Greater Peoria Chess Foundation (GPCF) 60 years and running

The Greater Peoria Chess Foundation (GPCF) has been at the forefront of the chess scene in Peoria for over 60 years. Though, the official nonprofit organization as we know it today was established in 1996 after merging with the Greater Peoria Chess Federation. The GPCF’s mission is rooted in the intrinsic understanding of the power of chess to develop many important life skills – logical thinking, problem-solving, and self-confidence, to name a few.

They achieve this by striving to make chess accessible to the public, especially young players, via incorporation into local school systems. They make a point to invest into programs which support students in their academic and personal growth, rather than simply chess and nothing more. Through scholarship opportunities, talented youth programs are offered scholarships to help them access various chess opportunities – the largest example is several youth players being able to play in the Supernationals in just a few months. Further, the foundation helps integrate chess into school to further enrich students' lives through chess.

Beyond the basic educational initiatives, the GPCF organizes numerous tournaments throughout the year. The most impressive of which is the Bradley Summer Open, which is one of, if not the longest-running college chess tournaments in the United States. This event draws in players from all over the country and cements Peoria in the national chess scene. Adding onto this prestigious event, the GPCF coordinates many other local events which make it possible for players of all ages and experience to get involved.

Through six decades of tireless work, the GPCF has cemented chess as a vibrant and unending part of the local Peoria culture. Their commitment to provide resources and create an amazing space for players of all ages is an ongoing effort that has no end in sight. By fostering an environment which values community, intellectual growth, and education, the GPCF helps guarantee that chess will remain an enduring and accessible sport for all those that want to.

Finally, I’d like to thank Emily Dawson for meeting with me to provide all of this information. Emily is the current secretary for the GPCF and an amazing asset to the team. Though she only joined the chess community when her son started playing chess back more than 10 years ago, she’s been of vital importance to the chess scene in Peoria ever since; helping to coordinate and run tournaments. She is truly an embodiment of the fact that it’s never too late to start whatever you aspire towards.

Once again, make sure to pay attention towards the Greater Peoria Chess Federation, and give them a visit if you’re ever in the neighborhood.

2025 Bradley Winter Open – Second ICA Tour event 2025

2025 Bradley Winter Open – Second ICA Tour event 2025

The Illinois Chess Association is happy to congratulate Patick Cohen from the Greater Peoria Chess Foundation for running our second ICA tour event for 2025, the Bradley Winter Open. This event was held on February 1, 2025 in Peoria, Illinois. 

The tournament had one section with 20 participants, which contained four rounds of game 80 with a 5 second delay.

Courtesy of Greater Peoria Chess Foundation

There was a very exciting last round with David Long and Mahendra Lavanur leading with a perfect 3 points and six players tied with 2 points going into the final round: Joshua Long, Sean Keiya Pepper, Kavin Sivagnanam, Nathan Pulley, Tony Seghetti and Kyle Churchill. David and Mahendra drew to finish tied in first place with 3.5 points out of four games. At the same time, two players with 3 points. 

Here are the players that finished with at least two out of four points:

Linked here is the US rating report. Following these links, you can view the full results instead of the abbreviated standings above. Linked here are the 2025 Illinois Chess Tour Prizes. Here is a list of all 2025 Illinois Chess Association Tour Schedule. Once again, we are happy to congratulate everybody who participated and gave it their best in this tournament and to congratulate Patrick Cohen for running the tournament so smoothly. 

2025 ICA Illinois Tour Schedule Announced

The ICA Board of Directors has approved the 2024 & 2025 Illinois Tour Schedule.

If you are an ICA Affiliate and would like one of your events to be included in the 2026 tour, please email the Tour at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Complete 2025 Illinois Tour Schedule:

1. Tim Just Winter Open January 3-5, 2025
2. Bradley Winter Open, GPCF/Bradley University Feb 1, 2025  
3. Springfield March Checkmate Open, Springfield Chess Club, March 29, 2025 
4. Greater Peoria Open, GPCF, April,  
5. Chicago Open, Continental Chess Association, May 23-27
6. Springfield Mid-Year Open, Springfield Chess Club, July  
7. Chicago Class, Continental Chess Association, July 19-21
8. Bradley Summer Open, GPCF/Bradley University,  August,   
9. Illinois Open, Aug-Sept
10. Springfield Harvest Time, Springfield Chess Club, Nov 1 
11. Midwest Class, Continental Chess Association, Oct
12. Illinois Class, Nov

2025 Winter Open Individual Scholastic

2025 Winter Open Individual Scholastic

The Illinois Chess Association is happy to congratulate Bill Buklis from King Registration Dam Wilson from Wilson Chess for running our first ICA tour event for 2025. As a wonderful side event for the scholastic players, they offered a scholastic event with lower rated sections compared to the main event. The event was held from January 4, 2025. This tournament was held in Schaumburg, Illinois. There was also the main three-day event from January 3 to January 5, 2025. The main Tim Just Winter Open is presented in a second article which can be found here.

The tournament had three sections: Under 1200, Under 800 and Under 500. In total, there were almost 150 participants, 5 of which were ICA members. The tournament consisted of five rounds of game 25 with a 5 delay.

The Trophies, courtesy of Wilson Chess

Under 1200

We had a very exciting last round with a two-way tie for first entering the last round with a perfect 4 points out of 4 going into the last round.  Pierce Wei defeated Pratheek Gajula to end up with a perfect 5 points. We ended up with four more players going into the last round with 3 points and winning, causing a 5-way tie for second with 4 points. The four other players besides Pratheek Gajulak were Eesha Kumar, Shrinath Hariharan, Eyal Senthilkumar, and Phani Nihit Surikuchi. Pratheek ended up with second place honors on tie-brakes.

Picture Courtesy of Wilson Chess

Here are the players that finished with at least three and a half points:

Under 800

We had a very exciting last round.  Michael Juchems was the only player with a perfect 4 out of 4 wins going into the last round. He defeated Shivank Prathipati who started the last round with 3.5 out of 4 points. Mesen Yang also started the last round with 3.5 points and defeated Milo Soohov to come into second place. Two other players started the last round with 3.5 points and drew each other to end up with 4 points: Loga Alexander Pauley and Ansh Raina. Three other players also finished with 4 points by winning their last game: Vikram Gollapudi, Rylan Ingrum and Navya Gupta.

Picture Courtesy of Wilson Chess

Here are the players that finished with at least three and a half points:

Under 500

There was a four-way tie for first place with a perfect 4 out of 4 points going into the last round, making for an exciting finish.  Adele Mathis defeated Luc Amin and Samarth Singh defeated Wellington Zhou. Adele ended up winning first pace on tiebreaks 

Picture courtesy of Wilson Chess

Here are the players that finished with at least three and a half points:

We want to congratulate the following scholastic players that increased their ratings by at least 50 points:

Linked here is a complete cross-table for the event, courtesy of King Registration, and linked here is the US rating report. Following these links, you can view the full results across any sections instead of the abbreviated standings above. Linked here is a recap with many pictures and cross tables courtesy of Wilson Chess for the event. Once again, we are happy to congratulate everybody who participated and gave it their best in this tournament and to congratulate Bill Buklis along with King Registration and Dan Wilson from Wilson Chess for running the tournament so smoothly. We also want to thank the 5 Illinois Chess Association members that came out and supported the scholastic side event for our first ICA tour event for 2025.