The Greater Toronto Chess League

Toronto Closed History

The Toronto Closed Chess Championship has been running annually, with only a couple of breaks, for a 100 years. The oldest record of a Toronto Championship was 1854 (unearthed by Larry Fyffe). Until recently, it was a tournament of the top players in Toronto. Multiple winners include Harry Belson 7, Geza Fuster, Frank Anderson, George Eastman 6, and Lawrence Day 5. Fuster played in 19, which includes 11 in a row! John S. Morrison had 35 years between victories, 1910-45.

It's hard to say which was the strongest one. The highest rated ones were in 1997 and '98, average rating of 2330 and 2332, won by Nickoloff (2606 performance rating!) and 15-year-old Igor Zugic. 17-year-old Nikolay Noritsyn won 9-0 in 2008 (2644 performance rating). Other youth to have won the Championship include Tomas Krnan, Stephen Glinert, Todd Southam, Peter Nurmi, Frank Anderson, and John S. Morrison; Geza Fuster would be the oldest winner at 61 in 1971. Lawrence Day won an all-master Championship in 1995. In 1987 the average rating was 2301 and first was shared by Harry Kaminker and Gordon Taylor; in 1986 average was 2273 and won by Ian Findlay. Zvonko Vranesic won in 1972 against an average rating of 2173 which, given inflation might be 2300 today, and 9-0 in 1959. Lawrence Day had 10.5-0.5 in 1983, Eduardo Teodoro 10-1 in 2000, Peter Nurmi 10-1 in 1974 and Todd Southam 9-2 with a two-point lead in 1990.

There has been at least ten ties for first, 1999 and 1984 had three-way ties for first, and groups close to the top, 1997 had two tied for first and three tied for second, half a point behind. The top rated has won less than half the time. Bob Krstic in 1974 was the biggest upset winner, the lowest rated in a field that included 3 IMs! The lowest rated winner was Peter Murray 2009 in 1979 (although he was 2196) and the last non-master was Goran Prpic 2148 in 2003. In the years of 12-player round-robins an average of 18 of the 66 points were scored by the lower half. The years with the biggest points by the lower half were 1967 (24), 1974 (23), 1973 (22), 1971 (20), and 1986 (20). Notable upsets have been in 2002 Warren Dutton defeated Ian Findlay (399 rating point difference), 1997 Paul Williams defeated Bryon Nickoloff, '90 Zvonko Vranesic lost to Peter Kasinski and Gevork Taschian ; in '86, Ruperto Frilles defeated Vinny Puri, '84 David Lavin defeated the top two finishers, Day and Polacek while Raymond Stone defeated Polacek and Morrison; in '83 Alex Kuznecov defeated Ian Findlay and Robert Morrison; in '79 Nava Starr defeated Roman Pelts; in '78 Lavin again defeated Day; in '77 Jack Patty defeated Day; in '74 Mohan Rajagopal defeated Day; in '73 John Wright, Victor Dzera and Shimon Shahar defeated Day; in '72 Robert Wachtel defeated Day; in '71 Vranesic lost to Harry Posner and Slobodan Krstic, in '70 John Kegeldefeated George Kuprejanov, Slobodan Krstic defeated Denis Allen, and George Berner defeated winner Vranesic (but the result didn't count); in '69 Milan Zagar defeated the top two finishers, Fuster and Dobrich; and in '67 Alvis Zuntaks defeated Vranesic and Milan Zagar defeated Bruce Amos. Biggest comeback is when Fuster went from last in '68 to first in '69 and Krstic from last in '72 to first in '74. In '68 Fuster and Alex Panayotou were tied for last with 3.5, the highest points of a last place finisher.

There has been two people who have won both a Toronto Closed and a Toronto Closed Reserves, Vlad Dobrich and Zoltan Sarosy. For many years the winner of the Reserves was seeded into the next year's Closed. Rising juniors who had won the Reserves and did well in the next year's Closed were lowest rated Jonathan Schaeffer in 1975, fourth with 7.5, lowest rated Peter Matsi fifth-seventh in 1973 with 5.5, and Vinny Puri in 1985 sixth-seventh with 6.5. Sometimes the winners qualified for the Canadian Closed. Giving a list of just the winners is boring, so I mention the major players in history:

1980s

The mid '80s saw the demise of the Toronto Chess Club and Hart House was the main venue for this event. In the mid '80s Lavin organized International Summer Open(s). 1987 saw the first all-master TC, but was won by the seventh and tenth rated players rather than the 2400s! IM Lawrence Day won three times, scoring 10.5-.5 in '83 — the highest score in recent times. He finished third twice, scoring overall +30=22-3, 75%. FM Robert Morrison played five times, winning three, second and third, scoring +30=14-9, 70%. FM Junior Ian Findlay played five times winning twice, second once, scoring 58%. FM Gordon Taylor tied for first when rated seventh, played three times scoring 73%. FM Harry Kaminker played three times, once tying for first, although rated tenth, scoring +13=5-4, 71%. Todd Southam, Canadian Cadet Champion '83-4, played in the reserves for his second time, then won the TC the next year, rated eighth. In five times he scored 67%. In '88 Todd was the Canadian Junior Champion.In 1985 he and his brother David might be the first time two family members together in the top section of the TC. FM Martin Buchholz, Canadian Junior Champion '77, tied for first once, played twice scoring +12=3-6, 64%. Josef Polacek from Czechoslovakia played three times, tying for first the first time he entered (as an unrated), scoring +11=11-11, 50%.

Greek master Ilias Kourkounakis played twice, +11=4-6, 62%. Then Junior, FM now IM, Deen Hergott rated eleventh tied for third, played three times, +15=6-9, 60%. Kevin Pacey played five times, finishing third once, scoring 59%. As well as being the main organizer most years, Stephen Boyd played four times, finishing second twice, scoring +17=16-10, 58%. He made beautiful large typeset wall crosstables. John Pajak, Canadian Junior Champion '80, played four times.+19=9-14, 56%. Organizer David Lavin played four times, scoring +12=9-21, 39%. Then junior, now IM, Michael Schleifer played in the TC once, was rated tenth and tied for fourth, and TCR once. FM John MacPhail and IM Brian Hartman played once. FM Vinny Puri, Canadian Junior Champion '85-7, played in three TC, +16=5-12, 56%, and two TCR, winning one. Lia Bogdan had a plus score in the 1984 TCR. In 1989 78 year-old IM Geza Fuster had a plus score, 6.5-4.5. Dr. George Berner was another old-timer still playing. Canadian Cadet Champion Adam Littke, 14 years-old, tied for first in the Reserves in 1989. Most draws 8 by Day in '86 (In 5 events he drew 40% overall), 7 by Ray Stone also in '86 (In three events he drew 56% of his games) then 6 by Nickoloff in '84 (In 3 events he drew 44% overall).

1970s

Ninety-nine players played in the TCs of the 70s. The 1970 TC was covered in the first issue of Chess Canada, published in Toronto by Dobrich, who also started a new chess column in the Toronto Star. The Central Y Chess Club was run by working members and was packed for Saturday afternoon speed. The Fischer boom saw long weekend tournaments at Hart House get over 300 entries. The student-run high school league and junior tournaments resulted in many juniors participating in the TC such as Stephen Boyd, Victor Dzera, David Lavin and Harry Kaminker. Juniors Peter Matsi, Jonathan Schaeffer, Phil Morenz, and Michael Rohland won the Reserves. Future champions Brett Campbell and Ian Findlay and future masters Michael Dougherty and David Filipovich also played in the Reserves. IWM Nava Shterenberg showed a woman could be competitive scoring +11=4-5, 65%. Some out-of-town players moved to Toronto and entered the TC, including Lawrence Day, John MacPhail, Jonathan Berry, Robert Kiviaho, Roger Langen, and Peter Murray. By the end of the 70s the Toronto and Scarborough Chess Clubs both had over 200 active members. In '71 World Champion Spassky played in the Labour Day, and he returned in '79 to play a simult at the CN tower while Karpov played one in the Eaton Centre. Toronto also hosted the World Computer Championship in '77 and Man versus Machine match in '78.

IM Zvonko Vranesic won strong TCs in '70 and '72 on his way to achieving a GM norm at the Olympiad. His score in five TCs was +31=16-7, 72%. Geza Fuster, getting his IM from the '69 Canadian Closed, tied for first in the TC in '71 at age 61, the oldest winner. He played in 11 straight years! His overall score in six TC was +32=9-23, 57%, tied for most wins with Day and one of the lowest drawing percentages, 14% (versus 24% avg.). George Kuprejanov was tied for first in the '71 TC and second in '70 and '72, getting his IM title at the '72 Canadian Closed in Toronto. His score in the three TCs was +19=8-4, 74%. Peter Nurmi, Canadian Junior Champion '75, was ninth-rated but finished second in '73 and won the TC in '75 and '76. His overall score in four TC was +26=7-9, 70%. Slobodan Krstic, Board 1 of Hong Kong Olympiad Teams, was the most active player, participating in eight TCs in the 70s. Although the lowest rated player, 2017, he won in '74 ahead of three IMs! His overall score was +24=14-42, 39%. Bryon Nickoloff was perhaps the most successful TC player in the 70s. In '78, at age 21, he won after finishing second three times, then moved to Mexico and got his IM title. His overall score in the four TCs was +31=5-5, 82%. Lawrence Day from Ottawa, the top rated Ontario player for most of the 70s, won in '77 and was second in '78. He got his IM title at the '72 Canadian Closed and won the first Ontario Closed in '77. His overall score in five TCs was +32=8-14, 67%, tied for most wins with Fuster. In 1979 sixth rated Peter Murray, 2009, from London, Ontario, won.

Walter Dobrich was a top competitor in the early '70s (playing in eight years straight). His overall score in four TCs was +23=7-12, 63%. Veteran Alvis Zuntaks played in two TC and five Reserves, Barry Saxe in 4 TCs and three TCR, organizer Paul Janicki played in five TCs and one TCR, David MacLeod, U of T organizer and double chess (bughouse) champion, Stephen Boyd, Canadian Correspondence co-Champion '73 and '74, were in four plus one TCR; Jacques van Leusden in one and three TCR, Brett Campbell and Dennis Penovac in four TCR. The most draws in one event is seven by Alex Panayotou in '70 and Terry Shaw in '74. Biggest controversy: Dr. Berner withdrew in '70 over a dispute with the TD over the board position on the adjournment envelope. A big shock was the withdrawal of Denis Allan in '72 with a score of 3.5-.5, 3 withdrawals in 1975, and Nickoloff forfeiting his last round game in 1976 to play for more prize money in a weekend tourney in Buffalo than for first place in the TC.

1960s

In 1962 Alexander Knox of the Scarborough Chess Club got things rolling organizing a swiss Toronto Closed, Team matches and the Canadian Open (won by Benko). 50 players played in five TCs. '63 saw a 16 player round-robin played in one month, after that the TC was split into two or more sections, with the winner of the lower section qualifying for the top section the next year. Tournament reports to Canadian Chess Chat from '66 were by Walter Dobrich who was a member of the U of T's '65 Intercollegiate Chess Championship. 72 players were in the '66 Secondary School CC, Oakwood winning the Globe & Mail trophy. In '67 Scarborough C.C. had grown to sixty members. Distinguished visitors included Fischer in '64, Keres in 67, and Larsen in '68.

Zoltan L. Sarosy, Canadian Correspondence Champion '67, won the '63 TC, and the '68 TCR, being one of two people to have won both sections (the other is Dobrich). His score in the four TCs and one TCR was +25=12-13, 62%. In '63 the top three got chess clocks, the next three sets. Sarosy was the Canadian distributor of Koopman clocks. John Kegel, Canadian Correspondence Champion '66, won in '66, tied for first in '61 and his score in six TCs was +27=18-15, 60%. IM Zvonko Vranesic, Olympic Team member,Canadian Champion '63 and rep in the Interzonal, won in '67. His score in two TCs was +12=5-4, 69%. Dr. George Berner won in '68. In the '50s he was active in organizing chess at the U of T and Casa Loma. His score was +7=3-1, 77%. Geza Fuster, won in '62, finished second in '63, '66, '67, last in '68 and won in '69 and went on to win an IM title at the Canadian Closed. He scored the most wins. His score in the seven TCs was +39=7-21, 63% with one of the lowest drawing percentages 10% (versus 24% average). Apparently, he was often in time trouble by the 15th move.

By the end of the sixties young players Allan, Dobrich, Bruce Amos, and Paul Selick, from Saint John, were a strong force. Denis Allan was second in '68 and his score in four TCs was +18=12-9, 62%. Bruce Amos score in three TCs was +11=13-8, 55% and he went on to win an IM title in Europe in '69. Walter Dobrich score in three TCs and one TCR was +17=13-9, 60%. Jack Patty's score in five TCs was +23=9-19, 54% (and played in three in the '70s). Milan Zager, Toronto C.C. TD, also played in four TCs scoring +15=7-24, 40%. Alvin Zuntaks played in four TCs scoring +12=7-17, 43%. Organizer Tom Carleton played in 2 TC and 2 TCR, veteran Peter Avery played in one TC and 4 TCR. Russel Shurig and Scarborough C.C. Champion Bill Albin played in three TCR, high school organizer Mohan Rajagopal in two TCR. Hart House Board 1 player Dave Grimshaw has the record for the most draws with eight to finish second in '67.

1950s

The 1950s started to have Swiss weekend tournaments, ratings and chess clocks. Zvonko Vranesic, Belgrade Junior Champion, came to Toronto and won the TC with a perfect 9-0 the first time he entered. The 1959 TC might have been played in Casa Loma. Frank Anderson was the dominant Toronto player, winning four TCs in the 1950s, winning the Bernard Freedman Trophy. He won the Canadian Champion, two gold medals at the Olympiad and defeated Russian Champion Igor Bondarevsky when he visited Toronto in 1954. He wrote the chess column in the Hamilton Spectator. Geza Fuster arrived from Hungary and won the TC three years in a row, including a 10-round Swiss. He got to play in an Interzonal in 1958, Olympiad, and other international tournaments. Junior Ross Siemms tied Anderson twice for first in the TC.

Earl Jewitt played in at least six of them, with an overall plus score. Other regulars were Peter Avery (5), Roy Orlando, H. Herbert, and S. Mallinson (4). J.S. Morrison played in 1952-- 43 years after winning his first TC! Ivan Suk, later Ivan Theodorovitch, was a top finisher as was Arnold Lidacis (Canadian Correspondence Champion '55-'59), Rudolph Draxl and Zoltan Sarosy. Later Scarborough Chess Club organizer Howard Ridout played as did the future Yonge Street player Joe Smolij.

1930-40s

The TC winners were John Harry Belson (seven times), Robert E. Martin was usually second to Belson but won three, junior Frank Anderson (twice) and elder John S. Morrison in 1945. Toronto Star chess columnist Charles Crompton won in 1949. Results were published in Chess Review in the U.S.. Chess was being taught in schools and there was a Toronto Junior Chess League.

1920-30s

George Eastman won the Wanless Cup six TCs, three in a row 1929-31, Sydney Gale won three, and Toronto Telegram chess columnist Malcolm Sim also won; he later became an IA. The Canadian Championship was held at the CNE twice.

1900-10s

There was increased chess activity and press coverage. Frank Marshall visited several times. Junior and Ladies Championships were held. A team chess league was started between clubs. John Stewart Morrison won the TC in 1909 and 1910, and later won five Canadian Championships and played in many international tournaments. R.G. Hunter won in 1911 and was a longtime tournament organizer. William Flint Jones won in 1905 and 1907.

The first Toronto Champions were George Palmer 1854, George Palmer 1859, H. R. Forbes 1862, Henry Northcote 1871, and H. J. Rose 1879.

Data compiled and research by Erik Malmsten with help by David Cohen, Andrew McMillan and Hugh Brodie.