Club News
Dr G's Hosts First "Chess Plus" Event in Urbana
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- Written by Rachel Artemis Schechter Rachel Artemis Schechter
Dr G's first annual Chess Plus Event, held on May 30 at Urbana's Lincoln Square Mall, added up to three-plus hours of chess adventure for more than 20 youngsters, ages 5-12.
Family and friends gathered as the talented youth enjoyed relaxed yet competitive game play and analysis.
Blitz, Speed, Challenge, Puzzles, Demo Debates, Pawns, Knight/Queen -- and Dr G's Treasure Chess (aye, doubloons!) captivated the audience.
Albanian Expert Dritan Zekaj wins 2015 Lincoln Memorial Open; 3-Way Tie in Reserve: Sean Insley, Tom Segreto, Bryce Lawson
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Dritan Zekaj made quick work of the field at the four-round Lincoln Memorial Open. The four-round event was hosted by the DeKalb Chess Club.
Zekaj, an MBA and JD student, played his final provisional game, raising his USCF rating to 2088. He avenged his loss to Suresh Rajamani in the previous DeKalb event. Rajamani took second place winning his other three matches, boosting his rating to 1851.
Rockford's Elijah Patterson won two of his four games, breaking the 1550-mark for the first time at 1554.
The one-day event observed the 93rd anniversary of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on May 30, 1922.
Winick Perfect at South Suburban II, Eclipses 1900
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Jon Winick swept all four of his opponents to claim the South Suburban Tournament April 26. Winick, prevailed over Douglas Middleton in the final game, surpassing the USCF 1900 rating for the first time.
The upset of the day came when Neel Jay managed to defeat Provisional USCF Expert Dritan Zekaj in the first round, ceding 430 rating points.
Zekaj, an Albanian lawyer, managed to squeeze in some chess between his business and legal studies. He came back strong after his first match, winning his last three games.
Stefan Musikic also finished 3.0/4, losing only to Winick in the third round.
Are You Smarter Than THIS 5th Grader? Daniel Zhang Wins Benito Juarez Spring Open at Lozano Library
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Fifth Grader Daniel Zhang is on quite a roll lately, going 5-0 at the Greater Chicago Championships in February and 6-1 at the ICA's K-8 Championships in early March.
Daniel kept it rolling by winning the Benito Juarez Spring Open at the Lozano Branch of the Chicago Public Library on March 21.
The five-round, dual-section event observed what would have been the 209th birthday of the five-term president of Mexico. The tournament was sponsored by El Campeon Pina Colada and organized by Hector Hernandez.
In the ages 14 and under section, Layla Rodriguez placed just ahead of Daniel Roman.
Strong Field, Large Turnout at Evanston Chess Club January Tournament
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- Written by Maret Thorpe Maret Thorpe
Three masters and five experts showed up for the Gold section of the Evanston Chess Club tournament on January 17, which led to some hard-fought draws in the third and final round. It also meant that five players tied for first with 2.5 scores: NM Ken Wallach, FM Kevin Bachler (Bachler annotates his three games below), and experts David Franklin, Hanson Hao and Daniel Bronfeyn. Thanks also go to guest master FM Albert Chow. Aiden Carey and Jonathan Lee each had perfect scores in the Silver section, and James Marchert Jr. was the sole three-game winner in the Bronze section.