Youth Chess News
Illinois Youth in USCF Top 100 as of April 2015
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- Written by Bill Feldman, data compiled by Chris Wellendorf Bill Feldman, data compiled by Chris Wellendorf
New names entering (or returning to) the top 100 lists this month include 7-year old William Wang, 14-year old James Wei, 16-year old Philip Parker-Turner and 18-year old Mark Reed. Caeley Harihara has reappeared on the Under 21 year old Girls list.
Jacob Furfine surpassed USCF 2200 to enter Master territory.
Stefan Musikic surpassed 1800 earning Class A distinction.
9-year old downstater Peter Zheng raised his rating 36 points to 1509 which would make him eligible for Warren Junior Scholars status next year under current rules, pending his participation in ten regular-rated games against all-ages competition during 2015.
79 Illinois Girls Compete in Nationals at McCormick Place
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Illinois females showed up en masse for the 2015 All-Girls Nationals completed April 19.
U8 | U10 | U12 | U14 | U16 | U18 | Total | |
Entrants | 83 | 92 | 70 | 53 | 35 | 25 | 358 |
From IL | 16 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 79 |
Best Illinois Placers |
T-7 | T-26 | T-5 | T-4 | T-5 | T-6 | |
Neola Edwin |
Alice Fan |
Aria Hoesley |
Marissa Li |
Shayna Provine |
Caeley Harihara |
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Esma Frieden |
Miranda Liu |
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Kalghatgi Twins 1-2 at Chicago Public School Championships, Whitney Young, Skinner North, Lenart, Decatur Win Team Titles
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
In the flip-flopping power struggle of brothers Nikhil and Akhil Kalghatgi, Nikhil grabbed the upperhand at this year's Chicago Public Schools K-8 Championships completed March 28.
Nikhil defeated Taft's Matthew Wong in the fifth round while Akhil only managed only a fourth-round draw against Matthew. This gave Nikhil top honors at 5.0 with Akhil nabbing clear second with 4.5.
With the twins' performances, Whitney Young Academic Center cruised to the team championship with 17.0 points. Taft, aided by Jonathan Lee's 3.5 and 3.0's from Matthew, Georgia Wolf and Danilo Velazquez, took second place on tiebreaks over Keller.
George Li Ties for Second at 2015 USCF High School Nationals, Six Illinois Teams Among Top 30 in Championship Section
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
New Trier High School's ZhaoZhi "George" Li came within a half-point of the highest score at the 2015 USCF High School Nationals completed April 12 in Columbus, OH.
Li's only blemishes were draws in rounds three and five, both against Texans. George's post-event rating -- pending re-rating -- hit 2300 for the first time. His 6.0 tied for second place with seven others, capturing seventh place hardware on tiebreaks.
Illinois Youth in USCF Top 100 as of March 2015
- Details
- Written by Bill Feldman, data compiled by Chris Wellendorf Bill Feldman, data compiled by Chris Wellendorf
Four new Illinois names joined the US Top 100 lists this month: nine-year old Peter Zheng, eight year-old Eduard Danilyan, seven year-old John Bielobradek and six year-old David Yong.
Returning to the lists was Penny Xu after she competed in the rated Illini Blitz event in February. Penny played first board on her Urbana High School team this year, but hasn't played any regular-rated matches since the 2013 US Open. Penny compiled an impressive 6.0/7 at the IHSA finals in February, as did fellow top 100 listers George Li (New Trier), Max Zinski (Benet), Jonathan Hrach (Highland Park) and Spencer Lehmann (Barrington).
Finishing tied for second place with 6.5 scores were listers Alex Bian of Stevenson and Daniel Bronfeyn of Mundelein.
Compiling 5.5's (tied for 17th) were listers Bradley Guan (State Champion Naperville North), Gavin McClanahan (Glenbrook South) and Andrew Fei (Dunlap).