News
Illini Foursome Competes in NYC 2014 Collegiate Final Four; Chess IQ Hosts GM Analysis Free to Public
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 05 April 2014 05 April 2014
Basketball isn't the only activity featuring a collegiate final four this weekend. For the second year in a row, four University of Illinois undergrads will compete in the President's Cup. This year's event is being hosted at the New York Athletic Club -- yes, the same venue where they annually announce the football Heisman award.
In honor of the event, ChessIQ in Skokie is fielding its own team of chess pundits to analyze the games for the benefit of the public. Organizer Sevan Muradian is offering free admission on a first come, first served basis.
The analysis lineup kicks off with GM Yury Shulman at 10am Saturday (4/5). Shulman has worked with the Illini squad which has reached out to the public for underwriting, raising 90% of its $9500 goal at last report.
Michael Penway Wins 2014 Illinois Senior Open
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 27 March 2014 27 March 2014
For the first time in more than a decade, there is an official "Illinois Senior Champion". With three wins and two draws, Michael Penway claimed the 2014 title in the five-round, two-day event open to those aged-50 and up.
By virtue of their fifth-round head-to-head draw, James Condron and Daniel Modes both finished a half-point back from Penway, with 3.5/5's. Condron and Modes split second and third place prize money overall.
The event was hosted at the Country Inn and Suites in Naperville, March 22 and 23. Mikhail Korenman organized the Illinois Senior tournament and served as Chief Tournament Director. 10 players competed with three others picking up single games.
Crosstables can be viewed here.
Illini Team Makes it to Final Four Again
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- Created: 14 January 2014 14 January 2014
For the second year in a row, the chess team from the University of Illinois has excelled at the Pan American Games, beating teams with considerably higher average ratings and proceeding to the President’s Cup (national Final Four) in Manhattan in April. In doing so, the team has once again gained national recognition.
The Illini foursome is comprised of FIDE Master Eric Rosen, National Masters Michael Auger and Leo Xin Luo, and Akshay Indusekar. The team upset Texas Tech-B, Columbia University and Lindenwood A-teams, all with ratings 200 or more points above the Illini. As noted in an article on the USCF website, Illinois’ two consecutive strong performances mean “they can hardly again be termed a ‘dark horse.’” (http://bit.ly/1dq8yJx)
November 2013 Chess Roundup
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- Created: 19 December 2013 19 December 2013
There is a lot going on in the world of chess. For starters, as the world gets set to battle between youth and experience at the World Championship, the next wave of youth is getting ready for the battle down the road as Wei Yi becomes the youngest person to ever become a grandmaster. The 51st National Challengers Chess Championship 2013 in India had IM Thejkumar and IM Ashwin Jayaram tied for first. Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo won the Women's Section of the European Club Cup which is her fifth title for this tournament. After starting in Bastia, the 17th Corsica Masters moved on to Aiacciu, and in the end GM Ivan Saric won. IM Jahongir Vakhidov not only won the 3rd Central Asia Cup but also achieved a GM norm. Over in St. Louis, IM Kayden Troff tied for first at the SPICE Cup Open and achieved his second GM norm. GM Alexey Dreev won the Indonesian Open Chess Championship 2013, and Fabiano Caruana secured victory in Bucharest at the 7th edition of Kings Tournament.
Schmakel leads Whitney Young to Four National Titles
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- Created: 16 December 2013 16 December 2013
Sam Schmakel, Chicago’s top youth player, added to his long string of national championships on the weekend, winning a fifth individual national title and leading the chess team from Whitney Young Magnet High School to three other national first place awards. The event, USCF’s National Scholastic K-12 Championships, was held Friday through Sunday in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Schmakel won the 12th grade national championship, the clear winner with 6.5 out of a possible seven wins. He previously won the national championship in 2nd grade (2003), 9th grade (2010), and 10th grade (2011) and was co-champion in 11th grade (2012).