Young Ties for First in the World Open 2009 U2400 Section

IM Angelo Young went and conquered the U2400 section at the World Open in Philly this last weekend. Playing in a tough section Angelo scored seven points in nine rounds (5 wins, 4 draws and no losses) to end up tied for first place with four other players. Along the way Angelo defeated two other IM's including top rated IM for the section, Timothy Taylor 2399.

A big congrats to Angelo for this excellent performance.

Angelo owns and runs the Touch Move Chess Center in Chicago, always worth a visit.

Not to be outdone by Angelo's peroformance, Martin Niemczewski scored 8.5/9 in the U1200 section to take top honours. That's eight wins and one draw, an incredible performance! In addition to the well-earned prize money, his rating of 1184 will be going up.

Other notable performances from Illinois people included Stoil P. Jotev and Jordan Cohen who both scored 7.5/9 in the U2000 section. They tied for 2nd after playing each other for a draw in the final round. It's too bad when you go out of state and play people from your own state or even worse people you know.

Well done to all players from IL who competed in this year's World Open.

For more info, go to http://www.worldopen.com/. USCF Crosstable

Originally Published by Jon Burgess 6-July-2009

Eric Rosen of IL wins the 2009 US Junior Open

On the weekend of June 10th 2009 Eric Rosen competed with 48 other players in the U21 section of the US Junior Open.

Eric Rosen

Eric, the rating favorite for the section, lived up to expectations and scored 4.5/5 drawing his final round game with Kevin Bu from MN. Eric then won the blitz playoff game and will be seeded into the 2010 US Junior Closed Championship. Eric competed with several other Expert players for the coveted first place prize.

With this performance Eric's rating has gone up to 2185 his highest rating ever. He has been an Expert player since the middle of 2008 and it looks like his rating is going up steadily towards the 2200 Master standard. As well as his US rating, Eric also continues to improve his FIDE World rating, He had a very solid performance at the 21st North American FIDE Invitational scoring 4/9.

We wish Eric well as he continues to improve and hope he will become the newest master player in IL soon.

We also hope to see Eric compete this September at the IL Open for the title of IL State Champion.

Crosstable

Originally published by Jon Burgess 13-July-2009

Illinois Players at the Kentucky Open

Stamnov vs Smith

FM Aleksandar Stamnov tied for second with Scott Leo Ramer, both had 4.0 points. Stamnov lost only his last round game against first place winner, IM Bryan Smith.

GB Potratz also put in a good showing, finishing clear third in the U1400 section. Potratz scored 3.5 points, he took a half-point bye in the third round and won all his other games except the fourth round against first place finisher Raysean Whitney.

Crosstable

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Super Sunday in Chicagoland Chess—March 22, 2009

Chess fans were treated to five great events in the Chicagoland area this Sunday, March 22nd. They included the 19th NA FIDE Invitational, the MCA FIDE Futurity VII, the Dolphin Blitz Extravaganza, the Illinois Denker Qulaifier, and the Illinois Polgar Qualifier. What a great day for Chicago chess.

Participation and diversity make chess a richer experience for all of us.

 Fyodor Dostoyevsky

 

19th NA FIDE Invitational

Steven Tennant Carl Boor Sevan Muradian  

Sevan Muradian, founder of North American Chess Association, conducted rounds 3 and 4 of the 19th NA FIDE Invitaional at Holiday Inn in Skokie. Sevan's tournament had a strong contingent of players headed by GM elect Mesgen Amanov.

13822947 (IL) 2353   AMANOV, MESGEN 
12559845 (IL) 2384   YOUNG, ANGELO 
12811348 (IL) 2358   PASALIC, MEHMED 
12717022 (IL) 2424   FELECAN, FLORIN 
12480475 (OH) 2292   BOOR, CARL B 
12909025 (IL) 2174   SHANKAR, GAURI 
11299083 (IL) 2257   CHOW, ALBERT C 
10341752 (IL) 2217   TENNANT, STEVEN 
12455466 (TN) 1925   HORTILLOSA, ANDRES D 
12596003 (IL) 1667   MURADIAN, SEVAN A 

 

MCA FIDE Futurity VII

Rear L-R: Chris Baumgartner,  David Nordahl, Alex Strunk, and Dimitri Kosteris.  Front L-R: Larry Cohen and  Angelo Young

On the north side of Chicago at Touch Move Chess Center, Chris Baumgartner of Midwest Chess Adventures, presided over rounds 4 and 5 of his MCA FIDE Futurity VII. This motivated group of players are striving to earn FIDE ratings. A hearty thanks to Chris for his organizing work.

12560532 (IL) 1818  BAUMGARTNER, CHRISTOPHER 
12422751 (IL) 1715  BRITT, JEFF 
12755672 (IL) 2089  BRASWELL, ISAAC M 
13000704 (IL) 1948  STRUNK, ALEX 
10341841 (IL) 2001  COHEN, LAWRENCE S 
12762240 (IL) 1646  KOSTERIS, DIMITRI 
20076809 (IL) 1959  NORDAHL, DAVID 
12841334 (IL) 1898  JONES, DANIEL 
12433402 (IL) 2055  INUMERABLE, FLORENTINO V 
12453866 (IL) 1690  FORRO, VIRGILIO 

 

Dolphin Blitz Extravaganza

Paul Kash Phillip Parker-Turner
Paul Kash organized and directed a 7SS G/5 Double Blitz. The tournament was held in the Gymnasium of Whitney Young High School, where Paul is the chess coach.

The tournament was contested by 36 players ranging in strength from FIDE Masters to beginners. Phillip Parker-Turner, a regular in state scholastic chess, is shown at the right. Blitz is a lot of fun for the players, and is great for the spectators as well.

Congratulations Paul on a great tournament!

Illinois Players at Mid-America Open

Rene Ancheta Isaac Braswell Wayne Clark
Howard Cohen Larry Cohen Zach Kasiurak
Richard Lewis Cleo Newsome, Jr Daniel Parmet
Roger Schmidt Aleksandar Stamnov Brian Villarreal

Fifty-eight Illinois players compete

On the weekend of March 13-15th, the 13th Annual Mid-America Open was held in the St. Louis suburb of Clayton, Missouri. Two hundred ten chess players came from as far away as Texas, New York and British Columbia. They competed for nearly $20,000 in prize money. No less than fifty-eight were from Illinois. NTD Wayne Clark served as Assistant Tournament Director.

Notable results by Illinois players

In the Open section GM Dimitry Gurevich finished in a tie for 2nd with 4 points. FM Aleksandar Stamnov, FM Andrew Karklins, and FM Doug Eckert all finished with 3.5 points and tied with five others. Larry Cohen, veteran player and former ICA President, upset Charles Lawton, a 2358 master.

Paul Mechem won the "A" section with 4.5 points. He was followed by Rene Ancheta of Touch Move Chess Club who had 4 points and tied with three others for second place.

Mike Mei won the "B" section with 4.5 points. Adam Schuld with 3.5 tied for fourth in the "C" section. Also, an aknowledgement goes to GB Potratz, U1400 section, for another demonstration of how to lose a totally won position.

Well done fellows!

Crosstable

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