August Chess Roundup

Downers Grove TournamentThe dog days of summer are upon us and not all of the heat being generated is from the sun. A lot is coming from over the chess board. Here's some highlights from tournaments and rated play from around the state.

July 9: Lincoln-Way West High School Open in New Lenox, IL had 2 sections (Open, U1100) and 21 players participating. Crosstable.

July 11 thru 25 : Twin City Chess Club. 7 Players. G/30 + 5 Delay. Crosstable.

July 11 thu August 1: Greater Peoria Chess Federation. Game 60. Crosstable.

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Route 20 Chess Club Celebrates One Year of Rated Chess

Route 20 winners: Ma, Kauffman, Conter

Traveling west past McHenry, DeKalb or Kendall County, an Illinoisian finds himself in a part of the state that's hard for him to categorize, being neither "Chicagoland" nor "downstate." It's not an area he has much reason to think about . . . unless he lives there. In this ill-defined area is the little-known micropolis of Freeport, a city not on anyone's list of favored destinations.

Unless you play chess.

Filling a void created by the dormancy of the Rockford Chess Club, the Route 20 Chess Club   (USCF affiliate here), named in honor of the U.S. highway that links northwest Illinois to the outside world, was founded in 2009.

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2011 FIDE Continental Americas Amateur Chess Championship

First place winner Carl Haessler. Over the 4th of July holiday, over 100 players representing 5 countries from the Americas participated in the 2011 FIDE Continental Americas Amateur Chess Championship. The event was held at the InterContinental Hotel in Rosemont.The event was a 7R-SS with a time control of 90 30 (Game-90 with a 30-sec increment).

The event had many twists and turns but in the end we finished with the following results:

1st place - Carl Haessler
2nd place - Prashantha Amarasinghe
3rd place - Jim Mundy

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Stamnov Tops Double Class

Albert Chow, Alexandar Stamnov and others analyze.On July 2-3 about 50 players turned out to play in the inaugural All American Double Class tournament. No player scored a perfect 5-0, but in the top section [M/X] FM Alexandsar Stamnov scored 4.5 points for clear first. This section included 2 IMs, a total of 11 Masters, and an average rating over 2200! Tying for 2nd/3rd were IM Angelo Young, FM Albert Chow, Kevin Cao, & Peter Gilruth. Top players in the A/B section with 4 points were Zhaozhi Li and Andrew Pheasant. Top players in the C/D section were Rudy Padilla and Jordan Nach. The only 4 point score in E/U was scored by Andrew Hochstadt.  Full results are available on the USCF web site MSA section.

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July Chess Fireworks Roundup

Ted Mercer at the Continental AmateurDuring July, you may think of the founding of our country, grilling, and the flag. A few hundred Illinois players also thought of chess. And the fireworks metaphor held up for a few of these players over the board. Here's a summary of some of the tournaments and results that happened around the state during the first couple weeks in July.

July 1-4 : 104 chess players travelled to Skokie, IL to participate in the Continental Americas Amateur Class Championships Tournament. Crosstable. 

July 2nd and 3rd: 47 people played in the All American Double Class Tournament in Oakbrook, IL. Crosstable.

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