Thanks to the amazing organizational skills of Director Scott Daniels, Warren Junior Scholars and -- for the first time ever -- Rising Stars -- received more than 90 minutes of instruction on chess tactics December 11.

GM Nikola Mitkov and International Master Arjun Vishnuvardhan kept the promising students on their toes as they displayed challenging tactical puzzles via web-conferencing tools. 

More than two dozen Scholars and approaching four dozen Stars participated and many expressed appreciation at the opportunity.

GM Boris Avruhk and National Master Gopal Menon will provide opening training workshops to Scholars and Stars on January 15 and 22.

Additional workshops will include topics such as middle games and positional chess, end games, use of Chessbase software, the exciting world of correspondence chess and the finer points of tournament rules. In-person full-day workshops have been scheduled for March 4.

Warren Scholars is a selective program with US Chess rating as a primary factor: 1900 for high schoolers, 1700 for junior high students and 1500 for others (including females through high school age).

The June ratings supplement is the formal guidestar, resulting in slightly more than 50 Scholars being selected this year.  Just over 100 Rising Stars were selected with impressive but slightly lower credentials. Although the formal designations for this year have been made, it is possible for additional players to be added to training programs during this year... with selection to the 2017-2018 classes coming next July.

The profile for selected players should also include participation in all-age tournaments (not just scholastics) and either the Illinois All-Grade or the K-8 Championships... as well as either the Illinois Open or Illinois Class. 

ICA membership is not required... but it doesn't hurt, and previous ICA membership allowed us to contact many of the potential participants whose exact age / grade level were unknown.

For further information on these programs -- or other opportunities for Illinois youth players, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The ICA appreciates the accommodation of Mr. Mitkov and Mr. Vishnuvardhan -- and all the other wonderful coaches who have signed up -- in supporting our excellent stock of junior players.

And we owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Daniels for his tireless efforts in selecting the classes, recruiting the trainers over many months, and in providing the technology hosting these sessions. Such training to our most promising youth players is long overdue and speaking in first person, am proud to see happening after after a hiatus of over 18 months.

Mr. Daniels has also arranged for ICC accounts for all 150+ Scholars and Stars -- which will allow access to online playing opportunities as well as video training. The ICA is attempting to make an arrangement for DEEPLY-discounted ICC accounts and if you -- or your child -- would like to participate, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..