Illinois Chess Association

January Chess Roundup

New Years resolutions. Maybe more time studying chess. Perhaps buying a book. Or studying the book you bought last year. Playing more tournaments. Or fewer tournaments but prepping more for those you do play. Or just relaxing and enjoying the game. Whatever it is you hope to achieve this year there are a lot of people in Illinois Chess with the same goal. For those looking to compete in tournaments there is a lot of chances to get involved. Not only is the Illinois Tour starting back up, but there is a wealth of opportunity to play. In December alone there were events with as few as 4 people and as many as 173. Here are some of the highlights:

December 2: In Naperville, IL the NYCC Quad#3 tournament drew 16 players to this 4 section event. Crosstables.

December 2 thru 9: Oak Lawn had their G/30 Championship Tournament. 14 players participated. Steven Tennant beat out expert Tam Nguyen and fellow master Len Weber to take first place. Crosstable.

25th Annual MLK Day Chess Tournament in Normal, IL

260 children played in this tournament which was also picked up by local news.

Tournament Crosstables.

Clear winner in Lower Primary - Matthew Paul Alexander 5-0.

In Upper Primary - four tied with 4.5 points - Advaith Prabu, Vishal Chandraesekar, Nuha Fatima Mozumder, Neal Adam Sundaram.

Elementary - Cassie Parent with 5-0.

In Jr High - Co-champions Sam Heil and Andrew Yueyang Fei with 4-0.

Request for Bids: 2012 Illinois Open

The ICA is seeking bids for the 2012 Illinois Open. Interested organizers should submit bids to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it no later than February 29, 2012. Questions may be addressed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Tour Launches This Weekend with TJWO

The 2012 Illinois Chess Tour begins this weekend with the traditional opener to the Illinois chess calendar, the Tim Just Winter Open. This year's event, labeled XXVIII, maintains a two-section format, with an Open section and Reserve section restricted to players rated 1799 and below. Billed as "Chicagoland's longest continuously run chess tournament organized by the same organizer", the TJWO returns to the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Brook, and once again includes a scholastic side event; a book dealer; and sets, boards and clocks provided by the North American Chess Association.

The Tour is pleased to announce that FM Albert Chow has joined the staff as its Games Editor. Chow is a many-time winner of the Illinois Chess Tour, last capturing the crown in 1997, and has a long resume of covering chess, including lengthy stints for the Chicago Sun-Times and Illinois Chess Bulletin. In addition to providing reporting coverage and game annotations of Tour events throughout the year, Albert will be playing in the TJWO, and must be considered among the favorites. Also pre-registered as of 1/4 is NM Sam Schmakel, a two-time scholastic national champion; standout member of the reigning Illinois State High School champions of Whitney Young; and integral member of the Chicago Blaze of the USCL.

Join the the revived Tour and follow the Tour on Twitter @ILChessTour!

Highland Park Draws 104 to December Unrated Tournament

The Winning Team from Wayne Thomas Elementary SchoolThe Highland Park chess program ran its first tournament of the year on December 10th, drawing 104 players to Edgewood Middle School. The tournament was unrated and for the first time had a designated section for more advanced players.

The section winners were Ezra Boldizsar (Advanced), Samuel Harris (4-8), Jonas Vriend (2-3) and Andrew Arzac (K-1). Wayne Thomas Elementary School captured the first place team trophy. Team awards are based on a team’s top six scores across all sections. Complete results are posted on the Highland Park program’s website ( www.hpchess.org, Tournaments/Results).

Turgut Wins Illinois Class Championship

Editor's note: See the ICA Chess Blog link below for game analysis from the Illinois Class.

ICCF Grandmaster Tansel Turgut knows something about over-the-board play, too, as evidenced by his victory in this past weekend's 2011 Illinois Class Championships with a 3½-½ score.

Dr. Turgut had a narrow escape in the final round against 8-year-old (!!!) Awonder Liang. It appeared to this kibitzer that Awonder (in clear first at the beginning of the round) had his esteemed opponent on the ropes at one point. But he lost, and tied for second with FM Albert Chow with 3-1 scores.

In the skittles room, Awonder was disconsolate about his loss in an eight-year-old kinda way. But his father and siblings reminded him that he played very well, that he should be proud, and  that it's only a game. (Useful advice for adults, too.) Dr. Turgut came to collect Awonder's signature on the scoresheet "so I can show other people someday that I beat a world champion." Adream Liang chimed in, "But he's already world champion!"

Notice about Illinois Class Championship Prizes

On Friday, December 16th, the Illinois Chess Association confirmed that prize checks from last weekend's Illinois Class Championships issued by Mikhail Korenman's IntECS, Inc., were being returned unpaid, marked "Account Closed." Mikhail Korenman is currently out of the country and will return on December 22nd.

The Illinois Chess Association is profoundly embarrassed that this happened in one of its championship events. On Friday, December 16, ICA board members voted unanimously to pay the prizewinners in full and to reimburse them for any returned item or other bank fees that they may have incurred.

TD Sevan Muradian has recreated the prizewinners' list for us, and ICA Treasurer Carl Dolson will have checks in the mail as soon as he has contact info for the prizewinners.

If you won a prize at the Illinois Class please forward your mailing address to ICA Treasurer Carl Dolson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Again, please accept our sincere apologies!

Rulebook Tactics: Notable Rules Changes for 2012

New Year’s Day celebrates a lot of things in the world including the starting point for some new USCF rules and policy changes. Most years those changes are not all that noticeable or notable. January 1, 2012 will be a bit different. Let us take a peek at some of the more noticeable changes from the player’s point of view with commentary by moi.

No More Time Subtraction: The most noticeable change for players will be that the rule allowing the subtraction of time when using a delay clock goes the way of the dodo; i.e., it will be extinct.