Organized gameplay of chess in Canada began in 1844, when the country's first club was founded in Montreal, Quebec. [1] The Canadian Chess Association was founded in Hamilton, Ontario in 1872, which was later renamed to the Canadian Chess Federation in 1932 and later in 1945 the Chess Federation of Canada (French: Fédération canadienne des échecs). As of 2024, the CFC has over 2,500 members. [2]
Notable tournaments hosted regularly in Canada include the Canadian Open, which has seen various non-Canadian players play including Boris Spassky, Paul Keres, Bobby Fischer, Bent Larsen, Alexei Shirov, and Vasyl Ivanchuk. [3] The Canadian Chess Championship and the Canadian Women's Chess Championship are closed to only Canadian players, unlike the Canadian Open, and winners advance to the FIDE Chess World Cup. Canada has regularly sent men's and women's teams to Chess Olympiads. The Chess'n Math Association is a non-profit aimed to further the representation of chess within Canadian schools. [4]
Canada has also hosted various one-off tournaments of global relevance. The World Chess Championship 1894 between Wilhelm Steinitz and Emanuel Lasker was contested in Montreal from games 12 to 19. In 1957, Toronto hosted the World Junior Chess Championship, which was won by William Lombardy. In 1971, Fischer defeated Mark Taimanov 6-0 in a Candidates qualification match in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1975, Keres won the Vancouver Open, and while flying home, died during a stopover in Helsinki, Finland. The Paul Keres Memorial is hosted in both Vancouver and Keres' home country Estonia. Most recently, Toronto hosted the Candidates Tournament 2024, with eight competitors of five nationalities, resulting in its winner Gukesh D qualifying to play the World Chess Championship 2024.
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The Chess Federation of Canada or CFC is Canada's national chess organization. Canadian Chess Association, founded in 1872, 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. The CFC organizes tournaments and publishes national ratings. The highest rated player in Canada is Evgeny Bareev of Toronto.
Duncan Suttles is a chess grandmaster. Canada's second grandmaster after Abe Yanofsky, Suttles was recognized internationally for the originality of his strategic play in the mid-1960s and 70s. He retired from competitive chess in 1985.
Mark Bluvshtein is a Soviet-born Canadian chess player. He became the youngest Canadian ever to achieve the title of Grandmaster in 2004, at the age of 16. He previously achieved the title International Master at the age of 13.
Maurice Fox was a Canadian chess master. He won the Canadian Chess Championship eight times, and is tied for the most Canadian titles with Abe Yanofsky.
Kevin Spraggett is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He was the first Canadian-born player and fourth Canadian overall to earn the grandmaster title, after Abe Yanofsky, Duncan Suttles and Peter Biyiasas.
Alexandre Le Siège, also known as Alexandre Lesiège, is a Canadian chess player who holds the FIDE title of Grandmaster. He has won three Canadian championships and represented Canada in world championship qualifying events and Olympiads.
Lawrence Alexander Day is a Canadian chess player, author, and journalist who holds the FIDE title of International Master. He represented Canada at 13 Chess Olympiads.
Jonathan Berry is a Canadian International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster, a FIDE Master, a FIDE International Arbiter, and a chess administrator, writer and editor. He is the only Canadian ever to hold international titles for over-the-board chess, correspondence chess, and chess arbiter.
Peter Biyiasas is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He was Canadian champion in 1972 and 1975, represented Canada with success on four Olympiad teams, and played in two Interzonals. He moved to the United States in 1979, settling in California. He retired from competitive play in the mid-1980s to work as a computer programmer. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was a frequent training partner of Bobby Fischer, who stayed at his home in San Francisco for extended periods.
Deen Hergott is a Canadian International Master of Chess. By profession, he is a mathematician, computer programmer, and chess journalist.
Pascal Charbonneau is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He has won two Canadian Chess Championships, in 2002 and 2004, and has represented Canada in five Chess Olympiads: 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008.
Jean Hébert is a Canadian chess player, writer, journalist, and commentator who holds the ICCF title of Correspondence Chess Grandmaster and the FIDE title of International Master. The winner of the Canadian Chess Championship in 1978 and 2009, he also tied for the title in 2007, but lost in playoffs. He represented Canada at the 1979 Interzonal tournament as well as seven times at Chess Olympiads. He also took part in the Chess World Cup 2009, but was knocked out by Peter Svidler in the first round. In 2022, Hébert won the Canadian Seniors' Championship.
The Canadian Open Chess Championship is Canada's Open chess championship, first held in 1956, and held annually since 1973, usually in mid-summer. It is organized by the Chess Federation of Canada. The event celebrated its 50th rendition in 2013.
Eric Hansen is a Canadian chess grandmaster and Twitch streamer. FIDE awarded him the grandmaster title in 2013. He competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2011 and 2013. Hansen has represented Canada in the Chess Olympiad.
Richard Wang is a chess international master from Canada. Wang became the second youngest International Master in Canadian history at the age of 13 at the 2012 Canadian Closed Chess Championships (Zonal) held in Montreal, Canada. Other notable achievements include winning two bronze medals at the World Youth Chess Championship: the first in 2009 in the U12 Boys section and the second in 2012 in the U14 Boys section. He is one of the few Canadians to win more than one medal at the WYCC.
Canadian chess periodicals encompasses the names, publication dates and history of the many chess magazines published in Canada.
Laszlo Witt was a Hungarian-Canadian International Master of chess.
Razvan Preotu is a Canadian chess grandmaster.
Aman Hambleton is a Canadian chess grandmaster and Twitch/Kick streamer. He is a member of the Chessbrahs, along with other grandmasters such as Eric Hansen (founder), Robin van Kampen, and Yasser Seirawan.
Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux is a Canadian chess grandmaster who won the 2022 World Under 18 Chess Championship. He completed all requirements for a Grandmaster title in 2023 at the age of 19, and was officially awarded the GM title in January 2024. He is the youngest grandmaster in Quebec's history.