News
Chicago Chess
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- Written by Vadim Vadim
- Created: 04 October 2021 04 October 2021
Chicago Chess was founded on Aug 21, 2006 and has continuously grown through the years. As of Oct 1, 2021, the group has over 2600 members.
The mission of Chicago Chess is to provide a community for all chess lovers and to popularize chess.
The group is composed of chess enthusiasts who have this common mission and those who just enjoy playing chess together. It welcomes everyone from seasoned chess players to those who would like to get started and are looking for other people to play with. The group provides a great opportunity to meet like-minded people, improve your chess skills, and have a great time playing and socializing.
Justus Williams wins 2021 Illinois Open - Jack Heller and Kevin Velazquez named state co-champions
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- Written by Bill Buklis Bill Buklis
- Created: 02 October 2021 02 October 2021
Article written by James Hodina and edited by Bill Buklis
Justus Williams dominates at Illinois Open. Jack Heller and Kevin Velazquez named Illinois State Co-Champions.
Justus Williams went a perfect 7-0 at the Illinois Open during Labor Weekend of September 3-6 taking home the $1,500 first-place prize. As Justus is from Missouri, the runner up players from Illinois became the Illinois State Co-Champions. Jack Heller and Kevin Velazques both tied for second place with scores 5.5 points. Aitegin Akmatbekov also dominated the Reserve section with a perfect 7-0 score.
STEVE SZPISJAK FIFTH AT 40 PLAYER 2021 IRWIN NATIONAL TOURNAMENT OF SENIOR STATE CHAMPIONS
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- Written by Ken Marshall Ken Marshall
- Created: 30 August 2021 30 August 2021
Master Steve Szpisjak [pronounced SPEE-zak] (2234) represented Illinois in the July 31 – August 3 Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions in Cherry Hill, NJ. He scored 4-2 along with six others (including GM John Fedorowicz) to finish equal fourth through tenth in the 40 player field, taking fifth place on tiebreaks. Szpisjak won four games, losing only to International Masters Douglas Root (2556) and Igor Khmelnitsky (2488), the tournament’s top seeds who ended up second and first at 5.5 and 5.0, respectively.
Szpisjak, a Master since 1989, earned his spot in the Irwin event by winning the Illinois Senior Open in May. He is a four time state Senior champion, having previously taken the title outright in 2018 and tied for first in 2017 and 2020.
Local Teen Earns $12,000 Scholarship Playing Chess, SAT Perfect Score
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- Written by Hector R. Hernandez Hector R. Hernandez
- Created: 15 May 2021 15 May 2021
Daniel Zhang, a Junior at Whitney Young Magnet High School, earned a $12,000 college scholarship at the recently held MVP tournament. He is co-captain of his school’s chess team and helped to lead their team to a first-place finish in this year’s IHSA State Tournament.
Daniel is a former City of Chicago Chess Champion for fifth grade. He was tutored by Hector Hernandez for years and improved his game by participating in the Knight Moves Chess Club of the Chicago Public Library’s Rudy Lozano Branch.
Another amazing accomplishment of Daniel’s is his perfect score of 1600 on the SAT exam which is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States.
Cook County Jail Chess Team Places Second in International Chess Tournament
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- Written by Eva Harrison Eva Harrison
- Created: 13 May 2021 13 May 2021
COOK COUNTY, IL – Seven individuals in custody at the Cook County Jail competed this morning in an online international chess tournament against individuals in custody in Armenia, Spain and Russia, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today, May 11.
The tournament began at 8:30 a.m. with opening remarks from Sheriff Dart, FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, and 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov. After a six-match, round robin competition, Russia was declared the victor with a total of three match wins. Cook County, representing the United States, came in second place with two match wins.
“Chess is more than an entertaining past time, the game teaches its players valuable life lessons,” said Sheriff Dart. “It requires these men to practice critical thinking and they consider the risks and rewards of their decisions, which are valuable skills they can take with them when they return to their communities.”