2013 Normal Open -- Event Preview

The third stop on the 2013 Illinois Chess Tour will attract 64-square combatants to the Normal Open Saturday, May 4.

Organizer Jeff Smith indicates registrations are already in the double-digits. Last year's event drew 27 players. Among this year's pre-entries is National Master Pete Karagianis fresh off his triumph at the Greater Peoria Open. Says Jeff, in addition to folks from Bloomington-Normal, it's hoped the event will draw players from active Decatur, Springfield, Peoria and Champaign clubs. Will northern Illinois be in the house?

Even a few non-Baptists are likely to show up at North Bridge Baptist Church for the four-round, one-section event.  The first round gets underway at 10am, meaning travelers won't have to get up at the crack of dawn to participate. Jeff indicates the church is about five minutes north of Normal.

Karagianis Sweeps Open Section at GPO 49

Fifth round play at the 49th GPO,
(L to R) Jon Winick, Ivan Wijetunge,
Pete Karagianis, Tom Friske

It'd been almost five years since Scott Schmidt had played a USCF-rated tournament. Under those circumstances, you can forgive the Class B player from drawing a Class D opponent in the first round of the Greater Peoria Open. With the rust dutifully scraped off, Schmidt prevailed in his four subsequent rounds to win the Reserve Section of the 49th GPO.

Master Pete Karagianis went undefeated in the Open Section to claim the $250 first prize at the April 20-21st event, played at the AmericInn of Peoria.

Illinois Tour Marches to Peoria for 49th GPO

The location may be unfamiliar, but nothing can stop the Greater Peoria Open! The 2013 version is the 49th incantation, making it one of the nation's longest running chess events. The April 20-21st five-rounder is slated for the AmericInn on the northside of Peoria.

This is the second leg of the 2013 Illinois Chess Tour -- with the third leg, the Normal Open, coming up two weeks later, May 4.

Young, Angelov and Ulrich Claim 2013 TJWO

A robust field of 125 players (with a few extra games for good measure) competed in the inaugural event of the 2013 Illinois Chess Tour. The five-round Tim Just Winter Open and Reserve was held January 5 and 6 at the Oak Brook Doubletree Hotel.

In the end, a three-way tie in the Open Section meant Angelo Young, Angel Angelov and Thomas Ulrich split $1200 in first place prize money with 4.5 out of 5 scores. Angelo and Angel agreed to a fifth-round draw, while Thomas needed a fifth-round victory over Jonathan Kogan to cement his share of the top prize.

Tour Champion Sam Schmakel Simul Set for March 10th

NM Sam Schmakel

Join us at Marbles: The Brain Store on Sunday, March 10th as 2012 Illinois Chess Tour champion NM Sam Schmakel takes on up to 16 opponents in a simultaneous exhibition, in conjunction with a Tour fundraising sale.

The simul begins at 3:00 P.M. at Marbles: The Brain Store, located at 4745 N. Lincoln, in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. Read More

2012 Tour Winners Set To Begin New Season

A final congratulations to our fifteen 2012 Illinois Chess Tour performance prize winners! In the Open section, NM Sam Schmakel took first place with 25.5 points, securing the victory with a score of 4.5 in the year’s final event, the Illinois Class. Sam was followed, in positions 2-5, by GMs Nikola Mitkov and Dmitry Gurevich, NM Jonathan Kogen and FM Albert Chow.

2013 Tour Begins in Oakbrook

A new year brings football bowl games, renewed resolutions and, most importantly, a new Illinois Chess Tour! The 2013 tour kicks off this weekend with the five-round, two-day Tim Just Winter Open. This marks the 29th continuous year for the event and organizers report a record pre-registration count already!

Tour Enters the Homestretch

This Illinois Chess Tour enters the homestretch this weekend with the eighth of nine Tour events, the 21^st Annual Midwest Class Championships in Wheeling, IL.  Leading all scorers is the most dedicated of Tour participants, scholastic player Andrew Yeuyang Fei.  Andrew has played in all seven tournaments and leads the Reserve – Scholastic section with 25.5 points.  He’s also earned three participation awards, including a $25.00 Illinois Open discount and a $50.00 CCA tournament discount; and is on the verge of snaring a $100.00 chess merchandise gift certificate.

A group of six scholastic players are chasing Andrew with point totals in the 17-20 range: Akshay Indusekar, Maximilian Zinski, Ethan Brown, Aakash Meduri, David Tianjian Peng and Jason Daniels.  Of these, Ethan leads in average score, netting 4.75 per event.

In the Reserve – Adult section, Jim Froehlich leads with 23.5 points, followed by Joe Delay (20.0), Michael Penway (18.5), Gregory Bungo (16.0) and Charles Craigmile (15.5).