British Columbia's biggest chess tournament from april 6

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

Here is some chess tournament news from British Columbia. Their biggest chess event - the Grand Pacific Open - is scheduled to take place from April 6-9 in Victoria, Canada. It would be the sixth edition of the chess tournament. The total prize for the year is $5000. The main event would run as a six-round FIDE and CFC rated Swiss. 

 

There are also a number of side events which are free if you play in the main event and include an active tournament, Midnight Blitz with $100 in prizes, and a Bughouse tournament to finish off the weekend. The tournament hall itself is the very nice ballroom at the 5 Star Grand Pacific Hotel. The hotel is located on the Inner Harbour in downtown Victoria, close to tourist destinations and across the street from the Seattle Clipper and Coho ferry connections.

Last year's winner WGM Nino Maisuradze will be back to defend the title. The BC Chess Challenge (Provincial Scholastic Championship) will take place on April 6 just prior to the GPO. The BC Chess Challenge is open to all BC students in grade K-12. The 1st place player in each grade will qualify for the Canadian Chess Challenge being held in Halifax in May 2012. Chess Challenge players should stay all weekend and play in the GPO as well.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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