2025 St. John's September Chess Festival- Open Championship
Open SwissStandard
14 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held from 05 Sept 2025 to 07 Sept 2025 in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. 3 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 913, and top seed was Steve Martin (🇨🇦 CAN, 1939).
Vimal Simha (🇿🇦 RSA, 1919) won with 4.5/5, ahead of Jordan Berson (4.0) and John David Farrell (3.5). Simha clinched sole first place in the final round.
Location
🇨🇦St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada
Dates
05 Sept 2025 → 07 Sept 2025
Time control
Standard: 90 minutes with 30 second increment from move 1
System
Swiss · 5 rounds
Federations · 3 represented
🇨🇦Canada×6
🇿🇦South Africa×1
🇹🇷Turkiye×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsVimal Simha led from R5; +0.5-point edge over the runner-up.
Co-leaders
6
1
1
1
1
R5 · LEADER CHANGE07 Sept
Vimal Simha takes the sole lead (4.5/5).
R5 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND
Vimal Simha beat Jordan Berson (White).
WIN STREAKS · 3 top finishers
Vimal Simha 3 wins (R3–R5)Jordan Berson 4 wins (R1–R4)John David Farrell 3 wins (R2–R4)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Vimal Simha | * | 1 | 1 | ½ |
| 2Jordan Berson | 0 | * | — | 1 |
| 3John David Farrell | 0 | — | * | — |
| 4Bao Moon Nguyen | ½ | 0 | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simha, Vimal | 1919 | RSA | +3B | =5N | +4B | +8N | +2B | 4.5 | 13.5 | 15.5 | 14.00 | 2739 | +21.2 |
| 2 | Berson, Jordan | 0 | CAN | +12N | +10B | +8B | +5N | −1N | 4.0 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 8.00 | 1911 | 0.0 |
| 3 | Farrell, John David | 0 | CAN | −1N | +13B | +14N | +7B | =4N | 3.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 4.00 | 1119 | 0.0 |
| 4 | FIDE 329111383 | 0 | — | +7N | =9B | −1N | +11B | =3B | 3.0 | 12.5 | 14.0 | 6.75 | 1633 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Nguyen, Bao Moon | 0 | CAN | +13N | =1B | +11N | −2B | =10B | 3.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 4.75 | 1868 | 0.0 |
| 6 | Kemaoglu, Toprak Deniz | 1726 | CAN | −8N | =7B | =9N | +13N | +12B | 3.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 3.25 | 1643 | -8.8 |
| 7 | FIDE 2680220 | 0 | — | −4B | =6N | +13B | −3N | +14N | 2.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.50 | 1726 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Martin, Steve | 1939 | CAN | +6B | F | −2N | −1B | +9N | 2.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 5.00 | 1918 | -2.4 |
| 9 | Kemaoglu, Muharrem | 1732 | TUR | =11B | =4N | =6B | =10N | −8B | 2.0 | 10.0 | 11.5 | 4.75 | 1702 | -2.8 |
| 10 | White, Chris | 1816 | CAN | +14B | −2N | F | =9B | =5N | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 2.50 | 1733 | -2.2 |
| 11 | FIDE 2665301 | 0 | — | =9N | +12B | −5B | −4N | F | 1.5 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 2.00 | 1733 | 0.0 |
| 12 | FIDE 2674580 | 0 | — | −2B | −11N | F | +14B | −6N | 1.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.00 | 926 | 0.0 |
| 13 | FIDE 2680238 | 0 | — | −5B | −3N | −7N | −6B | F | 0.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 0.00 | 926 | 0.0 |
| 14 | FIDE 2680211 | 0 | — | −10N | F | −3B | −12N | −7B | 0.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.00 | 1016 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Simha, VimalRSA+21.24.5 pts · #5
- 2FIDE 26653010.01.5 pts · #9
- 3Berson, JordanCAN0.04.0 pts · #1
Top rating losers
- 1Kemaoglu, Toprak DenizCAN-8.83.0 pts · #8
- 2Kemaoglu, MuharremTUR-2.82.0 pts · #4
- 3Martin, SteveCAN-2.42.0 pts · #2