A robust field of 125 players (with a few extra games for good measure) competed in the inaugural event of the 2013 Illinois Chess Tour. The five-round Tim Just Winter Open and Reserve was held January 5 and 6 at the Oak Brook Doubletree Hotel.

In the end, a three-way tie in the Open Section meant Angelo Young, Angel Angelov and Thomas Ulrich split $1200 in first place prize money with 4.5 out of 5 scores. Angelo and Angel agreed to a fifth-round draw, while Thomas needed a fifth-round victory over Jonathan Kogan to cement his share of the top prize.

Boyan Angelov, Michael Auger and Ilan Meerovich split the Under 2200 prize fund with 4.0 scores. This was Ilan’s first tournament in two and a half years as he works on completing his accounting degree from the prestigious Northern Illinois University. (Interestingly, Ilan had last competed in the Winter Open in 2009 when he tied for second also with a 4.0/5 score. In that event, Ilan was edged out by the very same Michael Auger -- who’d gone 4.5/5 to win the tournament – when both players were still in high school.)

Aydin Turgut was eligible to compete in the Reserve Section, but the Decatur 8-year old claimed the Under 2000 prize in the Open with a 3.5/5 score, defeating two Class A’s and an Expert in the process. There was a 7-way tie for the U2000 second place prize.

After three rounds, John Crissman and Dante Silguero had earned 1.0 and 1.5 points respectively. Things weren't looking good. However, thanks to productive final rounds, John and Dante split the Under 1800 prize money, finishing with 3.0/5 scores. They both scored upsets over players rated more than 300 points higher than themselves.

Akshay Indusekar (372 rating points, second round) and Bennett Joseph (328 rating points, first round) also notched significant upsets.

All tolled, 59 entrants played two or more rounds in the Open Section compared with only 48 in 2012’s event.

In the Reserve Section, Gee Leong and Nathan Beauchamp split $1000 prize money with 4.5/5 scores. In the final round, Nathan settled for a draw against a higher-rated opponent while Gee needed the full point to join the top score group. A five-way tie for third-place money split $200.

Todd Summers claimed sole possession of Under 1600 prize money with a 4.0/5 score, edging out a four-player pack which tied for second. Todd bumped his rating 110 points to 1645.

Giorgi Vanderway claimed first prize among the Under 1400’s with 3.5/5, while Armel Peel and Antonio Clavero split Under 1200 prize money with 2.5/5 scores.  Giorgi also enjoyed the major upset of the tournament, defeating his second-round opponent who out-rated him by 700 points! Giorgi raised his rating through this event a remarkable 266 points, to 1346!

Antonio (346 rating points difference), along with Adam Reese (also 346) and Ryszand Dyrek (335) also claimed solid upsets in the Reserve.

66 competed in the Reserve Section, compared with 51 the year before.

Between the two sections, 32 entrants divided up $4400 in prize money.

Crosstables

The 2013 Illinois Chess Tour continues in April with the two-day Peoria Open (4/20 and 4/21), the Normal Open (5/04), the Chicago Open in May, and the Third Orwell Memorial in June (6/22 in DeKalb).