2025 Canadian Open Event Report by Tyler Sanderson, Co-Chair
A Week of National Talent in Surrey, BC
The 2025 Canadian Open Chess Championship brought Canada's top chess players to Surrey, British Columbia, from July 12th to 18th. Hosted at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel, this tournament attracted 246 confirmed participants across its three sections: Open, U2000, and U1600. The tournament delivered a week of high-stakes competition, tactical brilliance, and a friendly spirit among players from across the country and beyond.
Crowning Champions
With over $25,000 in prizes, the competition was fierce across all divisions – and IM norm possibilities became a reality. The Open section (82 players) saw an incredibly tight finish, with four strong players tying for first place, each scoring 7.0 points (in tiebreak order):
🥇 FM Jingyun (Ryan) Yang (BC) - Ryan achieved his first IM norm at this event
🥇 GM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux (CAN) - 2nd
🥇 FM Tymur Keleberda (CAN) - 3rd
🥇 FM Stephen Willy (USA) – 4th
Special shout out to GM Gergely Szabo from Romania who spent all 9 rounds on the top three boards, but alas, ended up an ½ point shy of First Place with an undefeated score of 6.5 pts./9 games. GM Szabo and IM Davd Cummings tied for Fifth Place. Also notable, Jorge Nunez Asencio achieved his FIDE Master title, and the following players achieved National Master norms from the event:
- Tobias Salkeld (SK) – officially a National Candidate Master after the event
- Justin Gao (BC) – officially a National Candidate Master after the event
- Ashton Taylor (BC)
- Bingfei Wang (ON)
The Under 2000 section (102 players) featured intense battles, with Aiden Hao-Ting Lu emerging as the sole champion:
🥇 Aiden Hao-Ting Lu (BC) with 8.0 points
🥈 Zhengyu Chen (BC) with 7.5 points
🥉 Norman Verdon (BC) with 7.0 points
In the Under 1600 section (62 players), Zachary Halfar claimed the top spot:
🥇 Zachary Halfar (BC) with 7.5 points
🥈 Jason Ji (BC) with 7.0 points
🥉 Shreyas Krishna Prasad (BC) tied for 3rd with 7.0 points
🥉 Tommy To (BC) tied for 3rd with 7.0 points
Special Events The Canadian Open offered two special events for players: a blitz tournament, and a grandmaster simul. A special highlight was the Simultaneous Exhibition with Canadian Grandmaster Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, providing a unique chance for attendees to challenge a top-tier chess professional. The People Behind the Event
An event of this scale is made possible by strong leadership and dedicated support.
- Event Sponsors: Province of British Columbia, Sport Surrey, Surrey Hotel and Motel Association (SHMA), BC Chess Federation, Tangible Software Solutions Inc, TD Bank, Chess Federation of Canada, Sheraton Vancouver Guildford, Victoria Chess
- Co-Chairs: Tyler Sanderson and Victoria Doknjas
- Organizing Team: GM Gergely Szabo, Murray Chu, Mats Philipzig, NM Neil Doknjas, FM Joshua Doknjas, Dave Doknjas, FM John Doknjas, Tony Vu
- Appeals Committee: Vlad Drkulec, Vlad Rekhson, GM Gergely Szabo
- Special Guest: GM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux
- Arbiter Team: Umang Banatwala, Brian Davidson, Brandon Zhu, Aaron Holmgren
- Outside Tournament Room Team: Ryan Leong, Sabrina Jiang
We extend our sincere thanks to the entire team for their tireless efforts in ensuring a smooth and successful championship.
