Franklin Prevails at Chess IQ, Status of Center A Mystery

Expert David Franklin won all four rounds in Chess IQ's April Game/60 event held April 19. 36 competed in the Open section with junior Ricky Wang and Wisconsin's Avinash Rajendra finishing one-half point back.

Raul Aillon, Daniel Bronfeyn and Douglas Middleton tied for fourth with 3.0/4 tallies. Seven players tied for seventh place with 2.5/4's. 

With a cryptic post on the Chicago Area Chess Facebook account, Center Director Sevan Muradian has evoked a rash of responses to his posting: "Tables cleared out, walls mostly empty now... just the TV's to take down now.... after three and a half years, priorities had to be set....."

Sources have indicated Chess IQ is getting a long-deserved make over with an expanded skittles room and that rumors of the Skokie center's demise are greatly exaggerated. The Center's calendar shows next weekend open with rated-tournament play returning in early May.

Stay tuned. [Editor's Note: Sevan has subsequently confirmed he's just doing some remodeling and Chess IQ will be back online in early May.]

Ten members of the Warren Junior Scholars participated in the Open including 3.5-finisher Wang and 3.0-scorer Bronfeyn. Akhil Kalghatgi and Nicholas Bartochowski wound up in the 2.5 pack.

In the Reserve, Wisconsin's Divya Pandey defeated Robert Barr in the fourth round to claim first place with a perfect 4.0/4 effort. Barr, Shao-Yun Guo, Stephen Leung and Harsha Vankayalapati tied for second place with 3.0/4 scores. 15 competed in the section designated for players rated Under 1500.