June 2013 Chess Roundup

As India gears up to host the World Chess Championship for the first time, it seems a good time to look around at all that's going on in the literal and metaphorical world of chess.  In the Hainan province of China, Ding Liren won the 4th Hainan Danzhou Tournament.  13 year old, Charlize van Zyl, became the youngest South African to become a WIM.  Bela Khontenashvili, from Georgia,  won the Fondation Neva Women's Grand Prix.  Canadian, IM Edward Porper won a GM Norm at the Chicago Open. Egyptian team makes it into World Cup by dominating the African Chess Championship. The ICC (Internet Chess Club) will sponsor the Denker, Barber, and Girls Invitational by providing a two year membership to all participants.  IM Irina Krush won another U.S. Women's Championship title.

In Illinois, here are the results from around the state: 

May 3:  The Naperville Youth Chess Club 2013 0503 Tournament had 35 players and had 5 sections.  In the U1200 Section Patrick Rao won both his games.  In the U900 Section, three players (Charles Chen, Raleigh Clemens, and Alex Zhang) won two of their three games.  David Chu was the sole player to win both of his games in the U700 Section, and this feat was also accomplished by one player in the U600A Section by Jonathan Zhang.  In the U600B Section, Benjamin Leong finished with his provisional rating by winning the section and gaining 201 points.  Crosstables.

May 4:  The 2013 Normal Open in Bloomington, IL had 32 players.  Lone Master Petros Karagianis swept the tournament.  Crosstables. 

May 4: The Evanston 3x3, May 2013 drew 50 players.  In the Gold Section, Master Albert Chow had a draw against B Class player Ryan Richardson which opened the door to a four way tie for first.  The other players to finish with a 2.5 out of 3.0 included Kymantas Alborovas, Jiri Kabelac, and Mark Coleman.  In the Silver Section, Brian Gong and Aminah Garcia tied for first with perfect 3 for 3 records.  In the Bronz Section, Lorenzo Aranda was the sole player to take first player.  Crosstables.

May 4:  The Joliet Junior College Spring Quads drew 17 players to this four section event.  The winner for each section was as follows: Gregory Bungo (1), Marvin Johnson (2), Anthony Bennett (3), Nicholas Johnson (4).  Crosstables.

May 5: The May Game 45 in Skokie, IL drew 21 players.  In the Open Section, there were four experts but Dusan Tutush was the only player to go 4/4.  In the U1500 Section, three players tied for first.  They were Shashank Bala, Kobe NG, and Timothy Krick.  Crosstables.

May 11: The U of Chicago Open in Chicago had 8 players for this G/60 event.  Tian Peng went 3.5/4.0 for first place. Crosstables.

May 11: The 2013 Northern IL Spring Classic had 12 players in Lisle, IL.  Anuj Dahiya and S.E. Henderson Jr. tied for first with 3.5 points.  Crosstables.

May 11: The May Game-60 tournament in Skokie, IL had 36 players.  In the Open Section, Kenneth Wallach finished 4/4.  In the U1500 Section, Edward Zhang went 4/4 and gained 43 rating points which raised his rating just enough to play in the Section again with a new 1499 rating.  Crosstables. 

May 11 to 12:  For a complete article and a couple games from the CCC UNAM Invitational check out the write-up on the ICA's website.  For crosstables.

May 12:  The 89th Quest Tournament sponsored by Renassance Knights had 80 players come out to Norhtbrook for this four Section Event.  The winners for each section were:  Avinash Rajendra (Open), Adam Pastor (U1400), Aleksandr Perov (U1000), and Aditya Pillai (U600).  Crosstables.

May 15 to 16:  The St. Charles 2013 G/15 Tournament had 7 players.  High man on the rating totem pole, Jeff Wiewel, took first place.  Crosstables.

May 18:  An article by Bill Feldman for the It's a Wonderful Life Classic Tournament can be found on the ICA Website.

May 18: The Glenwood May Tournament had 8 players for this G/45 event.  Expert Sedrick Prude took first by going 4/4.  Crosstables.

May 18:  The Highland Park Open had 41 players and had three sections.  In the Advanced Section Adrian Zolkos finished first.  In the Intermediate Section, Jor-El Arenas had a perfect 4/4.  The Beginner Section had new comer Steve Ortega jump to a provisional 1054 after winning his first four games of rated play.  Crosstables.

May 18:  The Chesstronics May 2013 Tournament in Normal, IL had 10 players.  Marcus Lee took first and gained 120 rating points.  Crosstables.

May 18:  The 55th Kumbaya Tournament had 30 players.  In the 1200 and above Section, Jacob Furfine edged out the competion with a 2.5/3.0.  In the U1200 Section,  Joseph Buklis went undefeated, and Matthew Berner accomplished the same feat in the U700 Section.  Crosstables.

May 19:  Chess at Whitney Young Tournament drew 15 players.  The sole undefeated player was Adam Pastor.  Crosstables.

May 19: The Naperville Open - 3 Tournament had 4 Sections and 29 players.  In the U600 Section, Merlin Lu and Aadit Bennur tied for first with 4.0/5.0.  Burasees Bajaj finished first in the U1000 Section.  In the U1400 Section, Omkar Prabhavalkar finished on top with 3.0 out of 4.0.  In the Open Section, Joe Emole was the sole player to finish with a perfect record.  Crosstables.

May 18 to 19:  The 19th NA Amateur in Skokie, IL had 16 players.  There was a master and several experts playing in the event.  One of the experts, James Pavese, took first with 3.5/4.0.  Crosstables.

May 25:  The May 25 2013 Tournament in Park Forest had 8 players.  Robert Naiman went undefeated and gained ten rating points.  Crosstables.

May 25:  The May Game 60 - II in Skokie IL had 14 players.  IN the Open Section William Blackman lost his first game but went on to win the rest and the section.  In the U1500 Section, Thomas Lynch and Jakub Kowalczyk tied for first with 3.0 out of 4.0.  Crosstables.

May 25:  The Chicago Open Game 10 had Conrad Holt winning first place with a near perfect record.  Crosstables.

May 23 to 27:  The 22nd Annual Chicago Open.  The big kahuna of Illinois chess.  9 Sections.  4 days to play.  699 players.  All in Wheeling, IL.  So what happened?  In the Open Section, three players tied for first with 7.0/9.0.  They were Ray Robson, Nikola Mitkov, and Josua Friedel.  In the Under 2300 Section, there was a four-way tie for first between Ryan Goldenberg, Aung Zin, Giovanni Carreto, and Gopal Menon.  In the Under 2100 Section, Sameer Manchanda and Ben Rothschild tied for first and both ended up the tournament with ratings higher than 2100.  In the U1900 Section, Jeremy Berman was the sole first place finisher and he gained 122 rating points.  Igor Melnikov also was a sole winner but of the U1700 Section.  His provisional rating jumped from 1580 to 1835.   In the Under 1500 Section, Gunbileg Myagmasuren finished with an impressive 7 for 7 record.  The Under 1300 Section had Alexey Kochemirovskiy drawing his nearest competitor Roman Ugrinovskiy in the last round to keep first place.  The Adult under 1100 Section had Michael Liberman finishing with a near perfect record of 6.5/7.0, and the same feat was accomplished by Lyle Rubin in the U1100 Jr. Section.  Crosstables.

May 7 to 28:  The May 2013 Tournament in Moline had 14 players.  Don Bruemmer finished first by finishing with 3.5/4.0.  Crosstables.