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/

Hill & Knowlton Canada on board as Gold Sponsor for the 2007 Canadian Open

The 2007 CO CYCC Organizing Committee is pleased to announce Hill & Knowlton Canada as a GOLD Corporate Sponsor for the 2007 Canadian Open ChessChampionship. Hill & Knowlton is Canada 's industry leader in public relations, public affairs and strategic communications.

Wendy Cumming, Senior Vice President said that Hill & Knowlton is especially pleased to be involved the 2007 Canadian Open.

"Chess represents commitment of the individual and excellence in strategicthinking. These elements represent what webelieve as a company and what we deliver to our clients. The game of chess and our sponsorship of the 2007 Canadian Open is a natural extension of what we excel at as an organization."

The Canadian Open Chess Championship is Canada 's premier annual chessevent and attracts more than 200 players from beginners to visitingworld-class super grandmasters. The 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship runs from July 7 to 15 in Ottawa , Canada . The Championship is run by an organizing committee of volunteers under the auspices of the ChessFederation of Canada , a charitable organization with the mandate to promote and encourage the knowledge, study and play of the game of chess. TheCanadian Open website is http://canchess.ca

About Hill & Knowlton Canada

Hill & Knowlton Canada (www.hillandknowlton.ca ) is Canada 's leading public affairs and public relations firm specializing in government relations and corporate, crisis, consumer marketing, technology, natural resources,healthcare communications and financial and investor relations. Hill &Knowlton Canada is a recipient of Level III Certification under the National Quality Institute's Progressive Excellence Program, and a Top 100 Employerfor 2006. Its parent company, Hill & Knowlton, Inc, is a world leader inpublic relations and public affairs, with 71 offices in 40 countries, and is a member of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) (www.wpp.com ), one of the world's largest communications services groups.

GM David Howell, 16, confirmed for the 2007 Canadian Open

David Howell, who is 16 and Britain's youngest-ever Grandmaster, is confirmed to play in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship.

David, rated 2511, will be playing in Ottawa in July thanks to the kind assistance of the British High Commission.

"This will be my first visit to Canada," says David. "My relatives in Vancouver and Edmonton have told me that it is a very beautiful country. So far I have played chess in 24 countries and I am looking forward to meeting the players and organizers of the 2007 Canadian Open."

Taught the moves of chess at the age of five by his father after they had bought a chess set for £1.00, David a year later defeated WGM (IM) Susan Lalic in a simultaneous display.

When he was eight years old, David shot to prominence in Great Britain, appearing on television and on the front pages of British newspapers, by beating GM John Nunn in a five-minute game.

When he was 11, he scored a draw against world champion Vladimir Kramnik in the last of four blitz games. After the match was over, Kramnik said: "It was definitely not a walk-over, I had to concentrate!" He predicted a great future for David.

David gained his IM title at the age of 14 and made two GM norms soon after. He clinched his Grandmaster title in January at the Rilton Cup tournament in Stockholm, Sweden.

Chess aside, David's favourite music includes the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Foo Fighters. He is a great fan of the Lord of the Rings movies, and he enjoys reading JRR Tolkien and JK Rowling.

David is the ninth Grandmaster to confirm his participation at the Canadian Open, to be staged July 7 to 15 at the Ottawa Marriott. For more information, please visit: http://canchess.ca/

Photo credit: http://www.chessbase.com/

Grandmaster Susan Polgar coming to the CYCC in Ottawa

Grandmaster Susan Polgar, winner of four Women’s World Chess Championships, will be coming to Ottawa in July to preside over the Canadian Youth Chess Championship.

The Championship, sponsored by TELUS, is Canada's premier chess event for young Canadians. The seven-round tournament will determine the top boy and girl in each of six age categories. The worthy winners will be sent to Antalya, Turkey, in November to represent Canada at the 2007 World Youth Chess Championship.

"This historic event is made possible by the generous support of TELUS," said Gordon Ritchie, chair of the organizing committee for the Championship. "The presence of former World Champion Polgar will make this a memorable occasion for all the participants and will help put Ottawa at the centre of chess in Canada in July."

The major sponsor of the Youth Championship, TELUS Corporation, is the largest telecommunications company in Western Canada and the second largest in the country. It provides a wide range of wireline and wireless telecommunications products and services including data, Internet Protocol (IP), voice, video and entertainment services.

"TELUS believes supporting the 2007 Canadian Youth Chess Championship is an excellent way for us to encourage and support young Canadians in achieving their academic and intellectual goals," said Janet Yale, TELUS executive vice president, Corporate Affairs. "It is part of our commitment to becoming Canada's premier corporate citizen by making a positive difference in the communities where we live, work and serve."

Grandmaster Susan Polgar, winner of four Women's World Chess Championships, will act as the event's Honorary Chairperson. The Hungarian-born Polgar is herself a former chess prodigy and renowned advocate for chess as a means to assist children of all ages flourish in school and gain important life skills.

"Research around the world has supported my belief," says Ms. Polgar. "Countless studies have shown that chess can help develop critical thinking that can be used in other areas of a child's life, academics and social situations."

Ms. Polgar will be deeply involved at the Championship, interacting with its participants and their parents in groups and individually. Ms. Polgar will give lectures, provide group instruction and play chess against dozens of the CYCC players in a simultaneous chess exhibition.

Expected to draw more than 200 young Canadian chess players, the CYCC will be staged July 3 to 6 at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. The participants will be welcomed to Ottawa by Mayor Larry O'Brien at a reception at Ottawa City Hall.

***

More information about the Canadian Youth Chess Championship can be found at http://canchess.ca.

To learn more about TELUS, please visit www.telus.com

Visit Susan Polgar online at http://www.susanpolgar.com/ and http://www.susanpolgar.blogspot.com/

Photo credit: http://www.susanpolgar.com/

GM Aveskulov confirmed to play in the 2007 Canadian Open.

Ukrainian Grandmaster Valeriy Aveskulov is confirmed to play in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship, to be held at the Ottawa Marriott, July 7-15, 2007.


GM Aveskulov, 21, is rated 2539 and rising. His most recent victory was at the North American Winter Open in February in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Scoring 6-1, he finished ahead of three other GMs including Alexander Shabalov and Pascal Charbonneau and five IMs. He defeated Shabalov, a former U.S. champion, in just 22 moves.

[Event "OCF Winter NAO FIDE Open"]
[Site "Stillwater USA"]
[Date "2007.02.18"]
[EventDate "2007.02.17"]
[Round "5"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Valeriy Aveskulov"]
[Black "Alexander Shabalov"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2517"]
[BlackElo "2602"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. d3 Qc7 6. Qe2
Ne7 7. Nh4 g6 8. e5 Bg7 9. f4 O-O 10. Nf3 f6 11. Nbd2 fxe5 12. fxe5 Nf5 13. c3 Ba6 14. Ne4 Qa5 15. O-O Rab8 16. g4 Ne7 17. c4 Kh8 18. Be3 Ng8 19. Bxc5 d5 20. Bxf8 Rxf8 21. Nd6 dxc4 22. dxc4 1-0

GM Aveskulov is the eighth grandmaster to confirm his participation in the Canadian Open, to be held July 7-15 at the Ottawa Marriott. He joins GMs Nigel Short, Vadim Milov, Sergey Tiviakov, Suat Atalik, Abhijit Kunte, Mark Bluvshtein and Alex Yermolinsky. More GMs will be confirmed as the event nears.


For more information about the 2007 Canadian Open, visit: http://canchess.ca

Super-GM Sergey Tiviakov to play in the 2007 Canadian Open

Super-grandmaster Sergey Tiviakov, the reigning Dutch chess champion, will play in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship in Ottawa in July, ensuring there will be a tussle at the top for first prize.


GM Tiviakov, 34, is very pleased that he will be making his first trip to Canada this summer. "I dreamed of visiting Canada from my early years. And what else can be dreamed of than starting a visit to the country than its capital city?" GM Tiviakov says. "I am very glad that my dream will soon come true and that I'll play in a very interesting strong tournament as well."
GM Tiviakov was born in Krasnodar in the former Soviet Union. He began his chess studies at five years of age and a few years later was studying in the school of the Former World Champion Vassily Smyslov. He began his professional chess career before he was 16, and was the World Junior Champion U-16 (1989) and U-18 (1990).

His highest rating was 2699 in the fall of 2005. His current rating is 2663.

The list of GMs playing in Ottawa also includes GM Nigel Short (2691), GM Vadim Milov (2676), GM Suat Atalik (2584), 2006 Canadian Open co-winner GM Abhijit Kunte (2527), GM Mark Bluvshtein (2520) and GM Alex Yermonlinsky (2511). More GMs will be confirmed as the Canadian Open nears.

A lover of languages and travel, GM Tiviakov speaks Russian, English, Italian, Dutch and Spanish languages. He has visited 54 countries and territories so far, and calls the Dutch city of Groningen home.

He is a keen reader of books on the paranormal, ancient civilizations, UFOs and other subjects. The 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship will be staged in Ottawa from July 7 to 15 at the Ottawa Marriott.

Event website: http://www.canchess.ca/

Photo credit: http://www.chessbase.com/