News
Illinois Class Championships
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- Written by Keith Ammann Keith Ammann
- Created: 29 November 2012 29 November 2012
Emerging from a five-way tie at the end of round 3 with the only win in the score group, Sam Schmakel of Chicago not only claimed a clear victory in the Master/Expert section of the 2012 Illinois Class Championships in River Forest Nov. 17 and 18 but also leapfrogged his rivals to take first place in the Open division of the Illinois Chess Tour.
En Passant: NM Jon L. Burgess
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- Written by Maret Thorpe Maret Thorpe
- Created: 15 August 2012 15 August 2012
NM Jon Burgess, a frequent player in many Chicago-area tournaments, died on Sunday, August 12. He was 35 years old. Jon's good company and straightforward game analysis will be missed by his over-the-board opponents and those who knew him in the Illinois chess community.
He is survived by his wife Colleen Plummer Burgess, their son Robert, his parents George and Dilys Burgess, his mother-in-law Elaine Plummer, his brother- and sister-in-law Eric and Melissa Plummer and their daughter Sophia.
Visitation for Jon Burgess will be held on Monday, August 20 from 3-8 pm. at Matz Funeral Home, 410 East Rand Road, Mount Prospect. In lieu of flowers, memorials to your favorite charity are appreciated. The obituary will be listed in the Sunday tribune.
Chess X-Men Win USAT-North
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- Written by Maret Thorpe Maret Thorpe
- Created: 22 February 2012 22 February 2012
The US Amateur Team (USAT) is a set of four very popular USCF national team events held around the country on President's Day weekend, February 17-19. This year's edition of the USAT-North returned to Northbrook, Illinois for the second year in a row. It drew 38 teams and a very strong field of 171 players, 48 of whom were rated 2000 or higher. Players came from home states of Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Michigan and Washington.
The clear winners with a perfect 5.0 score were Illinois' own Chess X-Men, which included NM Mariano Acosta, Tenzing Shaw, Fred Scott Allsbrook, Pablo Diaz and Dmitri Sergatskov.
GM Gurevich Blitzes to 2012 State Title
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- Written by Maret Thorpe Maret Thorpe
- Created: 20 February 2012 20 February 2012
Illinois resident Grandmaster Dmitry Gurevich scored 9 out of 10 to win the 2012 Illinois Blitz Chess Championship. Gurevich's triumph was no easy feat: The event brought out 19 players with regular ratings over 2000, including some of the GM's own students. Second place overall went to NM Erik Santarius of Wisconsin, who scored 8.0 and narrowly beat NM Sam Schmakel and NM Gopal Menon, who tied for third overall in the 7.5 score group.
Gavin McClanahan and Zhaozhi Li tied for the U2200 prize with 6.5 points. Wesley Clark was sole winner of the U2000 prize. Other prizewinners were Philip Parker-Turner (U1800), Christian Pena (U1600) and William Cuevas (U1400).
The State Blitz Championship was revived in 2011 by the Illinois Chess Association and organizers Tim Just and Glenn Panner. Attendance at this year's edition was 38, up from 31 in 2011. Prizewinners here. USCF results here.
Turgut Wins Illinois Class Championship
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- Written by Bill Brock Bill Brock
- Created: 13 December 2011 13 December 2011
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!"