Juniors to Masters International Team Match: Canada vs. Romania - May 10, 2020
On Sunday, May 10, 2020, our Juniors to Masters Canada Team played in a friendly international team match with IM Catalin Ardelean’s LPS Satu Mare and Friends Romania Team. This team match gave us an opportunity to recognize the hard work and volunteer efforts of our JtM In House Masters and our JtM Leadership Development Team, and as such we were able to assemble two fairly balanced teams for this exciting match.
Our 12 Boards JtM Canadian Team played two rapid games (15 mins + 10 sec. incr.) on chess.com with the same opponent (as Black and as White). The 2-Round team match was then followed by a friendly Blitz team match.
Our Juniors to Masters Team was well represented by: FM Eugene Hua, FM Joshua Doknjas, FM John Doknjas, NM Henry Zhang, WIM Svitlana Demchenko, NCM Neil Doknjas, James Windram, Michelle Hua, Harrison Liu, Joshua Imoo, Kaitlyn Tao, and Josiah Field.
LPS Satu Mare and Friends Romanian Team was represented by: FM Stanciu Alexandru, Dicu Dan-Alexandru, Angheluș Alin, WFM Aciu Malina, Tampea Radu, Coroian Sebastian, Ilonczai, Levente-David, Mongescu Victor, Radu David, Ardelean Lorela, Balan Briana, and Covrig Larisa.
After Round 1, the team match score couldn’t have been closer:
Juniors to Masters Canada Team = 5.5 pts and LPS Satu Mare Romania Team = 6.5 pts.
Heading into the final round, Round 2, and trailing by 1 pt., our JtM Team knew the magic team number needed from the combined 2 rounds’ team match score to be 12 for a team match tie result and 12+ for a team match win.
Round 2’s team match score was just as close as Round 1’s, but this time the scores were flipped:
Juniors to Masters Canada Team = 6.5 pts. and LPS Satu Mare Romania Team = 5.5 pts.
The FINAL TEAM MATCH SCORE produced an exciting Team Match TIE!
Juniors to Masters Canada Team 12 pts. and LPS Satu Mare Romania Team 12 pts.
Juniors to Masters Team Canada Team | RESULTS (2 Rapid Games) | LPS Satu Mare and Friends Romanian Team | |
| 1 | FM Eugene Hua (2335) | 0.5 - 1.5 | FM Stanciu Alexandru (2323) |
| 2 | FM Joshua Doknjas (2305) | 1 - 1 | Dicu Dan-Alexandru (2130) |
| 3 | FM John Doknjas (2220) | 0.5 - 1.5 | Angheluș Alin (2230) |
| 4 | NM Henry Zhang (2133) | 2 - 0 | WFM Aciu Malina (2091) |
| 5 | WIM Svitlana Demchenko (2071) | 0.5 - 1.5 | Tampea Radu (2006) |
| 6 | NCM Neil Doknjas (2064) | 2 - 0 | Coroian Sebastian (1976) |
| 7 | James Windram (1879) | 1 - 1 | Ilonczai, Levente-David (2044) |
| 8 | Michelle Hua (1605) | 0.5 – 1.5 | Mongescu Victor (2069) |
| 9 | Harrison Liu (1517) | 2 - 0 | Radu David (1814) |
| 10 | Joshua Imoo (1610) | 0 - 2 | Ardelean Lorela (1827) |
| 11 | Kaitlyn Tao (CFC = 1045) | 2 - 0 | Balan Briana (1771) |
| 12 | Josiah Field (CFC = 1462) | 0 - 2 | Covrig Larisa (1764) |
| FINAL TEAM MATCH SCORE = | 12 – 12 TIE | *FIDE ratings show unless otherwise indicated |
Special shout out to the Juniors to Masters Team Members who scored a perfect 2-0: NM Henry Zhang, NCM Neil Doknjas, Harrison Liu, and Kaitlyn Tao.
LPS Satu Mare and Friends Romania Team Members with perfect 2-0 scores: Ardelean Lorela and Covrig Larisa.
After the Team Match with rapid games, we went right into the 2-Rounds Blitz Team Match. Time control was 3 mins + 2 sec incr. and pairings were automatically done by Chess.com based on Chess.com Blitz ratings.
The FINAL TEAM BLITZ MATCH SCORE resulted in a WIN for the Juniors to Masters Team:
Juniors to Masters Canada Team 13 pts. and LPS Satu Mare Romania Team 11 pts.
| Juniors to Masters Team Canada Team | RESULTS (2 Blitz Games) | LPS Satu Mare and Friends Romanian Team | |
| 1 | FM John Doknjas (2516) | 1 - 1 | FM Stanciu Alexandru (2629) |
| 2 | FM Joshua Doknjas (2495) | 2 - 0 | Dicu Dan-Alexandru (2352) |
| 3 | FM Eugene Hua (2400) | 1 - 1 | Mongescu Victor (2368) |
| 4 | WIM Svitlana Demchenko (2308) | 1 - 1 | Coroian Sebastian (2172) |
| 5 | NCM Neil Doknjas (2121) | 1 - 1 | Angheluș Alin (2245) |
| 6 | NM Henry Zhang (2122) | 2 - 0 | WFM Aciu Malina (2093) |
| 7 | Michelle Hua (1817) | 1 - 1 | Tampea Radu (2052) |
| 8 | James Windram (1778) | 0 - 2 | Ilonczai, Levente-David (2024) |
| 9 | Harrison Liu (1770) | 1 - 1 | Ardelean Lorela (1957) |
| 10 | Joshua Imoo (1628) | 0 - 2 | Radu David (1812) |
| 11 | Josiah Field (CFC = 1525) | 1 - 1 | Covrig Larisa (1525) |
| 12 | Kaitlyn Tao (CFC = 1603) | 2 - 0 | Balan Briana (1376) |
| FINAL TEAM MATCH SCORE = | 13 – 11 JtM Team Wins | *chess.com ratings show unless otherwise indicated |
GM Gergely Szabo and IM Catalin Ardelean did an awesome job coordinating and coaching their respective teams to prepare for this international team match, along with Victoria Doknjas who performed the Team Manager duties. Special thanks to the JtM Team’s Parents for their support during the planning stages of this international team event and the actual event itself.
We hope both teams enjoyed our friendly international team match, and we look forward to the next Juniors to Masters team event.
Please check back for GM Gergely Szabo’s post-game analysis as he will provide commentary on some of the more interesting positions from the Juniors to Masters International Team Match.
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Juniors to Masters Chess Academy Inc. is the provider of the National Training Program for Canadian Youths, as sanctioned by the Chess Federation of Canada. Juniors to Masters Chess Academy Inc. was founded by GM Gergely Szabo and Victoria Doknjas. GM Gergely Szabo has been Team Canada’s Head Coach at WYCC, WCCC, World U16 Youth Olympiad, and the Women’s Olympiad. Victoria has been Team Canada’s Head of Delegation at multiple WYCCs and NAYCCs.
Additionally, JtM In-House Masters include published chess book authors (Everyman Chess), FM Joshua Doknjas and FM John Doknjas, as well as FM Eugene Hua and NCM Neil Doknjas.
For more info on Juniors to Masters online group training and special events: https://juniorstomasters.site123.me/registration
