Chess Federation of Canada
Encyclopedia
The Chess Federation of Canada or CFC (French
name: Fédération canadienne des échecs) is Canada
's national chess
organization. Founded in 1872 as the Canadian Chess Association, it was replaced in 1932 by the Canadian Chess Federation (CCF), which for the first time included representation from all major cities in Canada. In 1945 the name was changed to avoid confusion with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
, a political party that shared the same initials. The CFC organizes tournaments and publishes national ratings so all members can see how they compare in playing strength to the rest of Canada. The highest rated player in the country is currently Kevin Spraggett
.
From 1974 to 2008 the CFC published a bi-monthly magazine called Chess Canada. Its former titles were En Passant and CFC Bulletin. The magazine reported on the latest important tournaments in Canada, especially those with Grandmaster
-strength players, including many game scores. The magazine also printed the top ratings of several age groups and top overall in Canada. Chess Canada also posted notices of upcoming tournaments across Canada. It has since been replaced with an online magazine, which contains many of the same functions.
The CFC oversees numerous national events. It organizes the Canadian Open every July, a tournament open to all Canadians as well as to foreign players. The first Canadian Open was held in Montreal in 1956 and saw the participation of Bobby Fischer. In recent years, the tournament has increased in prestige, becoming a part of the ACP Tour
in 2007.http://canchess.blogspot.com/2007/07/association-of-chess-professionals.html In the past, it has attracted such top grandmasters as Boris Spassky
, Paul Keres
, Bent Larsen
, Ljubomir Ljubojevic
, Alexei Shirov
, Vasily Ivanchuk and Nigel Short
. The Canadian Youth Chess Championships are usually held just prior to the Canadian Open at the same location.
The CFC organizes a national championship every one or two years. As Canada is a FIDE Zone, many players earn their International Master or FIDE Master title in the Canadian Chess Championship
. In addition, the CFC runs the Canadian Women's and Canadian Junior Championship. It also sends men's and women's teams to the World Chess Olympiad
every other year.
The Chess Federation of Canada has no affiliation with the Chess'n Math Association
, the major organization in Canada dedicated to promoting chess at the scholastic level.
rating system. CFC ratings tend to be around fifty points higher than United States Chess Federation
ratings and one hundred points higher than FIDE ratings.http://www.chess.ca/CFCvsFIDE.htm
French in Canada
French is the mother tongue of about 7.0 million Canadians . Most native French speakers in Canada live in Quebec, where it is the majority and sole official language. About 80% of Quebec's population are native francophones, and 95% of the population speak French as their first or second language...
name: Fédération canadienne des échecs) is Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's national chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
organization. Founded in 1872 as the Canadian Chess Association, it was replaced in 1932 by the Canadian Chess Federation (CCF), which for the first time included representation from all major cities in Canada. In 1945 the name was changed to avoid confusion with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
, a political party that shared the same initials. The CFC organizes tournaments and publishes national ratings so all members can see how they compare in playing strength to the rest of Canada. The highest rated player in the country is currently Kevin Spraggett
Kevin Spraggett
Kevin Spraggett is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He is the fourth Canadian to earn the grandmaster title, after Abe Yanofsky, Duncan Suttles and Peter Biyiasas. Spraggett is the only Canadian to have qualified for the Candidates' level, having done so in 1985 and 1988...
.
From 1974 to 2008 the CFC published a bi-monthly magazine called Chess Canada. Its former titles were En Passant and CFC Bulletin. The magazine reported on the latest important tournaments in Canada, especially those with Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
-strength players, including many game scores. The magazine also printed the top ratings of several age groups and top overall in Canada. Chess Canada also posted notices of upcoming tournaments across Canada. It has since been replaced with an online magazine, which contains many of the same functions.
The CFC oversees numerous national events. It organizes the Canadian Open every July, a tournament open to all Canadians as well as to foreign players. The first Canadian Open was held in Montreal in 1956 and saw the participation of Bobby Fischer. In recent years, the tournament has increased in prestige, becoming a part of the ACP Tour
Association of Chess Professionals
The Association of Chess Professionals is a not-for-profit organisation, the closest thing in existence to a trade union for professional chess players. According to Article 2 of its terms:-History:...
in 2007.http://canchess.blogspot.com/2007/07/association-of-chess-professionals.html In the past, it has attracted such top grandmasters as Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
, Paul Keres
Paul Keres
Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
, Bent Larsen
Bent Larsen
Jørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
, Ljubomir Ljubojevic
Ljubomir Ljubojevic
Ljubomir Ljubojević is a Grandmaster of chess. He was born on November 2, 1950, in Titovo Užice, Yugoslavia . Ljubojević was awarded the International Master title in 1970 and the GM title in 1971. He was Yugoslav champion in 1977 and 1982. He won the 1974 Canadian Open Chess Championship...
, Alexei Shirov
Alexei Shirov
Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov is a Soviet-born Latvian chess grandmaster. He has consistently ranked among the world's top players since the early 1990s, and reached a ranking as high as number four in 1998...
, Vasily Ivanchuk and Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
. The Canadian Youth Chess Championships are usually held just prior to the Canadian Open at the same location.
The CFC organizes a national championship every one or two years. As Canada is a FIDE Zone, many players earn their International Master or FIDE Master title in the Canadian Chess Championship
Canadian Chess Championship
This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the next stage of the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle...
. In addition, the CFC runs the Canadian Women's and Canadian Junior Championship. It also sends men's and women's teams to the World Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
every other year.
The Chess Federation of Canada has no affiliation with the Chess'n Math Association
Chess'n Math Association
The Chess'n Math Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing chess into Canadian schools...
, the major organization in Canada dedicated to promoting chess at the scholastic level.
Ratings system
The CFC uses the ELOElo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
rating system. CFC ratings tend to be around fifty points higher than United States Chess Federation
United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...
ratings and one hundred points higher than FIDE ratings.http://www.chess.ca/CFCvsFIDE.htm
Current Champions
- Canadian Champion: Nikolay Noritsyn
- Women's Champion: Natalia KhoudgarianNatalia KhoudgarianNatalia Khoudgarian is an Armenian chess player, who is one of the top female chess players in Canada.She holds the FIDE Woman International Master title. She represented Canada at the Women's World Championship 2006 and twice at the Women's Olympiads .On the November 2011 FIDE list her Elo rating...
, Dina Kagramanov - Junior Champion: Bindi Cheng