Youth Chess News
275 Face Off In Game/7 Elmhurst Pi Day Tournament
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
275 youth chess players competed for nearly two and a half hours at York High School in Elmhurst, March 14, Pi Day. The annual event was open to residents of the western Chicago suburb of Elmhurst -- or those who attend school there.
Playing blitz time controls of Game/7 with no delay, champions were crowned in five grade-based sections along with a combined middle school group. An informal high school tournament was also held.
Where two perfect five-for-five competitors were left, a five-minute play-off was held. And in all three instances, the lower tiebreak holder won the play off game!
Shreya Mangalam Wins 2017 K-8's; Vikram Oberai Is 4-5 Champ; Owen Zhang Tops 2-3; Anshul Shetty Perfect In K-1; Avery Coonley School Wins 3 of 4 Team Championships
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Congrats to Shreya Mangalam!
And Vikram Oberai, Owen Zhang, and Anshul Shetty.
All four are now Illinois state champions thanks to their stellar performances at the 2017 Illinois K-8 Championships completed March 12 in Normal, IL.
Daniels Wins K-8 Blitz, Daniels & Davis Win K-8 Bughouse
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Ahead of an amazing seven-way tie for second place, the team of Jacob Davis and Jason Daniels won the K-8 Bughouse competition with a perfect five-for-five peformance.
The event was held Friday, March 10, ahead of the K-8 Championships kicking off the next day at the Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Normal.
It took a fifth round victory over the team of Kevin Ho and Aidan Carey to earn the championship, with Ho-Carey earning second place hardware with the highest tiebreaks in the 4.0/5 score group.
Also posting 4.0's were Hoesley-Vincent, (third place), Deligiannis-Kaplan (fourth place), Katam-Sareddy (fifth place), along with Fayn-Platnick, Husarik-Kale and Mehta-Daniels (Alex).
Daniels Completes 3-peat; Finishes IESA Career 21-0; Chiddix: 8th- & 6th-Grade Champs; Wright Top 7th-Graders
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
For only the second time in its seven-year history, a player has gone 21-0 in three seasons at the annual IESA competition.
In addition to receiving yet another Gold Medal for individual play, Jason Daniels lead his (Normal) Chiddix team to the eighth grade team championship, the third straight year they have won Daniel's division. Chiddix edged Rockford Marshall for the team title, 27.5 to 27.0.
Coincidentally, it was Marshall's Vincent Do who was the only other player to compile a 21-0 record from 2014-2016.
8 Teams Still Undefeated After 4 Rounds At IHSA Finals
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
[Editor's Note: Due to server transition, the write up on the completed IHSA finals has been lost but we wish to congratulate IMSA, the 2016-2017 State Champions! That comprehensive article will be reconstructed and posted here. In the meantime, here's the Day 1 results to whet your appetite (thanks to Andon Mardov!).]
After four of seven rounds, eight schools are continuing the quest for the 2017 top Illinois high school chess team.
With three rounds remaining, wrapping up later today, it's likely we'll see just a single perfect score for the winning team. But you never know until the last king drops.