British Columbia Chess Federation

News Archive

BCCF Arbiters

Check out a new list of arbiters resident in BC [(link)](/files/2026 BC National Arbiters.docx). Let us know if we missed anyone.

Posted: June 15, 2026

NA Abigail Wang

Congratulations to BC’s newest National Arbiter, Abigail Wang!

Posted: June 9, 2026

BC Senior Championship

Congratulations to our 2026 BC Senior Champion Arpak Worya. Arpak and BC Junior Champion NM Kate Jiang will represent BC at the Canadian Senior and Canadian Junior Championships in Calgary later this month.

Arpak, BC Chess Championship

Posted: June 9, 2026

Annual General Meeting 2026

The AGM was held on May 17th. The minutes and names of the new executive can be accessed here.

Posted: May 24, 2026

2026 Pan American Junior Chess Championship

The 2026 Pan American Junior Chess Championship was held in El Slavador last weekend. Canada had 28 representatives, about one-third from BC.

Medal Winners:

U7 Female. Echo Fan 9/9, 1st, Yaswitha Suresh 7/9 tied 2nd

U15 Female. Joanne Wangluo 6.5/9, 3rd

U7 Pengyu Chen 6.5/9, 3rd

U13. Barath Subramanian Suresh 7/9, tied 1st

U15. NM Zachary Liu 5.5/9, tied 2nd

Pan Am Junior Chess Championship

Posted: May 22, 2026

Canadian Chess Challenge

The annual Canadian Chess Challenge (grades 1-12) took place in Winnipeg last weekend. Team BC tied for second with Quebec, two match points behind perennial winner Ontario who won every match. BC lost to Ontario and Nova Scotia and defeated all the other provinces including Quebec in match play.

Special congratulations to BC players with top scores for their grades:

Grade 1 – Oscar Yulana Shi 9/9 1st place

Grade 3 – Karson Lu 8/9 2nd place

Grade 6 – NM Lucas Yao 8/9 2nd place

Grade 8 – Nicholas Pei-Chang Wu 6/9 2nd place

Grade 11 – Arya AAdit 7.5/9 1st place

Posted: May 21, 2026

New National Master

Congratulations to Lucas Yao whose NM title was certified by the CFC yesterday.

Posted: May 20, 2026

2026 Paul Keres Memorial Results

Thank you to Umang Banatwala and the rest of the Fraser Valley Chess team for a really great Keres on Victoria Day weekend. There were 197 players in the Open and 39 in the Blitz.

Winners of the sections were:

Premier: GM Vladimir Belous and FM/WIM Megen Lee, both of Seattle tied for first with 5 points out of 6. FM Grigorii Morozov as the top BC player (on tie-break) qualified for an invitation to the BC Closed.

U2000: Gyuwan Lee 5.5 points

U1500: Tianyou Huang 5.5 points

U1000: Weihan Chen and Lucas Zhou 5 points

Blitz: GM Vladimir Bilous and NM Yidong Chen 6 points out of 7

Posted: May 20, 2026

BC vs Alberta Match - UPDATE

Final score: Alberta 31 BC 29. Congratulations to NM Bohan (Henry) Yang for defeating IM Tymur Keleberda in round 3.

Posted: May 4, 2026

BC vs Alberta Match - UPDATE

BC and Alberta are currently battling it out for bragging rights in a match at Salmon Arm. After three rounds, Alberta leads 19.5 - 16.5. Go, BC!

BC-Aberta Match participants - 2026

Posted: May 3, 2026

Announcing Team BC

BC vs Alberta Match Salmon Arm 1-3 May

NM Teodulfo Jojo Nones NM Zachary Liu NM Jason Yidong Chen NM Bohan Henry Yang Barath Subramanian Suresh Zachary Chruzcz Wade Courson Zhiheng Henrik Luo Adrien Howard Aiden Zhu Panshul Mishra Jaiman

Posted: April 15, 2026

2026 Annual General Meeting

The BC Chess Federation will be holding the Annual General Meeting on Sunday, May 17th, 2026. Location: Richmond Curling Club. 5540 Hollybridge Way, Richmond BC, V7C 4N3

Meeting will be in the upstairs skittles room of the venue.

Time: 3pm or immediately following Round 3 of the Keres Memorial Tournament.

Agenda: Send any discussion items to be added to the agenda to BCCF President Paul Leblanc at:

pc-leblanc@shaw.ca

Voting: All eligible (please see below for eligibility requirements) BCCF members are welcome and encouraged to participate in voting on agenda discussions.

Eligibility - Must be at least 14 years of age.

  • Must be current BCCF member (one event played, organized or directed within the past year), OR current CFC member, OR lifetime BCCF member.

  • Must sign in prior to the AGM to confirm above requirements.

New sign in requirement for all members who wish to vote on agenda discussions. Sign in sheets and coordinators will be present at the entrances to the meeting.

Posted: April 15, 2026

CFC Life Memberships

Tired of being pestered to renew your CFC membership? Consider a life membership. It pays for itself after a few years, you lock in today’s membership prices and you never have to worry about renewing again.

The proceeds from life membership sales are invested in the Chess Foundation of Canada which invests the funds on behalf of the CFC and provides an annual stream of income for the CFC.

https://www.chess.ca/en/players/membership-fees/

Posted: March 15, 2026

Players Wanted for Team BC

The BCCF is working with the Alberta Chess Association to hold the annual BC vs Alberta match during the Okanagan Open in Salmon Arm 1-3 May.

8-10 players are needed for Team BC. Contact Paul Leblanc pc-leblanc@shaw.ca for more information.

Posted: March 5, 2026

2026 Canadian Chess Championships - UPDATE

The dates and locations for the Canadian Chess Championships have been announced.

Canadian Closed and Zonal 2-7 April in Montreal

Canadian Women’s Closed and Zonal 2-7 April in Montreal

Canadian Junior Championship 27-30 June in Calgary

Canadian Senior Championship 27-30 June in Calgary

NM Neil Doknjas, winner of the 2025 BC Closed will receive the BCCF travel grant to the Canadian Closed.

Dahlia Quinn, 2nd place on tie-break at the 2025 BC Women’s Championship will receive the BCCF travel grant to the Canadian Women’s Championship. Update: Dahlia Quinn will not be attending. Joanne Wanglou will be BC’s representative.

NM Kate Jiang, winner of the 2025 BC Junior Championship has been invited to receive the BCCF travel grant and represent BC at the Canadian Junior. If she declines, the invitation will go to the next highest finisher willing to attend.

The winner of the 2026 BC Senior Championship, to be held in Surrey 5-7 June will be invited to receive the BCCF travel grant and represent BC at the Canadian Senior. If the winner declines, the invitation will go to the next highest finisher willing to attend.

Details for the national championships can be accessed through the CFC website Events page.

Posted: February 27, 2026

Games Database Updated

The BCCF Games Database has been updated and is now current to February 7, 2026. Database

Posted: February 19, 2026

2026 BC Open Results

Well done to Ryan Leong, Umang Banatwala and the rest of the team for a really great BC Open on Family Day Weekend. There were 237 players in the Open and 61 in the Blitz.

Winners of the sections were:

Premier: NM Neil Doknjas, NM Zachary Liu and FM Jingyun (Ryan) Yang tied for first with 5 points. Neil has already qualified for the BC Closed because he is the current BC Champion so Zachary Liu qualifies for the BC Closed on tie-break over Ryan Yang.

U2000: Alex Yu 5.5 points

U1600: Rafael Yen 6 points (perfect score)

U1200: Muxuan Li 5.5 points Blitz: IM Max Gedajlovic

Posted: February 18, 2026

NM Davaa-Ochir Nyamdor wins the BC Rapid Championship

Congratulations to NM Davaa-Ochir Nyamdor for winning the BC Rapid Championship last Sunday. Davaa finished with 6 points out of 7 in an extremely strong 110 player event that included 3 IMs, 3 FMs and 6 NMs. Also thank you to Vancouver Chess School and IA Stephen Wright for putting on this year’s championship.

Posted: February 5, 2026

2026 Canadian Chess Championships

The dates and locations for the Canadian Chess Championships have been announced.

Canadian Closed and Zonal 2-7 April in Montreal

Canadian Women’s Closed and Zonal 2-7 April in Montreal

Canadian Junior Championship 27-30 June in Calgary

Canadian Senior Championship 27-30 June in Calgary

NM Neil Doknjas, winner of the 2025 BC Closed will receive the BCCF travel grant to the Canadian Closed.

Dahlia Quinn, 2nd place on tie-break at the 2025 BC Women’s Championship will receive the BCCF travel grant to the Canadian Women’s Championship

NM Kate Jiang, winner of the 2025 BC Junior Championship has been invited to receive the BCCF travel grant and represent BC at the Canadian Junior. If she declines, the invitation will go to the next highest finisher willing to attend.

The winner of the 2026 BC Senior Championship, to be held in Surrey 5-7 June will be invited to receive the BCCF travel grant and represent BC at the Canadian Senior. If the winner declines, the invitation will go to the next highest finisher willing to attend.

Details for the national championships can be accessed through the CFC website Events page.

Posted: January 31, 2026

New National Arbiters from BC

Congratulations to our two newest national arbiters: Aaron Holmgren and Eric Zhu

Posted: January 27, 2026

New National Masters from BC

Congratulations to three new national masters:

Kate Jiang, Ryan Leong and Henry Yang.

Posted: January 25, 2026

2025 Chess Player and Supporter of the Year

We are pleased to announce that Victoria Doknjas was voted 2025 Chess Supporter of the Year by the Executive for her hard work and dedication to bring the 2025 Canadian Open and CYCC to BC for the first time in 13 years.

We are also pleased to announce that Karson Lu was voted 2025 Player of the Year for winning the under 8 age group at the CYCC, 1st place at the North American YCC and tie for 2nd at the World Cadet. Karson gained over 700 rating points in 2025.

Posted: January 17, 2026

Annual Membership Count

At the end of 2025 the BCCF had 1888 members, defined as players who played at least one CFC rated game in 2025.

Comparable figures for recent years were:

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Year
Membership

2022
1947

2023
1711

2024
1821

2025
1888

Thank you to all the great organizers in BC who made these extraordinary numbers possible and especially to the heart and soul of BC chess – our players.

Posted: January 5, 2026

National Arbiter Seminars

  1. There will be a National Arbiter Seminar in Victoria on Saturday, January 17th from 10am to 4pm. Attendance and passing the test will earn a norm towards the NA title. Attendance is free. Contact Paul Leblanc (pc-leblanc@shaw.ca) to register.

Flyer: Wright-NA2026.pdf

  1. IA/IO Hal Bond and FA Heidi Gay are pleased to announce an upcoming National Arbiter (NA) Seminar for January 2026. This seminar will be virtual on Zoom. The seminar is open to all interested in chess arbitration, and can be counted towards the requirements for the National Arbiter title. Space is limited to 25 participants.

Details

Posted: December 12, 2025

Congratulations to NM Nathan Ping-Ying Wu!

Congratulations to Nathan Ping-Ying Wu, BC’s latest National Master.

Posted: October 28, 2025

2025 BC Chess Champions

Congratulations to NM Neil Doknjas, 2025 BC Chess Champion and Sofia Vigurs, 2025 BC Women’s Chess Champion.

Posted: October 14, 2025

BC Championships this Weekend!

This weekend the BC Closed Chess Championhip and BC Women’s Open Chess Championship take place at the Fraser Chess Academy, 20486 64 Ave Unit 108, Langley, BC V2Y 2V5. Results can be viewed at the links below.

BC Closed Chess Championship:

Chess Roster Results

Games in Progress

BC Women’s Open Chess Championship:

Chess Roster Results

Posted: October 10, 2025

Kate Jiang wins the 2025 BC Junior Chess Championship

Congratulations to the new BC Junior Chess Champion, Kate Jiang. Kate scored a perfect 5-0 followed by Minjun Koo and Zachary Liu at 4.5-0.5

Results

Posted: October 2, 2025

2025 BC Championship Roster - Update

FM Ethan Song has withdrawn from the Closed and will be replaced with Tristan Taylor.

This year’s BC Championship will take place 10-13 October at the Fraser Valley Chess Academy in Langley. Participants will be:

IM Ray Kaufman FM John Doknjas FM Grigorii Morozov NM Neil Doknjas NM Yidong (Jason) Chen NM Keith MacKinnon Tristan Taylor Lia Rathburn The BC Women’s Championship will be held at the same place. Players rated 1800+ will receive free entry if entered by 30 September.

There will also be an open swiss side event. Space is limited.

Information

Posted: September 23, 2025

National Master Justin Goa

Congratulations to Justin Gao for achieving the National Master (NM) title.

Posted: September 14, 2025

2025 BC Championship Roster

This year’s BC Championship will take place 10-13 October at the Fraser Valley Chess Academy in Langley. Participants will be:

IM Ray Kaufman

FM John Doknjas

FM Grigorii Morozov

NM Neil Doknjas

NM Yidong (Jason) Chen

FM Ethan Song

NM Keith MacKinnon

Lia Rathburn

The BC Women’s Championship will be held at the same place. Players rated 1800+ will receive free entry if entered by 30 September.

There will also be an open swiss side event. Space is limited.

Information

Posted: September 7, 2025

Yidong Chen wins the Langley Labour Day Open

Congratulations to Yidong (Jason) Chen who won the Langley Labour Day Open on the weekend with a score of 5-1. He will receive an invitation to the BC Closed to be held in October.

Results

Posted: September 1, 2025

Karson Lu Wins the North American Chess Championship U08!

Congratulations to Karson Lu who won the North American Youth Chess Championship U08 section last weekend in Kingston, Ontario. Karson finished with 8/9.

Results

Posted: August 25, 2025

2025 Canadian Youth Chess Championships

Congratulations to all BC players in the recent Canadian Youth Chess Championships held in Surrey. We had players at or near the top in every age category.

Special mention to three players who attained national championships:

Kai Zhongkai Zhang (Surrey) tied for first U12 Open

Evelyn Lou (Vancouver) tied for first Girls U10

Karson Lu (Vancouver) clear first U8 Open

Posted: July 22, 2025

2025 Canadian Open Chess Championship Results

Congratulations to 2025 Canadian Open co-winners FM Ryan Yang (Vancouver), GM Shawn Rodrique-Lemieux (Montreal), FM Tymur Keleberda (Edmonton) and FM Stephen Willy (Washington State). All scored 7/9.

U 2000 winner was Aiden Hao-Ting Lu (Vancouver) with 8/9.

U 1600 winner was Zachary Halfar (Burnaby) with 7.5/9.

246 players participated.

Full results at chess-results.com

Posted: July 21, 2025

2025 Canadian Open Chess Championship

The Canadian Open Chess Championship is underway at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel 15269 104 Ave, Surrey, BC. Five rounds have been played. Results and pairings can be viewed at chess-results.com Information on the turnament can be found on the VanCity Chess website at www.vancitychess.ca/tournaments/canadian-open.html.

Games of the top boards can be viewed live at livechesscloud.com.

Times for the remaining rounds are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 6:00 pm. The final round on Friday, July 18, will start at 12:00 pm.

On Tuesday, July 15, the Canadian Open Blitz Championship will be held at the site from 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM. See this link for details.

Posted: July 14, 2025

2025 Annual General Meeting Minutes

The minutes of the 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) minutes have been posted here.

Posted: June 27, 2025

Online National Arbiter (NA) Seminar 18-19 October

An online National Arbiter (NA) seminar will be conducted on 18-19 October by International Arbiter Aris Marghetis. There will be two half-days, 10am to 3pm. Information and registration: tinyurl.com/2025NASeminar

Posted: June 24, 2025

Elliot McCallum at 2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship

Congratulations to 9-year-old Elliot McCallum of BC for his remarkable performance at the 2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship in London.

See Elliot’s results:

Rapid

Blitz

Posted: June 24, 2025

2025 BC Seniors Chess Championship

Congratulations to FM Paul Ross of Victoria, our new BC Senior Champion. In second place was Scott Morgan. Top U1800 was Richard Ingram and Top U1500 was Reynando Potutan. A record 47 players participated.

Results

Posted: June 24, 2025

Keres Memorial Results

Congratulations to Neil Doknjas and Yidong Cheni, co-winners of the 2025 Paul Keres Memorial with scores of 5-1.

T.G.M. Peiris won the U2000 Section with a perfect 6-0.

Nico Xiao Huang won the U1500 Section, scoring 5.5 out of 6.

Dmytro Makogonsky and Jashandeep Singh tied for top U1100 at 5-1.

205 players competed at Trinity Western University in Langley.

Results

Posted: May 21, 2025

Lapu Lapu Condolences

To our beloved members of the Filipino Chess Community we extend our most sincere condolences concerning the senseless violence at yesterday’s Vancouver Street Festival. We hope and pray that your families are safe.

Posted: April 27, 2025

BCCF Annual General Meeting

The BCCF Annual General Meeting will be held during the 2025 Paul Keres Memorial at Trinity Western University in Langley. Start time will be 3pm on Sunday, May 18th .

All members are welcome to attend. Voting age is 14, age for holding a position on the executive is 18.

Posted: April 27, 2025

2025 Canadian Closed

Congratulations to IM Ray Kaufman who finished tied for 3rd in the 2025 Canadian Closed, held in Toronto on Easter weekend. Also excellent results for FMs Ryan Yang and FM Ethan Song tied for 5th place.

Joanne Wangluo, BC’s representative in the 2025 Canadian Women’s Championship finished with a very respectable 4 out of 9.

www.chess.ca/en/ratings/t/?id=202504170

Posted: April 24, 2025

BCCF Executive Meeting

The BCCF Executive will meet on Sunday March 16th. BCCF members are welcome to suggest agenda items. Let the executive know what you think should be our priorities. Contact BCCF President Paul Leblanc (pc-leblanc@shaw.ca).

Posted: March 3, 2025

BC - Alberta Match - Call for Participants

The fourth annual BC v Alberta match will take place in Salmon Arm 2-4 May. Details are on the BCCF Events Calendar. If your rating is 2200+ and you wish to join Team BC, please contact BCCF President Paul Leblanc (pc-leblanc@shaw.ca).

Posted: February 24, 2025

Beware of Phishing Attempts!

Lately there have been some clumsy attempts by hackers who imitate members of the BCCF executive in phishing emails asking for money.

Do not respond to such messages.

  • Paul Leblanc, BCCF President

Posted: February 19, 2025

National Master Title for Yidong (Jason) Chen

Congratulations to Yidong (Jason) Chen for being awarded the National Master title today.

Posted: February 15, 2025

Canadian and Canadian Women's Championship

For those interested, the 2025 Canadian Championship and Canadian Women’s Championship will be held in Toronto 17-22 April. The highest finishing player from each of the 2024 BC Championship and BC Women’s Championship to attend the tournament in Toronto will receive a $1,000 travel grant from the BCCF.

https://2025canclosed.square.site

Posted: February 10, 2025

BCCF Membership

The BCCF has 1,711 members (players who have played at least one CFC rated game in the past year). Source: CFC rating database. At this time last year we had an all-time high of 1,947 members.

Posted: February 10, 2025

Jingyun (Ryan) Yang awarded FM Title

Congratulations to Jingyun (Ryan) Yang for being awarded the FIDE Master title today.

Posted: January 20, 2025

CFC Ratings Boost

Today the CFC did a system-wide boost of ratings to compensate for rating deflation post-COVID. Players who played the most games gained the most points, the theory being that those were the players that lost the most points. For those interested there is a more detailed explanation on the CFC website under “CFC Forums”

Posted: January 2, 2025

On-line FIDE Arbiter Seminar

Aris Marghetis is considering running an online FA seminar in late February. This is a major step towards achieving the title. Participants must already have the NA title.

If you are interested, contact Aris. arismarghetis@rogers.com

Posted: December 19, 2024

Andrew Xu: National Arbiter

Congratulations to Andrew Xu for achieving the National Arbiter title today.

Posted: December 17, 2024

2024 BC Junior Championship

Congratulations to the 2024 BC Junior Champion, Ryan Jingyun Yang.

Ryan won the title last weekend on tie-break with Justin Xu. Both finished with 4.5-0.5 after drawing in their individual encounter in round 4.

In addition to the travel grants awarded by the event, the BCCF will provide $1,000 for travel expenses to the top finisher who attends the 2025 Canadian Junior Championship.

The Reserve Section was won by Jesse Law with a perfect 5-0 score.

The Booster Section was won on tie-break by Josiah Lo (5-0) over Rockwell Chan (also 5-0).

Thank you to all the organizers, arbiters and parents who made this event possible.

Results: http://chess2inspire.org/bcjcc-2024

The CFC Annual General Meeting will take place 20-27 October. BC has 19 representatives, known as voting members who are expected to log in, contribute to the discussions and vote. All other BC players are welcome to view the meeting as guests. The meeting will appear on the CFC website under “forums”.

https://www.chesscanada.info/forum/forum.php

Posted: November 19, 2024

Congratulations to this year's BC Champion FM John…

Congratulations to this year’s BC Champion FM John Doknjas, BC Women’s Champion Lia Rathburn and co-winners of the Western Canada Open NM Niccolo Baldeschi and Yidong Chen.

Posted: October 15, 2024

Congratulations to this year's BC Champion FM John…

Congratulations to this year’s BC Champion FM John Doknjas, BC Women’s Champion Lia Rathburn and co-winners of the Western Canada Open NM Niccolo Baldeschi and Yidong Chen.

Posted: October 15, 2024

BC Chess Championship

takes place this coming weekend at Capilano University Lonsdale at CapU Lonsdale, 250-125 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver. The public is invited to watch the action.

2024 BC Closed Championship Schedule:

Round 1 at 6pm on Friday, Oct 11

Round 2 at 10am on Saturday, Oct 12

Round 3 at 3pm on Saturday, Oct 12

Round 4 at 10am on Sunday, Oct 13

Round 5 at 3pm on Sunday, Oct 13

Round 6 at 10am on Monday, Oct 14

Round 7 at 3pm on Monday, Oct 14

Results after Round 6

Also this weekend at the same venue is the BC Women’s Open and the Western Canadian Open.

BC Women’s Open Standings

See you this weekend!

Posted: October 9, 2024

BC Chess Championship

takes place this coming weekend at Capilano University Lonsdale at CapU Lonsdale, 250-125 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver. The public is invited to watch the action.

2024 BC Closed Championship Schedule:

Round 1 at 6pm on Friday, Oct 11

Round 2 at 10am on Saturday, Oct 12

Round 3 at 3pm on Saturday, Oct 12

Round 4 at 10am on Sunday, Oct 13

Round 5 at 3pm on Sunday, Oct 13

Round 6 at 10am on Monday, Oct 14

Round 7 at 3pm on Monday, Oct 14

Results after Round 6

Also this weekend at the same venue is the BC Women’s Open and the Western Canadian Open.

BC Women’s Open Standings

See you this weekend!

Posted: October 9, 2024

Congratulations to Johnny Dong who achieved the National…

Congratulations to Johnny Dong who achieved the National Arbiter title on October 2.

Posted: October 6, 2024

Congratulations to Johnny Dong who achieved the National…

Congratulations to Johnny Dong who achieved the National Arbiter title on October 2.

Posted: October 6, 2024

BC Arbiters and Organizers

BCCF Guidance on the Use of Ratings

  1.     The primary rating used for section assignment, play-up eligibility, pairings and prizes is the player’s CFC rating provided that rating is current.

  2.     If the player does not have a current CFC rating but does have a current FIDE, USCF or FQE rating then that rating may be used.  The Arbiter will decide if a given rating is 'current'.  In general, “current” means 10 games played in the 12 months preceding the event under consideration.

  3.     Conversion of other ratings to CFC equivalent will be done at par.

Posted: October 6, 2024

BC Arbiters and Organizers

BCCF Guidance on the Use of Ratings

  1.     The primary rating used for section assignment, play-up eligibility, pairings and prizes is the player’s CFC rating provided that rating is current.

  2.     If the player does not have a current CFC rating but does have a current FIDE, USCF or FQE rating then that rating may be used.  The Arbiter will decide if a given rating is 'current'.  In general, “current” means 10 games played in the 12 months preceding the event under consideration.

  3.     Conversion of other ratings to CFC equivalent will be done at par.

Posted: October 6, 2024

The FIDE Chess Olympiad will take place in…

The FIDE Chess Olympiad will take place in Budapest, Hungary starting next Tuesday, 10 September. Penny Pham will be on the Canadian Women’s team. Here is a link to live games:

https://chessolympiad2024.fide.com/

Posted: September 7, 2024

Some of us remember the golden days of…

Some of us remember the golden days of BC Chess when we had two resident grandmasters. One of them was Duncan Suttles, Canadian Champion in 1969. The other was Peter Biyiasas, Canadian Champion in 1972 and 1975.

This weekend IM Leon Piasetsk, playing in San Jose California faced off against Theodore Biyiasas, son of Peter Biyiasas and the late Ruth Haring. Here is the game: https://lichess.org/broadcast/1000gm-labor-day-super-swiss-2024/round-7/Wu22rppL/aKEpjNdd

Posted: September 3, 2024

Congratulations to FM John Doknjas for winning the…

Congratulations to FM John Doknjas for winning the Langley Labour Day Open last weekend. His name will appear on the trophy for the 3rd time.

Congratulations also to James Kerry, 1st U1700 and Tamas Burik, 1st U1000.

Posted: September 3, 2024

Congratulations to Kyle Van Dijk for achieving the…

Congratulations to Kyle Van Dijk for achieving the National Arbiter title today.

Posted: August 14, 2024

2024 BC Championship

. This eight player round-robin will be held at Capilano University Lonsdale in North Vancouver on Thanksgiving weekend 11-14 October. The Women’s Championship and Western Canada Open will share the playing site.

Six invitations will go to:

  • The current BC Champion, NM Neil Doknjas

  • The current BC Junior Champion, NM Jingyun (Ryan) Yang

  • The highest placed BC resident at the Grand Pacific Open, Leo Qu

  • The highest placed BC resident at the BC Open, IM Bindi Cheng

  • The highest placed BC resident at the Paul Keres Memorial, IM Raymond Kaufman

  • The highest placed BC resident at the Langley Open (to be held 31 Aug – 2 Sep)

The remaining invitations are chosen from the rating list among players resident in BC who have played at least 10 regular rated games in BC in the preceding year. The ranking may change by the invitation deadline but here are today’s top contenders with games played:

  • IM Van Than Nguyen 2482 (5)

  • FM Grigorii Morozov 2416 (5)

  • IM Quang Long Le 2408 (10+)

  • FM John Doknjas 2384 (10+)

  • NM Jorge Nunez Asencio 2355 (10+)

  • NM Ethan Song 2349 (10+)

Posted: August 9, 2024

Welcome to GM Shawn Rodrique-Lemieux of Montreal, former…

Welcome to GM Shawn Rodrique-Lemieux of Montreal, former World U18 Champion and highest-rated player currently active in Canada. Shawn will be making his first appearance in BC at the BC Day Weekend Open August 1st to 5th at Roma Hall in New Westminster. https://www.luluislandchess.com/bc-day-open

Posted: July 30, 2024

Congratulations to Jorge Nunez Asencio and Nick Beqo…

Congratulations to Jorge Nunez Asencio and Nick Beqo for sharing first place in the 1st World Chess Day Classical Open 20-21 July. The event, put on by Fraser Valley Chess at Trinity Western University in Langley Township was a success, attracting 106 players. A Blitz tournament was also held with Christian Grecu emerging at the top of a field of 70 players with a score of 7 out of 8.

Posted: July 29, 2024

The Canadian Youth Chess Championships finished yesterday, July…

The Canadian Youth Chess Championships finished yesterday, July 12th in Laval, Quebec. BC had players in first or second place in six of the twelve age groups. Thank you to all our representatives. Special mention to Lucas Yao, tied for first in the U10 Open section and Daniel Zhu, clear first in the U8 Open section. Complete results here: https:// cycc2024.my.canva.site/

Posted: July 14, 2024

For those interested, the Canadian Senior Championship (for…

For those interested, the Canadian Senior Championship (for players aged 50+) has just been announced. It will take place at the Calgary Chess Club on 3-5 August, 2024. The BCCF provides a travel grant of $1,000 to any provincial champion representing BC at a national championship. The winner of the BC Senior Championship, NM Brian McLaren will be our representative.

https://calgarychess.com/CCC/event/event/7072

Posted: July 10, 2024

Congratulations to Harold Brown of Nanaimo for being…

Congratulations to Harold Brown of Nanaimo for being awarded the National Master title by the CFC.

Harold actually earned the title in June, 1988 by achieving a rating of 2306.

Posted: July 8, 2024

Stephen Wright Named 2024 BC Chess Person of the Year

I am pleased to announce that your executive has chosen Stephen Wright as 2024 BC Chess Person of the Year. He is our bulletin editor, a chess coach, chess historian and international arbiter. He was cited for efficient work and professional support to the chess community. I would like to add that as Past President he has been an invaluable resource for me to call on throughout the year.

  • Paul Leblanc, BCCF President

Posted: January 1, 2024