Quebec Chess Challenge. The link is at the end of this article.
Kindergarten
| 1 | Félix Ciufudean | Delson | 5.0/5.0 |
| 2 | Sebastian Arevalo | Montreal | 5.0/6.0 |
| 3 | Gavin Du | Montreal | 5.0/7.0 |
| 4 | Matisse Gélinas | Delson | 4.0/6.0 |
| 5 | Rae Chen | Montreal | 3.5/5.0 |
| 6 | Lynn Ke | Lasalle | 3.0/5.0 |
| 7 | Aaron Lou | Montreal | 3.0/5.0 |
| 8 | Edouard Wang | Montreal | 3.0/5.0 |
| 9 | Avery Xiao | Mount-Royal | 3.0/5.0 |
| 10 | Michael Han-Xiang Yu | Montreal | 2.5/5.0 |
Sebastian Arevalo won the playoff against Gavin Du.
Gavin Du won the playoff against Matisse Gélinas.
Top 3 - Kindergarten
Grade 1
| 1 | Nikita Ramamonjisoa | Montreal | 5.0/5.0 |
| 2 | Saad Memon | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 3 | William Benzacar | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 4 | Evan Xuan | Verdun | 4.0/5.0 |
| 5 | Luca Georgescu-Nicolau | Mount-Royal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 6 | Loïc Boutin | Quebec | 4.0/5.0 |
| 7 | Michael Zhang | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 8 | Chen Chen | Brossard | 4.0/5.0 |
| 9 | Yunqi Liu | Brossard | 4.0/5.0 |
| 10 | Victor Nicolae Iordanescu | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
Top 3 - Grade 1
Grade 2
| 1 | Alex Jikai Yan | Verdun | 5.0/5.0 |
| 2 | Lily Ma | Laval | 4.5/5.0 |
| 3 | Mathéo Huard | Rouyn-Noranda | 4.0/5.0 |
| 4 | Christophe Dufresne | Rouyn-Noranda | 4.0/5.0 |
| 5 | Emanuel Kot | Rawdon | 4.0/5.0 |
| 6 | Eric Liu | Lachine | 4.0/5.0 |
| 7 | Barron Jiyu Jiang | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 8 | Zhehaoran Long | St-Laurent | 4.0/5.0 |
| 9 | Ica He | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 10 | Yuanen Hou | St-Adolphe-d'Howard | 4.0/5.0 |
Grade 2 champion: Alex Yan. The Top 3
Alex: 2-time Quebec champion and Canadian champion 2016.
Grade 3
| 1 | Kevin Zhong | Pierrefonds | 5.0/5.0 |
| 2 | Alexander Chang | Montreal | 5.5/6.0 |
| 3 | Richard Bocan | Montreal | 4.5/6.0 |
| 4 | Gwyn Chapdelaine | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 5 | Raphaël Tardy | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 6 | Annie Le Yi Li | St-Laurent | 4.0/5.0 |
| 7 | Zekai He | Lachine | 4.0/5.0 |
| 8 | Benjamin Roy | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 9 | Mathieu Béliveau | Boischatel | 4.0/5.0 |
| 10 | Freddy Xue | Kirkland | 4.0/5.0 |
Alexander Chang won the playoff against Richard Bocan.
The Top 3 - Grade 3 champion: Kevin Zhong
Kevin: 3-time Quebec champion.
Grade 4
| 1 | Kevin Liu | Montreal | 6.0/6.0 |
| 2 | Prince Éric Guipi Bopala | Blainville | 5.0/6.0 |
| 3 | Richard Q. Zheng | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 4 | Zhong Xuan Li | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 5 | Edouard Fernandez Busto | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 6 | Edgar Cao | St-Laurent | 4.0/5.0 |
| 7 | Ankita Jain | Westmount | 4.0/5.0 |
| 8 | Anthony Navala | St-Laurent | 4.0/5.0 |
| 9 | Julien Bassaletti Beaule | Sherbrooke | 4.0/5.0 |
| 10 | Jiacong Li | Pointe-Claire | 4.0/5.0 |
Kevin Liu won the playoff against Prince Éric Guipi Bopala.
The Top 2 - Grade 4
Grade 5
| 1 | David Craciun | Montreal | 6.0/7.0 |
| 2 | Julia Tsukerman | Montreal | 5.0/7.0 |
| 3 | Haruaki Omichi | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 4 | Anahita Farahdel | Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot | 4.0/5.0 |
| 5 | Ziyi Zhong | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 6 | Waleed Adelene Belaid | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 7 | Jiaqi He | Lachine | 4.0/5.0 |
| 8 | Hunter Wei | St-Laurent | 3.5/5.0 |
| 9 | Yu Xi He | Anjou | 3.5/5.0 |
| 10 | Storm Lei | Westmount | 3.5/5.0 |
David Craciun won after two playoffs against Julia Tsukerman.
The Top 3 Grade 5 champion: David Craciun
**Top left photo: David Craciun against last year winner Haruaki Omichi.
Grade 6
| 1 | Qiuyu Huang | Montreal | 5.5/6.0 |
| 2 | Léo Richard | Lorraine | 4.5/6.0 |
| 3 | Owen Liu | Laval | 4.0/5.0 |
| 4 | Daniel-Tianqi Yu | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 5 | Isabelle Wang | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 6 | Tyler Tanaka | Westmount | 4.0/5.0 |
| 7 | Eric Lu | Montreal | 4.0/5.0 |
| 8 | Benjamin Yu | St-Laurent | 4.0/5.0 |
| 9 | Hugo Laroche | St-Cyrille-de-Wendover | 3.5/5.0 |
| 10 | William Dobson | Laval | 3.5/5.0 |
Qiuyu Huang won the playoff against Léo Richard.
The Top 3 Grade 6 champion: Qiuyu Huang
CM Qiuyu: 6-time Quebec champion and Canadian champion 2016 - 2015 - 2014 and 2013.
Grade 7
| 1 | Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux | Montreal | 5.0/5.0 |
| 2 | Wenxuan Zhong | Montreal | 5.0/6.0 |
| 3 | Alexis Demers | Longueuil | 4.0/6.0 |
| 4 | Francis Durette | Anjou | 3.5/5.0 |
| 5 | Caroline Wang | Longueuil | 3.5/5.0 |
| 6 | Xi Ming Yu | Brossard | 3.0/5.0 |
| 7 | Leo Shi | St-Laurent | 3.0/5.0 |
| 8 | Mathias Grandmont | Drummondville | 3.0/5.0 |
| 9 | Tong Cheng Wei | Brossard | 3.0/5.0 |
| 10 | Yushi Wang | Montreal | 3.0/5.0 |
Wenxuan Zhong won the playoff against Alexis Demers.
The Top 3 Grade 7 champion: Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux
FM Shawn: 3-time Quebec champion.
Grade 8
| 1 | Zi Yu Guan | Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue | 6.0/7.0 |
| 2 | Gabriel Philip Tinica | Montreal | 5.0/7.0 |
| 3 | William Zhao | Longueuil | 4.0/7.0 |
| 4 | Muyuan Yang | St-Laurent | 3.5/5.0 |
| 5 | Susan Cai | Montreal | 3.5/5.0 |
| 6 | Jack Ge | Dorval | 3.0/5.0 |
| 7 | Tony Li | Montreal | 3.0/5.0 |
| 8 | Allison Tsypin | Pointe-Claire | 2.5/5.0 |
| 9 | Alec Yu | St-Laurent | 2.5/5.0 |
| 10 | Marin Kiryakov | Montreal | 2.0/5.0 |
Gabriel Philip Tinica won the playoff against William Zhao.
Zi Yu Guan won the playoff against William Zhao.
Zi Yu Guan won the playoff against Gabriel Philip Tinica.
The Top 1 and 3 Champion Zi Yu Guan against Allison Tsypin
Zi Yu: 2-time Quebec champion.
Grade 9
| 1 | Run Kun Fan | Brossard | 5.0/5.0 |
| 2 | Hou Han Zhang | Île Bizard | 3.5/5.0 |
| 3 | Maïli-Jade Ouellet | St-Lambert | 3.0/5.0 |
| 4 | Étienne Latreille | Val-des-Monts | 3.0/5.0 |
| 5 | Alexandru Ciufudean | Delson | 3.0/5.0 |
The Top 3 Grade 9 champion: Run Kun Fan
Run Kun: 4-time Quebec champion and Canadian champion 2010 and 2009.
Grade 10
| 1 | Ananda Saha | Montreal | 6.5/8.0 |
| 2 | Zachary Saine | Outremont | 5.5/8.0 |
| 3 | Cindy Yu | Kirkland | 3.0/5.0 |
| 4 | Matthieu Johnson-Constantin | Montreal | 3.0/5.0 |
| 5 | Evan Zhang | Brossard | 3.0/5.0 |
First playoff: Ananda Saha against Zachary Saine: ½-½.
Second playoff: Ananda Saha against Zachary Saine: ½-½.
Armageddon: Ananda Saha wins against Zachary Saine.
The Top 3 Grade 10 champion: Ananda Saha
Ananda: 3-time Quebec champion.
Grade 11
| 1 | Linda Shi | Montreal | 5.0/5.0 |
| 2 | Michaël Simoneau | Drummondville | 3.5/5.0 |
| 3 | Zilong Xue | Montreal | 3.0/5.0 |
| 4 | Pinchas Antal | Montreal | 3.0/5.0 |
| 5 | Benjamin Bonneau-Landry | St-Denis-de-Brompton | 2.5/5.0 |
The Top 3 - Grade 11 champion: Linda Shi
Linda: 2-time Quebec champion.
Grade 12
| 1 | Olivier Kenta Chiku-Ratté | Montreal | 4.5/5.0 |
| 2 | Hong Rui Zhu | Montreal | 3.5/5.0 |
| 3 | Zong Yang Yu | Montreal | 3.0/5.0 |
| 4 | George Li | Montreal | 3.0/5.0 |
| 5 | Yu Qing Liu | Verdun | 1.0/5.0 |
Grade 12 champion: Olivier Kenta Chiku-Ratté
FM Olivier Kenta: 4-time Quebec champion.
Chess popularity level in Quebec:
It is undeniable to affirm that our students have fun playing chess and it is undeniable that they get benefits that come with the practice of chess. Chess'n Math Association started in 1985 with the idea to promote chess to our youngsters in schools. And that idea grew more and more since then all over Canada. There's nothing like seeing a kindergarten kid who loves playing chess. For him, he's just discovering a fascinating new game, for us, he's just beginning to receive all the advantages that come with the practice of chess. It's not by chance that chess is thought in most of our schools. It is proven to be the ideal learning tool for kids, but what about the benefits in their social and cultural development?! This game that is played since forever and all over the world also brings understanding and attraction to different cultures.
Here, in Quebec, we practice this game in every cities and municipalities. You just have to look at the Top 10 list in second grade: Rouyn-Noranda, Rawdon, Lachine, St-Adolphe-d'Howard ... and the list extends all over the place when we look through the 438 participants!. A huge thanks to our regional coordinators who don't count their hours for this cause and some of them work at it for more then ten years!
Take a look at the Quebec Chess Challenge 2017:
The Quebec Chess Challenge Coordinator welcomes everyone and steps down for the Tournament Director and the Chief Referee. It's about to start!
438 players from all over Quebec - Assistant (Claude Lalumière) and Chief Referee (Thierry Libersan). A work of pro!
We listen to the instructions and the tournament begins!
It's all about concentration!
Champions at work!
They take photos between games, they wait and they take a little nap.
Scholastic chess tournaments can be challenging for parents!
Thank you, parents!
The whole team thanks you!
Virginie Roux, Tournament Director and Maria Manuri, Quebec Chess Challenge Coordinator, invite you for next year!
Special thanks to Lefong Hua for his photos and to our photographer Vadim Tsypin.
Tournament results
Lefong Hua and his photos
Photo album: Vadim Tsypin
VIDEO: Click on the next photo to see the video made by Lefong Hua at the Quebec Chess Challenge. Video on YouTube:
Video