Youth News
Emrikian, Xu, Mardov Invited to '17 World Cadets in Brazil
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Published: 08 April 2017 08 April 2017
The US Chess Federation has invited 89 players to the 2017 World Cadets Chess Championships based on rating, three from Illinois!
The competition will be held August 21 - 31 in Pocos de Caldas, Brazil.
Dimitar Mardov and Arthur Xu were invited for the Under 10 competition and Aren Emrikian for the Under 8 section.
They will be part of the US delegation -- but it remains to be seen if they might be named the "official representative" for their respective age category.
146 Compete at 2017 CPS K-8 Finals; Parents Speak Out
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Published: 27 March 2017 27 March 2017
Organized by the Chicago Public Schools, the 2017 CPS K-8 Championships were conducted March 25 at Crane RTC Medical Prep. The event was executed by Rennaissance Knights but CPS itself handled most of the traditional organizer duties including site arrangement.
This year's competition was conducted in four sections with both team and individual awards.
Andy Cao of Skinner North and William Wang of Edgebrook were the K-2 (Lower Primary) co-champions with 4.5/5 scores while Decatur and Edgebrook were team co-champions with 13.5 tallies.
David Chen of Edison Gifted was the clear winner in the K-4 (Upper Primary) section, also leading his school to the top team award with 14.5 points.
14 Teams & Others Compete at CPS K-8 Championships
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Published: 25 March 2017 25 March 2017
Thanks to results from playoffs the week before, 14 teams and a host of individuals -- whose teams did not qualify -- will compete at the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Finals March 25.
No team was able to qualify in all four sections: Lower and Upper Primary, Elementary and Junior High at the CPS Play-Offs held March 18.
However, Decatur, Keller, Kinzie and Skinner North qualified in three of the four. Bateman qualified in two sections.
Also qualifying were Azuela, Calmeca, Earle STEM, Edgebrook, Edison Gifted, Gary, Lane Tech, Lenart and Whitney Young Academic Center.
All-Wheaton Celebrates Community With 175 Player Event
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Published: 19 March 2017 19 March 2017
Chess communities do not evolve over night.
Last weekend, nearly 600 from programs around the state gathered in Normal for the state K-8's. That doesn't happen by accident. Tuesday, ICA website readers learned about a 21-year old Elmhurst district blitz chess event attracting 275 players.
Although organized by the coaches themselves, schools within the Wheaton-Warrenville District (CUSD 200) held a 175 player tournament in six individual sections and four team divisions to Wheaton Christian Grammar School on March 18.
Emrikian Now Top 7 & Under in US; 48 IL Youth in Top 100's
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Published: 18 March 2017 18 March 2017
As of the March 2017 official ratings, 7-year old Aren Emrikian has given Illinois a top-in-age-group distinction for the first time since David Peng briefly held that honor. Aren's 1864 rating is 42 points higher than the number two seven-year old from Arizona.
Ekansh Mehrotra is the number two Illinois 7-year old (ranked 41 in the US). Yuvraj Chennareddy is the number three Illinois 7-and-under -- and in fact is still only 6 years old! He is the fifth highest-rated six-year old in the country.
Arthur Xu is number two in the country for nine-year olds. Arthur is 17 points shy from becoming a US Chess Expert -- with a higher rating than any Illinois 10 or 11 year old -- or 12 year old other than Aydin Turgut.