ICA Illinois Tour Prizes 2025
Prizes
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Open: Awarded to players with the most Tour points accumulated in open or top-level sections, including the U2300 section at the Chicago Open.
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$500.00 1st
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$450 2nd
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$400 3rd
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$350 4th
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$300 5th
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Reserve – Adult: Awarded to players 19 years of age or older as of the final Tour event who played in one or more reserve or class sections.
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$300 1st
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$250 2nd
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$200 3rd
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$150 4th
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$100 5th
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Reserve – Scholastic: Awarded to players under 19 years of age as of the final Tour event who played in one or more reserve or class sections.
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$300 1st
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$250 2nd
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$200 3rd
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$150 4th
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$100 5th
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Players will earn participation awards based solely on the number of tournaments entered, subject to the requirement of playing a minimum of at least one-half of the scheduled rounds (byes not included).
- 7 Tour events played - Free ICA Membership for the following year ($15.00 value)
- 9 Tour events played - $25 chess merchandise gift
- 11 Tour events played - $50.00 chess merchandise gift
12 Tour events played - $100.00 chess merchandise gift certificate
Read MoreICA Illinois Tour Rules 2025
Purpose
The purpose of the Illinois Chess Tour is to provide a fun and engaging benefit to members of the Illinois Chess Association. The ICA Tour is intended as a “tour” of Illinois chess. This tour does require that the participants be able to travel, either by themselves or with others.
Goals include: increased participation in upstate and downstate Illinois chess tournaments; increased travel to Illinois tournaments, in order to build a stronger social network of players bringing a greater diversity of opposition in over-the-board play; and increased ICA membership.
Structure
The Board of the Illinois Chess Association shall appoint a Tour commissioner (Emily Dawson & Patrick Cohen) to a two-year term. The Tour commissioner shall appoint assistants as necessary, including, but not limited to, a statistician and a marketing director. All Tour positions will be volunteer positions without compensation.
Amendments to these rules, as well as the yearly approval of the Tour schedule, Tour awards, and Tour budget, as outlined below, will be made by majority vote of the ICA Board. The commissioner shall make recommendations to the Board on an annual basis, but shall not have the authority to amend rules, or set the schedule, awards, or budget, without Board approval.
Event Selection
To be considered for inclusion as a Tour event, a tournament must be open to all USCF members without any minimum or maximum rating requirement. Events must have a minimum of four rounds and be played at a time control of Game/60 or slower. New events will not be eligible during their first year.
In choosing Tour events, preference will be given to prestigious, long-running weekend events. Events should be spaced a minimum of two weeks apart, with a wide geographic distribution.
The Commissioner will recommend a schedule to the ICA Board for ratification by majority vote.
Scoring
The Tour will award both performance and participation points based on a simple scoring system.
Performance points will be awarded per tour event based on the tournament score earned (1 point for a win, ½ points for a draw, with byes included).
Participation points will be based simply on the number of tournaments played. One bonus point will be given per tournament on the tour schedule. To earn the participation bonus, at least one-half of the scheduled rounds must be played (byes not included).
Tiebreakers -
The first tiebreaker for performance awards will be the number of tournaments played.
The second tiebreaker will be the total number of wins.
The third tiebreaker will be the biggest upset at a Tour event as measured by rating difference at the time of the match.
Membership Requirement
Tour events require USCF membership. The Tour events themselves may not require ICA membership but to qualify for either performance or participation awards, individuals must be a member at the time of the Tour event or become ICA member within 6 weeks of the Tour event inorder to retain the earned points and maintain membership throughout the balance of the Tour.
Prizes
A list of awards will be presented by the Commissioner to the ICA Board for ratification by majority vote on a yearly basis. In determining the quantity and value of awards, performance and participation will be weighted approximately equally.
When possible, prizes will be awarded in January 2026 or sooner.
Funding
The Tour will seek sponsorship and donations outside of the ICA to cover annual Tour expenses, aiming for self-sufficiency. In addition to sponsorship, the Tour may supplement revenue by selling promotional items such as t-shirts through third-party sites.
2025 - Title/Main sponsorship OPEN
In the case of a budget shortfall, the ICA, to the extent practicable, will cover expenses to maintain the Tour’s viability. ICA also reserves the right to contribute to the Tour budget as it sees fit voluntarily.
The Commissioner will submit an annual budget to the ICA Board for approval.
Acknowledgments:
The Tour recognizes and acknowledges the contributions of the many individuals involved in the drafting of these rules, including ICA Board members, and members at large. Also, thanks go to the inspiration and guidance offered by the rules of other state chess association tours, especially our neighbors in Wisconsin, and also West Virginia, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, North Carolina and Delaware; the previous Illinois tour; and the USCF Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix.
Emily Dawson
ICA Treasurer & Tour Commissioner
January 2024
Read More
2025 ICA Illinois Tour Schedule Announced
The ICA Board of Directors has approved the 2024 & 2025 Illinois Tour Schedule.
If you are an ICA Affiliate and would like one of your events to be included in the 2026 tour, please email the Tour at emily.dawson77@gmail.com.
Complete 2025 Illinois Tour Schedule:
- Tim Just Winter Open January 3-5, 2025
- Bradley Winter Open, GPCF/Bradley University Feb 1, 2025
- Springfield March Checkmate Open, Springfield Chess Club, March 29, 2025
- Greater Peoria Open, GPCF, April,
- Chicago Open, Continental Chess Association, May 23-27
- Springfield Mid-Year Open, Springfield Chess Club, July
- Chicago Class, Continental Chess Association, July 19-21
- Bradley Summer Open, GPCF/Bradley University, August,
- Illinois Open, Aug-Sept
- Springfield Harvest Time, Springfield Chess Club, Nov 1
- Midwest Class, Continental Chess Association, Oct
- Illinois Class, Nov
GM Mitkov Wins 2017 Illinois Class Championship(s)
It's lonely at the top.
Grandmaster Nikola Mitkov was the lone GM entered in the 2017 Illinois Class Championship -- and he held form to win top honors at the one-day event held November 19 in the Chicago suburb of Lisle.
GM Mitkov defeated Derek Paitrick a Wisconsin Expert, in the final round to close out the tournament in the Masters / Experts section, the top of seven divisions.
Wisconsin's Alex Velikanov took second place after requesting a half-point bye in the final round, finishing with 3.5. IMSA's George Li took clear third with 3.0/4, and presumably the 2017 Illinois Chess Tour top honors with his points from the event.
Read MoreGrandmasters Mitkov and Liang Win '17 Midwest Class
Although neither could achieve a perfect score, Grandmasters Nikola Mitkov and Awonder Liang (of Wisconsin) posted the top 4.5 scores at the 2017 Midwest Class completed October 8 in Wheeling.
Mitkov's draw came in the fourth round against GM Priyadharshan Kannappan (Missouri) while Liang's came in the second round against long-time rival David Peng. Liang and Peng have grown up appearing on the US Top 100 lists for the same age group, frequently one-two.
IM Eric Rosen and Jacob Furfine entered the final round tied with Mitkov and Liang in the 3.5/4 score group, but lost their respective matches to the GM's.
Read MoreICA Tour Standings Updated: Peoria Tournament Participants Holding Leads in Open, Reserve and Scholastic Sections
2017 ICA Tour Coordinator Bill Buklis has updated the Tour standings giving downstaters Pete Kariagianis and Jason Daniels the lead in the Open Section -- both with 13.0 tallies after the Chicago Open.
Six more events remain on the Tour docket -- with the 7th Orwell Memorial coming up June 24 in DeKalb, followed by the Chicago Class in July.
In order to be eligible for prizes, participants must have ICA memberships by the half-way point -- and must maintain their memberships throughout the remainder of the season.
Read MoreIllinois Players Top 5 of 8 Chicago Open Sections
Daniel Jones has tied for first place in the Under 2100 section at the 26th Chicago Open concluded Memorial Day, May 29. Jones was 6.0 as was his New York co-champion. Dimitar Mardov and Arendal Markovic were a half-point back with 5.5's, tying for third place.
Hiro Higuchi was one of five players tying for first in the U1900, all with 6.0's. Cameron Heino was a half-point back, tying for sixth place.
Three Illinois players tied for second place in the U1700's, all with 6.0's: Nathan Fong, Max Heinrich and Dexter Dale, Jr. Jonathan Lee was a half-point back to tie for fifth place.
Read MoreFour-Way Ties Atop 2017 Greater Peoria Open In Both Open and Reserve Sections; Kevin Ho Takes 2017 Tour Lead
Draws a-plenty meant no perfect scores at the 2017 Greater Peoria Open, the third of ten stops on the 2017 ICA Chess Tour.
Pete Karagianis, Tim McEntee, Robert Reynolds and Wisconsin's Hersh Singh all posted three wins and two draws for 4.0/5 totals.
Karagianis drew Singh in the third round and fellow Master McCentee in the fourth round before finishing out the event with a victory over a Class C opponent.
McEntee also drew the Class A Reynolds in the final round.
Read MoreThree Way Tie At 2017 Bradley Winter Open
It's not fun to play someone with whom you've enjoyed a coaching relationship. Pete Karagianis faced that challenge in the last round of the January 28 Bradley Winter Open, drawing with his one-time protege Jason Daniels.
Both competitors finished with 3.5/4's as did St. Louis area's Benjamin Shoykhet. Shokyet went three-for-three following an opening round half-point bye. Each of the trio was awarded $140 in prize money.
Overall, 49 participated in two sections at the event held at Bradley University in Peoria. The BWO represented the second stop on the 2017 Illinois Chess Tour.
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Illinois Chess Tour News
- ICA Illinois Tour Contacts
- ICA Illinois Tour Prizes 2025
- ICA Illinois Tour Rules 2025
- 2025 ICA Illinois Tour Schedule Announced
- GM Mitkov Wins 2017 Illinois Class Championship(s)
- Grandmasters Mitkov and Liang Win '17 Midwest Class
- ICA Tour Standings Updated: Peoria Tournament Participants Holding Leads in Open, Reserve and Scholastic Sections
- Illinois Players Top 5 of 8 Chicago Open Sections
- Four-Way Ties Atop 2017 Greater Peoria Open In Both Open and Reserve Sections; Kevin Ho Takes 2017 Tour Lead
- Three Way Tie At 2017 Bradley Winter Open
2025 Tour Schedule
- Tim Just Winter Open January 3-5, 2025 www.kingregistration.com/event/timjust25
- Bradley Winter Open, GPCF/Bradley University Feb 1, 2025 www.bradleywinteropen.com
- Springfield March Checkmate Open, Springfield Chess Club, March 29, 2025 www.springfieldchessclub.com
- Greater Peoria Open, GPCF, April, www.peoriaopen.org
- Chicago Open, Continental Chess Association, May 23-27
- Springfield Mid-Year Open, Springfield Chess Club, July www.springfieldchessclub.com
- Chicago Class, Continental Chess Association, July 19-21
- Bradley Summer Open, GPCF/Bradley University, August, www.bradleysummeropen.com
- Illinois Open, Aug-Sept
- Springfield Harvest Time, Springfield Chess Club, Nov 1 www.springfieldchessclub.com
- Midwest Class, Continental Chess Association, Oct
- Illinois Class, Nov