January Chess Roundup

New Years resolutions. Maybe more time studying chess. Perhaps buying a book. Or studying the book you bought last year. Playing more tournaments. Or fewer tournaments but prepping more for those you do play. Or just relaxing and enjoying the game. Whatever it is you hope to achieve this year there are a lot of people in Illinois Chess with the same goal. For those looking to compete in tournaments there is a lot of chances to get involved. Not only is the Illinois Tour starting back up, but there is a wealth of opportunity to play. In December alone there were events with as few as 4 people and as many as 173. Here are some of the highlights:

December 2: In Naperville, IL the NYCC Quad#3 tournament drew 16 players to this 4 section event. Crosstables.

December 2 thru 9: Oak Lawn had their G/30 Championship Tournament. 14 players participated. Steven Tennant beat out expert Tam Nguyen and fellow master Len Weber to take first place. Crosstable.

December 3: December 11 Get Together Tournament in Peoria, IL had two sections and eight people showing up. Crosstables.

December 3: First Saturday in Dekalb II Tournament. In none other than Dekalb, IL this tournament drew 20 players for this three round event with Lucian Bogdan and Kevin Hyde tying for first with 3.0 points. Crosstable.

December 3: Benjamin Scolastic Pri Elem Tournament in Carol Stream, IL. This scholastic tournament had three sections and 173 players. Pri Elem SectionCrosstables. JH Crosstable.

December 3: Washington Elementary 2011 Tournament. Held in Bloominton, IL there were four sections and 145 players. Crosstables.

December 5: TCC December G/20 Tournament. The smallest turnout for tournaments in Illinois but not without excitement as a provisional player coming out of the box with a 1762 provisional rating. Crosstable.

December 5 thru 26: Dec 2011 Tournament held in Peoria, IL. 12 players participated in this Game 75 D/5 event. Adam Lonn took first and Adam Ford came in second. Crosstable.

December 6 thru 27: Illowa December 2011 Monthly Tournament. 16 Players and 1 section. G/95 in Moline, IL. Crosstable.

December 10: Countryside Dec. 2011 Tournament was held. This scholastic event had three sections and 82 players showing up in Barrington, IL. Crosstables.

December 10: Dynamic Chess held their most recent tournament in Chicago, IL and had 11 players show up in this scholastic tournament. Crosstable.

December 10: Washington Dist 52 Scholastic tournament in Peoria, IL had a pack of kids showing up to this four section event. Winners in each section: 1- Matthew Alexander, 2 - Advaith Prabu, 3 - Nataniel Sobery and Timothy Mou tied, 4 - Yiliang Li. Crosstables.

December 10 and 11: 2011 Illinois Class Championship in Skokie, IL. 82 players participated in this tournament. Breakdown by section: Master/Expert - Tansel Turgut ; Class A/B - Nathaniel Kranjc ; Class C - Jonathan Hrach; Class D - Anthony Gasunas; Class E - Shreya Mangalam; U1000 - Kyle Kras; U700 - Daniel Polski. Crosstables.

December 11: Renaissance Knights held their 72nd Knights Quest Tournament in Northbrook, IL. This four section event drew 81 players. Christopher Girardo took a clear first place in the open section with a little help from 2nd and 3rd place finishers Aung Zin and Aleksanda Stamnov who played and drew each other. In the U1400 Section Bruce Haffner took first by winning all his games. In the U1000 section, two people won all their games: Jake Joseph and Zamman Qureshi. In the U600 section Peter Zlatev finished with 4 points. Crosstables.

December 12-19: TCCC December 2011 G/20 Madness. 7 people played in this Bloomington, IL event. Crosstable.

December 13 thru 27: Quincy Chess Club December Open Tournament had 6 players participating in this G/60 event. Brandon Williams went undefeated. Crosstable.

December 17: Kumbaya 47th Scholastic Tournament was held in Skokie, IL and had 102 players. The winners in each section are as follows: U600 had a tie between Aaron Gan and Alexander Turk; U1000 - Asher Borstein; U1400 - Michael Geohas; +1400 - tie between Ethan Brown and Adil Dzelilovic. Crosstables.

December 18: NSCC G45 Tournament in Skokie, IL had 34 players. Bill Smythe and Adrian Zolkos tied for first. Crosstables.

December 18: DTS #3 Tournament had 33 players and three sections. Crosstables.

December 26 thru 30: 27th North American Masters tournament in Skokie, IL. 12 Players. Almost all master level. Mesgen Amanov took the tourament with 7.5 points after 9 rounds. Crosstable.