Deen Hergott

His aggregate over seven Olympiads is 36.5/63 (+26 =21 -16), for 57.9 per cent, according to olimpbase.org.

Deen Hergott (born October 23, 1962, in Kitchener, Ontario) is a Canadian International Master of Chess.

By profession, he is a mathematician, computer programmer, and chess journalist.

Deen Hergott learned chess in his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario, and by his mid-teens was approaching National Master strength.

He was selected to play for Canada at the World U26 Team Championship, Graz 1981.

Hergott won the Junior Canadian Chess Championship, 1981–82, and represented Canada in the 1982 World Junior Chess Championship at Copenhagen, scoring a respectable 6/13.

Hergott played in the Toronto Closed in 1981, 1982 and 1987, but moved to Ottawa after that, and has resided there since.

He also successfully represented the University in team chess competition, for example at the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, held in Kitchener, 1984, where he played board one.

Hergott was chosen for the Canadian Olympiad team for Thessaloniki 1984, the first of his seven national selections.

He was on the second reserve board, and scored 1/3.

Hergott studied mathematics at the University of Waterloo, graduating with an honours bachelor's degree in 1986.

For Dubai 1986, he was on board four, and scored 6/10.

Hergott made his first appearance in the Closed Canadian Chess Championship at Winnipeg 1986, also a Zonal year, where he scored 6.5/15 in a strong field.

He tied for third the next year in the Closed at Baie-Comeau, with 5.5/9.

He played in the British Championship, Swansea 1987, scoring 6/11 in a powerful field headed by Grandmaster Nigel Short; Canadian Masters, as Commonwealth citizens, are eligible to play in the British Championship.

The World Chess Federation (FIDE) awarded him the FM title in 1988, and the International Master title in 1991.

At Thessaloniki 1988, he was first reserve, and scored 5/9.

The next Canadian Zonal was Windsor 1989, where he made an even score with 7.5/15.

For Novi Sad 1990, he was again first reserve, and scored an undefeated 7/9 to win the bronze medal on that board.

For Manila 1992, he was on board three, and made 5.5/10.

He tied for fourth in the 1992 Zonal at Kingston, with 6.5/11.

At the strong Linares 1993 round-robin in Mexico, he tied for third with 9.5/15.

That same year in an International Open at Sitges, Spain, he tied for first with 7/9, along with Liuben Spassov and Luis Comes Fabrego.

At Moscow 1994, he ascended to board two, and scored 6.5/11.

Perhaps the best result of his career was a clear first place at the 1994 Marshall Enhance tournament in New York, with 7/10.

In the controversy-marred Closed at Ottawa 1995, Hergott tied for third place with 5/8.

Hergott tied for first place in the 1995 Canadian Open Chess Championship in Toronto with 8/10.

A few weeks later, he shared first at the North Bay International Open on 6/8, along with Bent Larsen and Alexandre Lesiege (En Passant magazine, October 1995, p. 13).

Not selected in 1996, he returned on board four at Elista 1998, and scored 5.5/11.

Hergott placed seventh in the 1996 Zonal at Toronto with 8/15.

Hergott has achieved some significant successes in international events outside Canada.

The next year in 1996, at the Canadian Open in Calgary, he tied for third with 7.5/10.

In a very strong field in the Canadian Open at Winnipeg 1997, Hergott made 7/10 to finish tied for 9th place.

Included among the perfect scores were a 7/7 to win the RA Club Championship in 1997, and a 5/5 to win the Ottawa / Hull Championship in 1998.

Hergott reached his peak Canadian rating of 2580 in 1995, and this is the third highest ever recorded, behind only Grandmasters Kevin Spraggett and Alexandre Le Siege.

His International rating crested at 2485 around the same time.

At home in Ottawa for the Canadian Open in 1998, Hergott made a fine 7.5/10 to tie for fifth place.

Later in 1998 at the North Bay International Open, Hergott tied for sixth with 6/9.

At home in Canada, Hergott has won the Grand Prix series championship for the Eastern Ontario Chess Association nine times, and has been victorious in several dozen weekend tournaments in Eastern Canada, often with dominant scores, including several perfect scores.

His best Zonal performance was Hamilton 1994, where he finished clear second, with 10.5/15, a point behind Grandmaster Kevin Spraggett.