IM Thomas Roussel-Roozmon coming to CYCC and Canadian Open

Laval, Quebec International Master Thomas Roussel-Roozmon, one of Canada's great young chess hopes, will be the IM-in-residence at the 2007 Canadian Youth Chess Championships.

Thomas is 19 and has a FIDE rating of 2447. He represented Canada at the 2006 Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy. Just six years earlier, he won the Boys Under-12 section of the CYCC, and represented Canada at the WYCC in Oropesa Del Mar, Spain, where he finished 9th.

Thomas earned his IM title just a few days before his 16th birthday.

As the IM-in-residence at the CYCC, Thomas, who is fluently bilingual, will be available to share his extensive chess knowledge with and analyse the games of all players.

Thomas says he is looking forward to giving back to the CYCC. He might even enjoy being the event's in-house teacher more than he enjoyed playing. "I'll be more relaxed," he says. "It will be a lot of fun."

This year's CYCC will be staged from July 3 to 6 in Ottawa at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.

Thomas will also be playing in the Canadian Open Chess Championship, which runs from July 7 to 15 in Ottawa at the Ottawa Marriott. He will certainly be one of the leading Canadians to root for, and he is hoping to achieve a grandmaster norm in the strong field which currently includes eight grandmasters.

"I’ve been to Ottawa a few times in the past and I always had a good time there," says Thomas. "The presence of world-class players like Short, Milov and Tiviakov will make this event very interesting, so I’m glad that I’m going to play such a strong tournament in a very nice city."

At the 2005 Canadian Open in Edmonton, Thomas finished 11th.

Outside of chess, Thomas studies mathematics and economics at the University of Montreal.

For more information on the CYCC and Canadian Open, please visit: http://www.canchess.ca/

Photo Credit: http://www.monroi.com/