Youth Chess News
340+ Play January YCFC at Brooks College Prep; Decatur Classical Wins K-2 and Advanced, Gora Wins Advanced
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
While there was plenty of hardware spread around the multitude of teams competing, Decatur Classical (of Chicago) managed to win two sections of the January 14 YCFC / CCF free scholastic tournament.
Christopher Gora managed to earn a better tiebreak than Decatur's Avi Kaplan when both posted 4.5/5 scores in the Advanced section. After two previous championships, Avi's second place finish lead the Decatur squad to the top team trophy, posting 12.0 to Fox Valley's 10.0.
Decatur's John Seward (4.0) and Yuvraj Chennareddy (3.5) also contributed to the team total, with John nabbing 5th place honors and Yuvraj earning 7th.
Chicago Chess Foundation Announces Advanced Training
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
[Editor's Note: The ICA has been notified that sufficient applications for Pawns to Queens have been received for the current acadmic year with only five scholarships available. Check back with the CCF at www.Chicagolandchess.org for 2017-2018 school year opportunities.]
Do you participate in or operate a Chicago school-based chess club? *
Have your students learned the rules of chess and the basics, but are they seeking to achieve that next level of chess prowess?
The Chicago Chess Foundation (CCF) may have the solution for your school program in what they are calling "Pawns to Queens" (P2Q).
Ryan Kong Wins Winter Scholastic U1200, Jack Ding Is Perfect 5.0/5 in U700, 84 Participate in January 7 Event
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Most players are happy to see their ratings increase a few dozen points at a tournament. At the 2017 Winter Scholastic, Ryan Kong enhanced his rating 139 points with four wins and an opening round draw.
Four players tied for second place a half-point back with 4.0/5: Jack Santner, Krish Khana, Advaith Kodipparambil and Atharva Awasthi. Kodipparambil and Awasthi both surpassed 1000. Ratings order was not published by the organizer as of this date.
Kodipparmabil provided Khana his lone blemish in the fourth round but fell to the champion in the final round.
364 Players Compete In YCFC De La Salle December Event; Five Different Squads Prevail in Team Tallies; Kaplan Repeats
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
49 Illinois Kids Hit December Youth Top 100 Lists in US
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Although the landscape may have changed since then, as of the December official ratings supplements, seven Illinois juniors have achieved "Masterhood" eclipsing 2200. 19 have USCF ratings above 2000, considered "Experts".
49 are listed on one of the dozen lists.
David Peng (3rd), Dimitar Mardov (4th) and Aren Emrikian (3rd) are in the top five of their respective ages. (Aren once again is the top 6 year old leapfrogging Rachel Li of Texas -- that age is generally lumped in the "7 & Under" Category.)
George Li (8th), Jacob Furfine (9th), Aydin Turgut (6th), and Arthur Xu (8th) are ranked in the top 10 of their age groups.