Josh Flores replaces Patrick Cohen as secretary and Dan Wilson accepts general board position

There have been a couple of board changes. Patrick Cohen contacted me a couple of weeks ago to let me know he was going to resign in a couple of months due to his limited time to be available for meetings. I contacted Josh Flores to see if he would take over the secretary position, since he held it previously. He was willing to start in March and Patrick was willing to resign effective February 29. Patrick has informed me he will graciously assist the board with several behind-the-scenes efforts he does to help this great organization.

Daniel Wilson had previously  reached out to me to see if he could be part of the board. Since Josh was currently on board as a general collar county member, we now had an open position. The board offered Dan that position.

We now have a full board minus a downstate general board position. If anyone is interested please email Josh at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,

Thanks and please lets welcome Dan and Josh to their new positions and thank Patrick for his many years of service where I personally will miss his input and knowledge at meetings.

Steve

President Illinois Chess Association

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Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Chess State Championship 2024

 

Illinois High School Association (IHSA)

Chess State Championship 2024

Peoria, Illinois February 9-10, 2024




Firstly, I’d like to thank the organizers and the directors, along with all of the players for making this edition of the IHSA State Championship the best it could’ve been.

 

I myself played in the tournament, and I can confidently say that it was an amazing experience – more than simply being a tournament, but as a way to make friends and bond as a team.

 

After the first day, when we were 4/4, the anticipation for the possibilities of the following day was immense. And even though we didn’t end up performing as well as we hoped, the experience was all that mattered.

 

I’ve been to many tournaments throughout my life, but something about this one was special. The opportunity of being able to be with friends outside of the plain school environment, on top the combination of my own hobbies, made this an exceptionally special tournament.

 

Enough about that, onto the results of the tournament.



128 teams played in the tournament – after the first day, only 8 teams remained undefeated.

 

Round 5; Final 8 undefeated

Table 4: Aurora (IMSA) defeated Naperville (Neuqua) 56.5 vs 11.5

Table 3:Palatine (Fremd) defeated Naperville (Central) 39.5 vs 28.5

Table 2:Chicago (Payton)defeated Evanston (Twp.) 55 vs 13

Table 1:Lincolnshire (Stevenson) defeated Chicago (Whitney Young) 50 vs 18

 

Round 6; Final 4 undefeated

Table 2:Chicago (Payton) defeated Aurora (IMSA) 34.5 vs 33.5

Table 1:Lincolnshire (Stevenson) defeated Palatine (Fremd) 50.5 vs 17.5

 

Round 7, Final round; Final 2 undefeated

Table 1. After a long match, Stevenson and Payton finished the tournament with a draw in the final round. Stevenson eventually won on tiebreakers.

 

Here is the winning team:




Glenn Panner from Chess Weekend supplied individual award medals to all players with at least 5.5 points out of 7. Bronze was awarded with 5.5, Silver with 6, and gold with 6.5 or 7 points. Around 100 players received medals out of 1200.

 

The following participants were awarded medals.

 

Name

Total Points

Medal

Arthur Xu (Jr.)

7

Gold

Dario Pjevic (So.)

7

Gold

Gustavo Garcia (Fr.)

7

Gold

Makhi Fox (Fr.)

7

Gold

Ochirbat Lkhagvajamts (Jr.)

7

Gold

Owen Geraghty (Sr.)

7

Gold

Shakira Luster (Sr.)

7

Gold

Vrishank Ramnath (Jr.)

7

Gold

Benjamin McKendall (So.)

6.5

Gold

Chris Garcia (Sr.)

6.5

Gold

Connor Nance (So.)

6.5

Gold`

Daniel Avalos (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Ekansh Mehrotra (Fr.)

6.5

Gold

Feolu Kolawole (Sr.)

6.5

Gold

Issac Padua (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Paul Hanrahan (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Saboor Khan (Fr.)

6.5

Gold

Sammy McCandless (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Tate Morrison (Sr.)

6.5

Gold

Whitman Kosak (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Adrian Montesino (Sr.)

6

Silver

Andre Dzwiniel (Fr.)

6

Silver

Andrew Coss (Jr.)

6

Silver

Andy Ordway (Sr.)

6

Silver

Andy Yuen (So.)

6

Silver

Arnav Karthikeyan (So.)

6

Silver

Beren Ozer (So.)

6

Silver

Caleb Valentino (Sr.)

6

Silver

David Yong (So.)

6

Silver

David Zappa (Sr.)

6

Silver

Emmett Lin (So.)

6

Silver

Ethan Tobias (So.)

6

Silver

Gavin Snopko (Jr.)

6

Silver

Hansen Du (So.)

6

Silver

Jacob Ang (Sr.)

6

Silver

Jacob Jensen (Sr.)

6

Silver

Jo Swan (So.)

6

Silver

Kayden Zhu (Jr.)

6

Silver

Konrad Kremper (Jr.)

6

Silver

Lazar Martic (So.)

6

Silver

Maddox Todd (Fr.)

6

Silver

Marc Ntumba-Mukadi (So.)

6

Silver

Michael Li (Fr.)

6

Silver

Neil Gani (Sr.)

6

Silver

Ray Sun (Jr.)

6

Silver

Ria Raj (So.)

6

Silver

Sadkrith Malladi (Jr.)

6

Silver

Shalen Chawla (Jr.)

6

Silver

Sohan Bendre (Sr.)

6

Silver

Sreekar Gangavarapu (So.)

6

Silver

Tugstumer Yesuntumur (Sr.)

6

Silver

Tyler Chen (Fr.)

6

Silver

Young Cha (Sr.)

6

Silver

Agastya Sapru (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Andrew Mazzio (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Anthony Tsyganov (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Asher Reedy (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Ayush Shah (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Bao Ta (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Brian Farkas (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Chase Brinkmann (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Christine Liu (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Cole Tupper (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Connor Osullivan (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Craven Andaya (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Daniel Arredondo (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Derek Wietelmann (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Dylan Zec (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Eduardo Mota (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Erik Garcia (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Ethan Montemayor (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Ethan Singerman (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Faris Pena (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Harrison Weinberger (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Iman Ansari (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Jack Drucker (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jacob Plotnick (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Jake Wittman (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jameson Tenopir (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Jamila Matovu (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jerry Bauer (So.)

5.5

Bronze

John Waldo (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jonathan Cheng (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Joshua Gravel (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Joshua Thorstenson (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jovanni Juarez (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Junho Park (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Liam Whitecotton (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Madeline Green (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Matthew Erlec (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Max Lu (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Nolan Collins (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Pauline Yang (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Roman Kash (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Ryan Austin (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Sam Kemeny (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Sanad Abu Awad (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Seth Parent (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Soham Dongre (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Taofeeq Amuda (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Vinay Sridhar (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Wentao Lin (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Wilbert Chu (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Yasin Kansu (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

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2024 Kings and Queens (K-8) and High School CPS Championships

2024 Kings and Queens (K-8) and High School CPS Championships

Senn Park High School

January 20, 2024



The Kings and Queens tournament consisted of three sections – K-4, K-6, and K-8 – with almost 350 CPS players. The High School tournament consisted of two sections:  Junior Varsity and Varsity, which consisted of a combined 175 CPS high schoolers.

 

In the K-4 section, Edison–Blue finished with a perfect 4-0 for an uncontested first place. Three teams tied for second place with 3 points: Keller – Red, Decatur, and Edison – white.

 

Three players from the K-4 section won all 4 games: Natalie Huang from Decatur, Amay Sarupia from Edison – Blue, and Nurislam Ababakirov from Edison – Blue as well. A further three players finished with 3.5/4 points: Angel Salgado from Carson, Camilo Farinella from Edison – White, and Daniel Zheng from Keller – Blue.

 

In the K-6 section, Skinner North beat Pritzker to complete a perfect 4-0 for first place. Second place had a tie of three teams at 3 points, the teams were Lincoln, Edison – RGC, and Pritzker.

 

The K-6 had a remarkable seven players that went undefeated in all 4 games. They were Shrihaan Bathula from Decatur, Shane Thomas Veale and Ethan Villadiego playing for Edison – RGC, Esen Munkhtur and Vincent Yang from Lincoln, and Avida Biswas and Jonathan Cui from Skinner North.

 

Similarly, K-8 was an uncontested victory with a perfect 4-0 by Whitney Young – Gold who beat Lane Tech – AC. Five additional teams tied for second with 3 points: Lane Tech – AC, Decatur, Taft – AC, Bateman, and Keller.

 

The K-8 also had seven players who went undefeated: Gabriel Jael and Kalen Anderson from Bateman, Kyle Mak from Keller, Christopher Vele from Nobel – Blue, and Mason Qiao and Gene Tcheng from Whitney Young – Gold.

 

The High School JV section had one uncontested winner with 4 points: Whitney Young – Orange who beat Whitney Young – Blue during the final round. Four teams also tied for second place with 3 points; Whitney Young - Blue, Walter Payton, Brooks - Blue, and Englewood – STEM Red.

 

Four players from the JV section finished with a perfect record of 4-0. June Vincent Lee Mino from Lincoln Park High – Blue, Alexander Alvarez from Whitney Young – Blue, Chetan Cherukuri and Vincent Pan from Whitney Young – Orange. Additionally, David Zachary Zurawski finished with 3.5 points.

 

Similarly, in the High School Varsity Section, Walter Payton won with a perfect 4-0 after defeating Lane Tech in the final round. Three teams tied for second with three points: Whitney Young, Lane Tech, and Brooks.

 

In the Varsity section, six players had a perfect four wins: Avi Kaplan and Whitman Kosak from Lane Tech, Marco Baldwin from Lincoln Park, Sohan Anup Bendre from Walter Payton, and Dimitrios Deligiannia and Nithin Ramasamy from Whitney Young.

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2024 Illinois K-8 State Chess Championship

The 2024 Illinois K-8 Championship will be both a team and individual event held by Chess Weekend, Inc. with the Illinois Chess Association on March 8-10, 2024 in Schaumburg, IL. The main event will consist of four sections based on grade level – K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8 – with seven rounds starting Saturday morning. Besides the main event, there will be numerous fun side events such as bughouse, blitz, and puzzle-solving contests. 

 

Over 200 trophies will be awarded on top of a commemorative medal or ribbon for all players. Additionally, a wonderful book and equipment vendor will be on site for all needs at the tournament. Though the tournament is an Illinois Championship, players from all states are welcome; but state championship titles go to Illinois players. Complete details of round times and entry fees can be found here.

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ICA Editor and Staff Writer Message

ICA Editor and Staff Writer  – receive any emails sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

My name is Jacob Plotnick and I am the new editor for ICA to write about their tournaments . As the editor and staff writer I will write articles for ICA tour events, state championships, and other larger tournaments. I will additionally take concerns of error into consideration and work to mend them ASAP. I can receive any such emails at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. My goal is to reply to any requests within 72 hours. 

 

I am currently a sophomore in high school and have been playing chess for almost seven years. Outside of chess, my main areas of study are math and engineering. Most recently, the de Rham cohomology, with hopes to pursue aerospace engineering in the future. 

 

If you notice any errors when reading one of my postings, please reach out at your soonest convenience. 

 

Jacob

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Tim Just Winter Open 2024

The Illinois Chess Association would like to congratulate Bill Buklis for successfully running the initial tournament of the 2024 year for the Illinois Chess Tour. The 40th annual Tim Just Winter Open was played from January 5th to January 7th and had six sections ranging from a U1300 to a Major section. There was a separate tournament on the 6th specifically for scholastic players with a further three sections. In total, the event had over 300 players.

 

Major

IM Sam Schmakel defeated Ankush Moolky in the final round to take outright first place. Tugstumur Yesuntumur drew Augusto Cesar Campos to tie for second place.

 

Click the image below to see the top games of round 5: 

U2100

Bryce McClanahan was the outright winner with 4.5/5 points. Artemii Khanbutaey, Steven Napoli, Aidan Baker and Andrey Dmitriev tied for second with a score of 4/5 points.

U1900

Aaron Anderson beat Aayush Thakker and Memanth Samayamantri beat Jack Drucker in their last matches to tie for first with 4.5/5

U1700

Carl John Gibson beat Carmelo S Napoli to finish as the  outright winner at 4.5/5. Carmelo ended with 4/5. Madison Lofts, Harrison Schilling and Nathaniel Bafia all joined Carmelo Carmelo in a four-way tie for second at 4/5.

U1500

There was a two-way tie for first between Kostandinos Skoufos and Alastar WIlliam Keely-Walker, both ended with 4.5/5.

U1300

Hector Guifarro won outright with a perfect 5/5. Hector beat Andy Barrientos who ended up in a five-way tie for second at 4/5.

Scholastic Under 1200

Owen Yang finished in first with an uncontested 5/5. Owen Beat Andy Yu who finished in a four-way tie for second at 4/5.

Scholastic Under 800

Silas Judge and Poojith Jada both won their final games to finish tied with 4.5/5.

Scholastic Under 500

There was another perfect 5/5 by Joshua Anderson. Joshua beat Joseph Zachary Taylow who finished in a four-way tie at 4/5.



The Illinois Chess Association would also like to recognize the following scholastic players for increasing their USCF rating by over 50 points:

Joahua Anderson (U500)

Calvin Rivas (U500)

Joseph Zachary Taylor (U500)

Pierce Kruse (U500)

Joel Jonathan Boodu (U500)

Silas Judge (U800)

Poojith Jada (U800)

Sairam Manimaran (U800)

Aidan Michael Cassidy (U800)

Jotin Samayamantri (U800)

Rogelio Jorge Diaz-Portales (U800)

Neeraj Movva (U800)

Aarav Varshney (U800)

Owen Yang (U1200)

Andy YU (U1200)

Saketh Viswanadha (U1200)

Dane Allen Cooper (U1200)

Kevin McAleenan (U1200)

Nilan Velu (U1200)

Anish Itagi (U1200)

Sahasvath Indla (U1200)

James Patrick Budd (U1200)



If you have any questions or comments, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Jacob Plotnick accepts Position as ICA Editor and Staff Reporter

 

Jacob has graciously accepted the position as our editor and a new position as a staff reporter. Jacob is currently a sophomore at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. He is a former Illinois State Champion for the United States Chess Federation Jr. Grand Prix. In addition to being a Class "B" player, Jacob is also a certified local tournament director.

As our editor, Jacob fills a void that the ICA has had for a number of years. He will be reviewing, editing, and publishing articles sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Jacob will also have a staff position responsible for creating articles and working with organizers for our state championships, ICA tour events, and larger Illinois tournaments and events.

Please join us in welcoming Jacob to his new position.

 

 

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ICA Tour to restart in 2024

 

In July, the ICA conducted a survey among chess players with the intention of getting feedback to help us improve and shape the future of the ICA. We listened and are bringing back the ICA Tour! Details to follow. Our first tour tournament will be the Tim Just Winter Open, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg from Friday, January 5 to Sunday, January 7, 2024.

 

 

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ICA Elections - Nomination Period for 2023 Is Now Open!

The ICA is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the five general members of the Board of Directors. Directors will take office on January 1, 2024 and serve a two-year term.

Who Is Eligible to Be Nominated?

Under the ICA Bylaws, directors must be residents of Illinois and members of the ICA. At least two at-large directors must reside in Cook County or the Collar Counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will), and at least two must reside outside these counties.

Submitting Your Nomination

Any ICA member may submit a nomination. Self-nominations are also permitted and encouraged.
Nominations may be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Nominations must be seconded by 10 voting ICA members and the nominee must agree to serve. The deadline for submitting nominations is October 10, 2023.

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Mex Chess Champ, Age 12, Seeks Help to Compete in World Contest

Levi Kalani Fogo Esquivel, who hails from Tulum in Quintana Roo, is Mexico’s National Chess Champion in the Under-12 category. He earned a gold and two silver medals at the CONADE Games. (CONADE: Comisión Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte.)

He also finished in first place in Las Vegas at the International Youth Championship as well as first in the Illinois Open Championship-Reserve Section. At the Illinois Open Blitz tournament, 3-minute games, he finished in second place in a group of twenty-six players. There he had two wins, and two losses, against two local Masters. Only George Li, an International Master, finished ahead of Kalani.

At the World Open tournaments in Philadelphia, he had outstanding performances which earned him some prizes.

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 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 

Downers Grove Chess Club hosted its 7th tournament this past Saturday April 9th. 40 players turned out for the occasion including 6 masters! The winner was Indiana FIDE Master Dennis Monokroussos with a perfect 4-0 score (defeating FM Aleksandar Stamnov in the final round) to take home the first place prize of $275. 2nd and 3rd was a tie between IM Florin Felecan and FM Albert Chow who drew each other in the final round during an immense time scramble for 3.5-.5 – each took home $138.

The tournament’s turnout was so great that the prizes were increased from 3 book prizes to 10 book prizes! Two of the winners of the upset prizes came in round one, Hao Hansen (1497) defeated DGCC member Daniel Dugovic (1984) and Sritej Vontikommu (1434) took home a win over Wisconsin player Phil Shields (1929). While the third upset prize was taken down by Luo Chengliang (1951) for his victory against FIDE Master Aung Thant Zin (2322)! Their game:

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3 Be6 9. O-O a5 10. a4 O-O 11. f4 exf4 12. Rxf4 Rc8N 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. exd5 Nb4 15. c4 Nd7 16. Rf1 Bf6 17. Rb1 Re8 18. Bd4 Qe7 19. Re1 Bxd4+ 20. Nxd4 Qe3+ 21. Kh1 Nf6 22. Bf1 Qf2 23. Nb5 Rxe1 24. Qxe1 Qb6 25. Qe7 Re8 26. Qxd6 Qe3 27. Qg3

After 27... Qd2? (Better was 27... Qxg3 28. hxg3 Ne4 29. Kh2) Luo played the beautiful 28. Nd6! Re3 29. Qf4 Nd3 30. Ne4 Nxf4 (if 30... Rxe4 31. Qxd2) (if 30... Nxe4 31. Qb8#) 31. Nxd2 g5?! 32. b4 axb4 33. Rxb4 Re1 34. Rb1

34… Re7? +- (34... Rxb1 and maybe Black has some chances to hold this ending 35. Nxb1 Kf8 36. g3 Ng6 37. Nc3 Ke7 38. c5 though White is clearly better.) 35. g3 Ng6 36. d6 Re6 37. c5 Nd7 38. Bc4 Re5 39. Rxb7 Nxc5 40. Rxf7 Kh8 41. d7 Ne6? 42. Bxe6 resigns 1-0

Round3 saw IM Florin Felecan face off against fellow Chicago Blaze teammate NM Trevor Magness. A wild game ensued! Annotations by IM Florin Felecan:

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 dxc4 Trevor and I had our share of gambits together and this time is no different 5. Na3 (Main move in this position is 5. Qa4+ but I decided to go with a more "colorful" idea that might be a better fit for a G/60) 5... Bxa3 6. bxa3 b5!? Trevor does not show much fear of the Catalan bishop 7. Rb1 a6 8. a4 c6?! (Keeping the extra pawn,  but 8... Bb7 has been known to be a safer alternative) 9. Ba3 Nd5 This game is particularly interesting as Black is keen on placing his pieces on light squares only 10. O-O Nd7 11. e4 N5b6 12. Bd6!? Nf6 13. e5 Nfd5 14. a5 (14. Nd4 Bd7 15. a5 Nc8 seemed okay for Black) 14... Na4 15. Nd4 Qd7?! (15... Bd7 16. Qg4 g6 keeping the black queen on the d8-h4 diagonal should keep Black out of trouble on the dark squares and keep the game level.) 16. Qg4 g6 17. Qh4 Bb7 (17... h6!?) 18. Bxd5! The right time to exchange on d5 in order to dominate on the dark squares and keep Black from freeing with c6-c5 18... cxd5 19. f4! ± Qd8 20. Qh6 Qd7 (20... Qxa5 21. f5!± exf5? 22. Rxf5 gxf5 23. Qf6 +-) 21. f5! This pawn break is the only way to exploit Black's weaknesses on the dark squares and his uncastled king 21... gxf5 (21... exf5 22. Rxf5 gxf5 23. Qf6 Rg8 24. e6 transposes back to the game.) 22. Qf6 Rg8 The LONG awaited moment: ALL Black's pieces are on light squares. 23. Rxf5! (23. Nxf5 is weaker and will allow Black to defend successfully) 23... exf5 At this time, both of us were down to a few minutes so any imprecise play could have had disastrous consequences. 24. e6! +- fxe6 (24... Qxd6 25. Qxf7+ (25.exf7+ Kd7 26. Qxf5+) 25... Kd8 26. Qxg8+ Kc7 27. Qf7+ Kd8 (27... Kb8 28. e7) 28. Nxf5 Qc5+ 29. Kf1) 25. Re1 Despite being down a rook, White is winning. 25... Qxd6 26. Rxe6+ Qxe6 27. Qxe6+ Kf8 28. Qf6+ Ke8 29. Nxf5 Kd7 30. Qd6+ resigns 1-0 in light of: Kc8 (30... Ke8 31. Qe7#) 31. Ne7#

An impressive performance from Unrated Alex Ding who turned in a 3-1 result with a win over NM Trevor Magness in Round4 (a win over expert Jeff Dixon in Round2) and a 2286 provisional rating! (His only loss came at the hands of FM Albert Chow in round3). His friend Benjamin Stern was not surprised at Alex’s performance stating, “he plays on ICC all the time!”

Alex Ding - FM Albert Chow Round3

28. Nd2? (White can probably try 28. c4 Rc8=+) 28... Rxb5 29. Nxe4 Nxe5 30. Bxe5 Rxe5 31. Re1?-+ (31. Rg4) 31... bxc3 32. bxc3 Bxg5+ White forfeits on time 0-1

Alex Ding gave some annotations to his game with NM Trevor Magness. Trevor had to play his last ten or so moves entirely off delay as he was down to literally ONE second!

 

NM Trevor Magness-Alex Ding Round 4

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. d3 O-O 11. Nbd2 Na5 12. Bc2 c5 13. Nf1 d5? 14. exd5 Qxd5 15. g4 Bg6 16. Nxe5 Bd6 17. Bf4 Rfe8 18. Ne3 Qe6 19. d4 cxd4 20. cxd4 Bxc2 21. Qxc2 (Alex said he expected Trevor to try 21. Nxc2 Bxe5 22. dxe5 Nd5 +=) 21... Nd5 22. Bh2 (Alex expected 22. Nxd5 Qxd5) 22... f6 23. Nf3 Bxh2+ 24. Kxh2 Qd6+ 25. Kh1 Rac8 26. Qd2 Nxe3 27. Rxe3 Nc4 28. Rxe8+ Rxe8 29. Qc3 Re2 30. b3? -+ Rxf2 31. Rg1 Qf4 32. Rg2 Rxf3  33. Qb4 Rf1+ 34. Rg1 Qg3? (Alex was very harsh on himself for missing mate with34... Qf3+) 35. Rxf1 Ne3 36. Qd2 Nxf1 37. Qe2 Ne3 38. d5 Qxh3+ 39. Kg1 Qxg4+ 0-1 Alex felt Trevor was close to winning at some point in the middlegame.

We are also blessed with annotations from Expert Jeff Dixon about his loss to Alex Ding in Round2 (Alex Ding-Jeff Dixon Round2):

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 [Editor's note: Dixon has credited his renewed interest in this opening to the game Chow-Parmet IL Open Round1 2010 1/2-1/2] d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nh3 this system was advocated by the first World Champion Steinitz 9... Bc5 10. d3 g5 11. Nc3 g4 12. Ng1 Be6N Remarkably, this is apparently a novelty! (12... Nb7 having been played before followed by 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. fxe3 Qb6 15. Qd2!? Qxb2 16. Rb1 Qa3 17. h3 gxh3 18. Nxh3 Rg8 19. Bf3 Na5 20. Nf2 Rg6 21. Nb5 Qxa2 22. O-O Kd8 23. Qb4 Nb7 24. Ra1 Qe6 25. Nxa7 Nd5 26. Nxc6+ Qxc6 27. Qf8+ Kc7 28. Qxf7+ Bd7 29. Bxd5 Rxa1 30. Bxc6 Rxf1+ 31. Kxf1 {1-0 Vysochin,S (2554)-Taborov,B (2450)/Kiev 2003) 13. h3! (if now 13. Be3 the same position could be reached with Be6 already in and Black to move, which seems to be an improvement for Black. I also considered here Bxe3 14. fxe3 Qb6 15. Qc1 but rejected this idea as too passive, allowing Black to ramp up the pressure for instance by Rb8 (or 15... Nd5)) 13... g3!? 14. fxg3! (I was criticizing myself after the game for playing fxg3 instead of 14. Be3?! gxf2+ 15. Kxf2 (15. Bxf2 Bxf2+ 16. Kxf2 Qb6+) 15... Bxe3+ 16. Kxe3 Qb6+ both look good for Black) 14... Qd4! 15. Qd2! O-O-O!? (it turns out that my suggestion of 15... Qf2+ 16. Kd1 Qxg2? 17. Bf3! Qxg3! losses a piece to 18. Nce2! +- due to the attack of the hanging Knight on a5) 16. Bf3 Rhg8 (16... Kb8 or 16... Qd6!? 17. a3 Qc7 and if 18. b4 Nc4 is interesting) 17. Nge2! Qf2+ 18. Kd1 Nc4 19. Qe1 Ne3+ 20. Bxe3 Qxe3 (20... Bxe3? 21. Qxf2+-) 21. Qd2 (21. Bxc6!? is a computer suggestion. I was trying to think more about defending my king and consolidating than grabbing even more pawns, but on the other hand c6 isn't just another pawn, but also a unit controlling d5, shortening my bishop's diagonal, and shielding the black king, so this deserves some attention.) 21... Qf2 22. Ne4 (22. Bxc6!?) 22... Nxe4 23. Bxe4 Kb7?! (23... f5 24. Bxc6 Rd6 25. b4!? (or 25. Ba4 came into consideration)) 24. b4 Be3 25. Qe1! eliminating the queens is necessary (25. Qc3? Bd5! and Black's compensation is growing.) 25... f5 26. Qxf2 Bxf2 27. Bxf5! now White mops up 27... Bxf5 28. Rf1 Bxd3? (28... Bd4 29. Nxd4 Bxd3 is a better version of this) 29. cxd3 Rxd3+? (29... Bxg3 30. Rf7+!  (my originally intended "tricky" move 30. Rf3? {would have lost the advantage to the accurate e4! 31. Rxg3 Rxg3 32. Nxg3 Rxd3+ 33. Ke2 Rxg3 34. Kf2 Ra3! 35. Re1 Rxa2+ 36. Kg3=)) 30. Kc2 Rgd8 31. Rxf2 Rd2+ 32. Kb3 Kb6 33. Rc1 e4 34. Rc3 R8d3 35. Rxd3 exd3 36. Rf3?? (the simple 36. Kc3 Rxe2 37. Rxe2 dxe2 38. Kd2 +- would have ended matters) 36... dxe2 37. Re3 Rd3+ 38. Rxd3 e1=Q notation stops here, though I fought on until I flagged. I am not too concerned about reconstructing the remaining moves, as the assessment here is plenty clear and the winning technique for Black was fairly trivial, my opponent being more than equal to the task. 0-1

The most aesthetically pleasing position I witnessed during my TDing spectating moments came from the game DGCC William Whited 1689 – Awonder Liang 1977 Round3

The beautiful move by Wisconsin Wunderkind 31... Qe5+ received resignation as Kh1 allows Nf2 mate.

And what tournament report would be complete without… annotations from the victor! FM Dennis Monokroussos has kindly provided his games from the tournament with some annotations.

Matthew Hollaway- FM Dennis Monokroussos Round1 reached this position:

Black is clearly better, thanks primarily to the bishop pair, but it's nothing serious yet. However, after 20. Qe2?? Now it's over. Rxe3! 21. fxe3 Rxe3 22. Qf2 Rxg3 23. hxg3 (23. Qxa7 Rxg2+ 24. Kh1 Qxh2#) 23... Bxf2+ (23... Qxg3 is also playable, but as it doesn't win further material I preferred my move, winning the c-pawn rather than a double g-pawn. 24. Bh3) 24. Kxf2 Qxc4 25. b3 Qc5+ 26. Ke2 Bb5+ 27. Bd3 Qc2+ 28. Ke3 Bxd3 29. Rxd3 Qxg2 30. Rf3 Qxa2 Black has too many extra pawns for white to achieve a third-rank fortress. 31. Kd4 g6 32. Rc3 c6 33. Rf6? this loses a rook (or allows a forced mate) to some nice geometry. Qd2+ 34. Rd3 (34. Kc4 Qd5#) 34... Qb4+ 35. Ke3 Qe1+ resigns 0-1 in light of 36. Kd4 (36. Kf4 Qe5+) (36. Kf3 Qf1+) 36... Qe5+ 37. Kc4 Qc5#

 

Expert Isaac Braswell - FM Dennis Monokroussos Round 3

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. d3 :35 Incredibly for a player of Braswell's strength, this took him by surprise and completely unprepared, and he spent 26 minutes deciding what to do. fxe4 5. dxe4 Nf6 6. O-O Bc5 7. Nc3 d6 8. Bg5 O-O 9. Nd5 Kh8 10. Nh4 :24 Nd4 :54 11. Bc4 b5 12. Bd3 :7 c6 This is an older line, and White is doing alright after either capture on f6. it turned out that Braswell was spooked by Black's attacking possibilities there (wrongly!), and after using almost all his remaining time went after my dark-squared bishop (the piece he most feared). 13. b4? :2 Almost a novelty. cxd5N :50 14. bxc5 Ne6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Nf5 :1 Nxc5 17. Bxb5 Nxe4 18. Ne3 d4 19. Nd5 47 seconds Qg5 20. Bc6? Bh3+- It's all over now: White will suffer heavy material losses. 21. g3 Rac8 22. f4 exf4 23. Rxf4 Nxg3 :44; White more or less simultaneously resigned and lost on time. 0-1

FM Dennis Monokroussos - FM Aleksandar Stamnov Round 4

58. Qe5 After many adventures and in growing time trouble, we reached this position. I had been better for a long time, at times with a winning advantage according to the silicon oracle, but time trouble (or the threat thereof) and Black's activity had kept things challenging. Here Black could stay in the game by trading queens or by playing 58... Qf3, but instead he had a blackout. 58... Rf7?? [Editor's note, this blunder should make the amateurs feel better for even masters can have such blackouts at the board!]

Dennis Monokroussos post tournament comment was, "I'd like to thank Daniel Parmet for running the tournament, for his hospitality (thanks to Dan Dugovic as well), and for two bits of good fortune with the pairings. First: In round 2, I was initially scheduled to play an unrated player, Alex Ding. This was an odd pairing. Daniel redid the 2nd round pairings due to another error and this oddity. I was given Greg Bungo instead as an opponent. As Alex's initial estimate of his strength was around 1800 while Mr. Bungo's established rating was 2015, this seemed like a bit of bad luck. By the tournament's end, however, it was another story. Alex went 3-1, losing only a tough game to Albert Chow while beating Trevor Magness in the last round. In the process, he achieved a provisional rating of 2286!

The second piece of good pairing luck was that I didn't have to play IM Florin Felecan. It would have been a more interesting tournament for me had I played him, but there's at least a reasonable chance the tournament might not have ended as successfully!" Dennis blogs at http://www.thechessmind.net/

Participant Jim Froelich had some very positive remarks about the event, “it was well run, and a great venue, and also a pretty strong field!” Dan Sajkowski concurred, “you guys did a great job! The turnout was tremendous and with lots of strong players. Thanks for putting in the effort.” Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Some participants were already asking when the next event would be! Stay tuned to Downers Grove Chess Club Website: (http://sites.google.com/site/downersgrovechess/) for the news on our next event.

Photo credit to DGCC President Brian Smith and TD Daniel Parmet. I would like to personally thank each person who contributed analysis on their games for this article (IM Florin Felecan, FM Dennis Monokroussos, Alex Ding and Expert Jeff Dixon). Thanks to all the participants, I hope to see you again next time!