390 students representing 45 schools established a record turnout for a Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago tournament at Whitney Young High School on Saturday, February 27th. Five rounds were completed in four grade-based sections (K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8), with trophies awarded to the top five individuals and top two teams per section. First place trophies were awarded as follows:

	Individual	Team
K-2	Jeremy Margolin, Bell	Bell
3-4	Matthew Wong, Decatur	Jackson
5-6	Phillip Parker-Turner, Ray	Beasley
7-8	William Radak, home-schooled	Burbank

 

 

 

 

Paul Kash of Whitney Young hosted the event, and arranged for food sales by Taco Bell, which evidently added to the tournament’s appeal.

This year has seen explosive growth for YCFC. The average number of entries in their six yearly tournaments from 2002-2008 was 110. Last year, the average jumped to 142, and this year, the past two tournaments have drawn 296 and 390 respectively. YCFC operates under a mandate of providing tournaments free of entry fees to reduce or eliminate socioeconomic barriers to chess participation in Chicago.