December Chess Roundup

The holidays.  A time to reflect on the year that was and the year that will be.  To celebrate the season with family and friends.

The chess scene in Illinois is much like a family. Yes, it can be dsyfunctional at times, but there is definitely a lot of joy and cameraderie.  A lot we can learn from one another.  There were 15 tournaments within Illinois within the month of November.  The largest of which was the 2011 All Grade tournament with 224 entrants. I'm sure tournament directors Jeff Wiewel and Wayne Zimmerle have at least an interesting story or two from the tournament.

Click below for a snapshot look at all the Illinois Tournaments that happened in November.

November 1 through 22:  Illowa November 2011 Club tournamen had 18 players battling it out in Moline, IL.  Last month the Iowans held onto the top four spots.  This month Illinois players take over the third and fourth spots.  Watch out Iowa, we're coming for you.  Crosstable.

November 5:  224 players made the trek to Peoria, IL for the 2011 All Grade Tournament.  This 12 section tournament had a lot of firepower.  There were no expert or masters at the tournament but there were some young kids with some high ratings.  See for yourself.  Crosstables.    

November 5:  The Evanston Tri-Level Tournament was held and had 38 players come out.  In the Gold Section, I'm imagining Abe Sun felt pretty good about his win over NM Jon Burgess that helped him finish 3.5 out of 4.  In the Silver Section, there was a five-way tie for first with Adem Music, Frank Lasch, Rahul Dhiman, Julien Bendelac, and David Sye all finishing with 3.0 points/4.0 In the Bronze Section, Aidan Kolar had only one draw in the four rounds to finish 3.5/4.0.  Crosstables.

November 5: The Springfield November Open Tournament had 9 players in this G/75 format.  David Long and Gary Blickhan tied with 3.5 points.  Crosstable.

November 7:  The Twin City Chess Club had their TCCC November 2011 G20 Tournament in Bloomington, IL.  4 Players but only one man left standing at the top.  Jonathan Bonwell.  In the Silver Section which had a total of 16 players competing, 5 tied for first with 3.0 points (Adem Music, Fank Lasch, Rahul Dhiman, Julien Bendelac, and David Sye)  In the Bronze Section, Aidan Kolar finished with 3.5/4.0.  Crosstables.

November 11:  The Naperville Youth Chess Club put on the NYCC Quad #2 Tournament.  14 players competed in the 3 section tournament.  Crosstables.

November 12:  The Glenwood Chess Club Inaugral Tournament had 9 players pushing 576 pawns in this four round G/45 tournament.  Mark Robledo Jr., the player going into the tournament with the highest rating, also finished first.  Crosstable.

November 12:  The St. Charles Chess Club sponsored the Grove 2011 Nov. Tournament.  This 3 section scholastic tournament had 96 players.  There was one clear winner in each section with a perfect 5.0/5.0  In the Primary Section it was Thomas Gong.  In the Elem section it was Henry Coplan.  And in the MHA section it was Kent Cen beating out a slightly higher rated Serge Minin to win the section.  Crosstables.

November 13:  The 71st Knights Quest Tournament held by Renaissance Knights was held in Northbrook, IL.  There were 4 sections and 91 players.  In the Open Section, Aung Zin won all his games.  In the U1400 Section, David Wallach drew only one game and finished with 3.5/4.0.  In the U1000 Section, Maxim Arzumanov also drew only won game and finished first with 3.5 points.  A large amount of players in the U600 had two people finishing without losing one game.  Samuel Pastor and Jude Pinto.  Crosstables.

September 22 through November 17:  Fine wine like a fine chess tournament where everybody plays everybody else, can't be rushed.  8 players compted in the St. Charles 2011 KC tournament.  This knock-down drag out fight lasted 7 rounds.  Tenzing Shaw was the only one who came out unscathed, winning all seven of his games.  Crosstable.

November 18:  The G/10 Championship held in Oak Lawn, IL had 10 players battling it out over 5 rounds.  Steven Tennant finished with a perfect score.  Crosstable.

November 19:  Orland Park, IL was the town where the appropriately named Orland Park Fall Championship Tournament was held.  There were two sections and 25 players.  Ankush Moolky took the U600 section and Johan Widmann took the U1200 section.  Crosstables.

November 25 - 27:  2nd North American Amateur Closed Tournament was held in Skokie, IL and drew 20 players to this 2 section event.  In the movie Highlander, they say "there can be only one" and in each section there was.  In Group A, Kent Cen finished with 7.5/9.0 and in Group B, Christopher Girardo finished with 8.0/9.0.  Crosstables.

November 27:  Paul Kash Directed and Dynamic Chess, Inc. Sponsored the DTS #2 2011 Tournament.  This scholastic tournament in Chicago, IL had three section and 44 players.  Crosstables.

November 29:  The November Quick Tournament held in Moline, IL had 10 players for this G20 tournament.  Top rated player won it with 3.5/4.0 points.  Congradulations, John Imgrund.  Crosstable.