News
Warning: Notes and Analysis Restricted During US Chess Tournament Play, Keep It in Your Brain, Not Your Scorebook
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 05 June 2016 05 June 2016
Chess is all about context. A competitive chess player takes to heart -- and usually indestructable memory -- a long list of solid principles to be followed almost universally.
But depending upon the specific situation on the board, those tried and true principles can lead to disaster for the myopic player. Exceptions abound!
Similarly, there are two recommendations I have for all players, young and old: notation and analysis. DO take notation of all your tournament games and DO use that record later to analyze what might have been at various junctures of the completed contest. There is no better way to improve at chess; how often the patterns and positions repeat.
IL Players Show Significant Ratings Jumps As of June
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 05 June 2016 05 June 2016
Thanks to his co-championship of the K-12 U1200 section at April's National High School Championships in Atlanta, Jeffrey Guerrero saw his rating climb from a provisional 1061 to an established 1367, a whopping 306 enhancement! Jeff played 5th Board on the Highland Park team which finished 4th in the state this year.
With a sharp showing at May's National Elementary Championships in Tennessee, Ayush Banerjee's rating climbed 276 points. Ayush earned 4.5/7 in the K-5 section.
Naperville North's Ryan Guan demonstrated he's not the only serious chess player in the family with a 6.0 showing in the same section as Jeffrey. With 357 players competing, Ryan finished in a nine-way tie for third place to up his rating 261 points.
GM Belous Wins '16 Chicago Open; Li Earns FIDE Norm
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 31 May 2016 31 May 2016
With a ninth-round draw, Russian Grandmaster Vlad Belous secured the 2016 Chicago Open and the first place award of $10,000 -- plus $300 for a clear first score. This was Belous' fourth regularly-rated US Chess event, all since March, and all but one saw him tie for first or win the event outright.
His 7.5/9 score was a half-point better than the tallies from a three-pack of GM's: Varuz Akobian (US-registered), Vasif Durarbayli (Azerbazin) and Wenjun Ju (China). Each of the trio collected just under $3000.
Three Illinois-based players posted 5.0's including GM Boris Avrukh, FM Sam Schmakel and IMSA's George Li. Li earned his first FIDE-norm from the event.
Illinois Chess Contributors To Be Recognized By US Chess
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- Written by ICA Staff ICA Staff
- Created: 17 May 2016 17 May 2016
Four long-time contributors to Illinois chess will be recognized by US Chess during a special luncheon held in conjunction with the 2016 US Open. This year's awards will be presented Saturday, August 6 in Indianapolis.
Former ICA President Carl Dolson has been tabbed for Outstanding Career Achievement.
David and Sheila Heiser of Renaissance Knights will receive the Special Services Award.
The late Sevan Muradian will be acknowledged with a Tournament Director Lifetime Achievement Award.
Congratulations to all recipients.
Illinois Chess Fixture Howard Cohen Passes Away
- Details
- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 27 April 2016 27 April 2016
Long-time Illinois chess stalwart Howard Cohen has passed away.
A memorial service was held at Congregation Emanuel, 5959 N Sheridan Road in Chicago followed by a visitation. A visitation will also be conducted at Howard's sister's residence on Sunday, May 1 from 5pm to 8pm.
Howard's chess history, largely as a Class A player, spanned the entirety of the US Chess MSA compilation dating back to late 1991 -- but clearly he'd been playing formal chess for many years before that. In three monthly rating supplements he actually achieved Expert status with a peak rating of 2026 in November of 1996.