The 2006 Belzberg Invitational Canadian Closed & Zonal Chess Championships took place from August 18-27, 2006 in Toronto, Ontario. There were 65 players competing for the top crown. At the end of 9 rounds, IM Zugic emerged as the clear winner, ahead of GMs Bluvshtein and Charbonneau.
Here are the top finishers:
# Name Rating Points
1 IM Igor Zugic 2524 7.0
2-5 GM Mark Bluvshtein 2512 6.5
2-5 GM Pascal Charbonneau 2512 6.5
2-5 IM Leonid Gerzhoy 2400 6.5
2-5 Vicente Lee Jr. 2236 6.5, etc.
Here is the complete list.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
I had hoped to see Pascal Charbonneau win. but he did well 2nd place.
Seems like a well run tournament with plenty of good hard fought games.
Nice to see a clear winner. I am not a big fan of naming champions on tie breaks.
Vicente Lee lost to 2 experts and didn’t play any titles players, but despite this, because he scored better than 66% in a zonal tournament, he will get the IM title. Any comments on this.
I am sure Vicente Lee, Jr. deserves the IM-designate/elect title. He has beaten quite a few titled players since he came from the Philippines a few years back. Good job, kabayan! Regards and congratulations from Nito of Vancouver, BC.