ICA Tournaments
Illinois Chess Association Update
- Details
- Written by ICA Board ICA Board
The Illinois Chess Association is pleased to provide an update on our latest developments and
introduce our forthcoming enhanced website. Earlier this year, we successfully launched the
updated ICA tour, which stands out as one of the premier program among all US Chess affiliate
associations, featuring an exceptional prize fund. We invite you to visit our website to explore
our exciting updated program.
At the beginning of the year, we approached Jacob Plotnick to assume the role of our editor,
which had been vacant for several years. He graciously accepted the position and has since
produced a commendable body of work, authoring numerous articles on tournaments and
publishing interviews to recognize notable individuals within the Illinois Chess community. If you
wish to have an article written, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Our Warren Junior Scholar director, Edwin Walker, has been diligently overseeing the program,
ensuring the success of the youth tournament, and is currently in the process of revamping the
program. Collaborating with several board members, he will soon present his innovative ideas,
which we hope to share with you in the near future.
Our new website is currently undergoing testing and is being developed from scratch. It will
retain all the categories featured on the previous site. As a frequently asked question from both
affiliates and members revolves around the value of joining the ICA, we aim for the new website
to provide an array of compelling reasons beyond the mere benefit of a five-dollar discount on
select tournaments or participation in the ICA tour.
The upcoming tournaments will showcase a fresh and modern look. The events page will
remain the same, with the Open and Scholastic categories intact. Additionally, we will introduce
new categories for the ICA tour and ICA Championship events. Notably, each category will
feature a carousel with prominent buttons, displaying the next ten tournaments in each
respective category. Simply click on a button to access the event details, conveniently located
on the main page.
In addition, we will implement an email blast system to inform you of upcoming tournaments,
similar to the approach used by US Chess. Weekly, a single email will be sent, encompassing
all upcoming tournaments organized by our affiliates. Rest assured, you will receive only one
email per week, preventing an influx of multiple messages.
We are also excited to introduce a free section on our website, where the ICA will post videos,
PGN games, and other related content. This section will provide a glimpse of the resources
available to our members, albeit on a limited scale.
Membership benefits will include access to an exclusive member area, offering PGN games for
analysis, PGN endgames for study, PGN puzzles, training videos, and the revival of the Illinois
Chess Bulletins (ICB). Furthermore, members will enjoy a five-dollar discount on select events.
For affiliates, the dedicated area will grant the ability to create and publish their own events on
our website, upload PGN games for publication, have their tournaments highlighted on the
home page, and advertise their tournaments in our weekly email sent to members. Additionally,
affiliates will have the option to have articles published about their tournaments.
National and state events will continue to receive prominent exposure, while the ICA Club Tour,
designed to support membership and affiliates, will reward members who participate in
tournaments organized by ICA affiliates. Points will be awarded for wins, losses, or draws, and
prizes, including trophies for Scholastic players, are currently being determined. Although no
monetary rewards will be provided, the prizes will hold significant value. A progress tracker will
also be available on our website.
We look forward to unveiling the new website and its enhanced features, providing our
members and affiliates with an improved online experience.
Welcome to ICA Spring Tournament
- Details
- Written by Stephen Plotnick Stephen Plotnick
Illinois Chess Association is starting out Spring with our On-Line Welcome to ICA Spring tournament
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR SUNDAY MARCH 21. Illinois Chess Association’s board of directors is extremely excited to do our opening on-line tournament. We are looking at ways to assist in giving opportunities for Illinois Chess during our unusual times known as COVID. We will be running a trial for our association to bring excitement and value to our members.
We have a two-thousand-dollar ($2000) prize fund based on fifty (50) entries. It will be an open tournament, with class prizes, ran with swiss pairings. Now here is what will be extremely exciting. We plan to have a Forty-dollar ($45) entry fee. Scholastic players rated under 1000 entry fee will be twenty dollars ($20), we will be giving trophies to top five players under 1000.
2019 Illinois Youth Invitationals
- Details
- Written by Bill Whited Bill Whited
The Illinois Youth Invitationals, sponsored by the Illinois Chess Association, took place on April on April 6th-7th,2019. Featuring 3 sections, the Denker, the Barber, and a Girls K-12 tournament, it showcased some of the strongest junior talent in Illinois.
The Illinois Denker is a state qualifying tournament for the National Denker which is a national tournament to determine the best high school boy in the country. The Barber is an invitational tournament for the best scholastic player in grades K-8. The Girls K-12 tournament is an invitational tournament for the best girls in grades K-12.
The Denker Qualifier
5 rounds
(only one player advances)
number of players:12
Player Score Place
Matthew James Stevens 4.5 1st
FM Jacob Furfine 4.0 2nd
Akhil Kalghatgi 3.0 3rd
The Barber Qualifier
5 rounds
(only one player advances)
Number players: 12
Player Score Place
Dimatar Mardov 4.5 1st
Nicholas John Ladan 3.5 2nd
CM Arthur Xu 3.0 3rd
Girls K-12
5 rounds
(only one player advances)
number of players:10
Player Score Place
WCM Marissa Li 4.5 1st
Shreya B Mangalam 3.5 2nd-3rd
Ashley Mei Yan 3.5 2nd-3rd
Good luck to all our champions at the US Open in Orlando where they will be competing for the top prize in each of the the tournaments for which they qualified!
2019 Illinois Senior Championship
- Details
- Written by Bill Whited Bill Whited
The 2019 Illinois Senior Championship was held in Schamburg Ilinois over the weekend of April 4th through the April 5th. It consisted of two sections, an Open and a Reserve. The Open Section had 16 players and the Reserve Section had 21. Only players aged 50 or older are eligible.The tournament was organized and directed by Bill Buklis. This is an official ICA event.
Standings-Open Division
Player Points Standing Prize
Chip Kraft 3.5 1st $225
Marvin Dandridge 3 2nd-3rd $90
Leonid Bondar 3 2nd-3rd $90
Standings-Reserve Division
Mark Parnay 4 1st $125
Michael Wishner 3.5 2nd $70
Steve Kuhlman 3 3rd $60
2017 Illinois Class
- Details
- Written by Bill Buklis Bill Buklis
Master/Expert Section
| No. | Name | ID | Rate | Exp. | Pts | Rnd1 | Rnd2 | Rnd3 | Rnd4 | Prize |
| 1 | Mitkov, Nikola | 12710197 | 2545 | 0218 | 4.0 | W8 | W6 | W3 | W7 | $500 |
| 2 | Velikanov, Alexander | 12879882 | 2404 | 9999 | 3.5 | W9 | W13 | W11 | -H- | $200 |
| 3 | Li, Zhaozhi | 13646954 | 2471 | 0318 | 3.0 | W5 | W12 | L1 | W6 | $50 |
| 4 | Bartochowski, Nicholas J | 13216472 | 2174 | 1119 | 2.5 | L11 | W15 | D5 | W9 | |
| 5 | Narayanan, Rishi T | 13949428 | 2005 | 0919 | 2.5 | L3 | W10 | D4 | W11 | |
| 6 | Ashuev, Yuri | 12615462 | 2195 | 1117 | 2.0 | W14 | L1 | W13 | L3 | |
| 7 | Paitrick, Derek | 12737570 | 2109 | 0318 | 2.0 | D15 | D11 | W8 | L1 | |
| 8 | Marshall, James A | 12423882 | 2025 | 1118 | 2.0 | L1 | W14 | L7 | W15 | |
| 9 | Zhang, Richard | 14006780 | 1995 | 0218 | 2.0 | L2 | W16 | W12 | L4 | |
| 10 | Garrett, Daniel Zachary | 14011307 | 1884 | 0119 | 2.0 | L12 | L5 | W16 | W13 | |
| 11 | Ho, Kevin | 14701285 | 1931 | 0818 | 1.5 | W4 | D7 | L2 | L5 | |
| 12 | Li, Marissa | 14468490 | 2100 | 0818 | 1.0 | W10 | L3 | L9 | -U- | |
| 13 | Markovic, Arendal | 12569761 | 2067 | 1119 | 1.0 | W16 | L2 | L6 | L10 | |
| 14 | Bareket, Tom | 14949310 | 1984 | 0818 | 1.0 | L6 | L8 | D15 | -H- | |
| 15 | Starkman, Eric Chandler | 14556452 | 1897 | 0419 | 1.0 | D7 | L4 | D14 | L8 | |
| 16 | Smythe, Bill | 10339022 | 1825 | 9999 | 1.0 | L13 | L9 | L10 | -B- |
2017 Illinois Senior
- Details
- Written by Bill Buklis Bill Buklis
Open Section
| # | Name | ID | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Tot | Prize |
| 1 | IM Angelo Young | 12559845 | 2367 | W17 | W3 | D2 | W5 | 3.5 | 187.50 |
| 2 | Steven J Szpisjak | 11464459 | 2200 | W12 | W5 | D1 | W4 | 3.5 | 187.50 |
| 3 | Lawrence S Cohen | 10341841 | 2013 | W15 | L1 | W7 | D6 | 2.5 | 37.50 |
| 4 | Tim S Ailes | 12691145 | 1907 | H--- | W10 | W6 | L2 | 2.5 | 37.50 |
| 5 | Marvin Dandridge | 10349095 | 2223 | W8 | L2 | W9 | L1 | 2.0 | |
| 6 | Steffen Klug | 12595805 | 2105 | D9 | W14 | L4 | D3 | 2.0 | |
| 7 | Rene Ancheta | 13197512 | 2055 | L10 | W11 | L3 | W12 | 2.0 | |
| 8 | James Condron | 10340403 | 1940 | L5 | D12 | W10 | D11 | 2.0 | |
| 9 | Daumants Hazners | 13637306 | 1733 | D6 | W13 | L5 | H--- | 2.0 | 33.33 |
| 10 | S E Henderson Jr | 12528520 | 1700 | W7 | L4 | L8 | W15 | 2.0 | 33.33 |
| 11 | Rick Jaconette | 12821947 | 1621 | H--- | L7 | W14 | D8 | 2.0 | 33.33 |
| 12 | Mark S Engelen | 12495634 | 1767 | L2 | D8 | W15 | L7 | 1.5 | |
| 13 | Leslie Bale | 12150440 | 1751 | H--- | L9 | --- | --- | 0.5 | |
| 14 | George David | 12683979 | 1718 | H--- | L6 | L11 | --- | 0.5 | |
| 15 | Joe Delay | 12584347 | 1673 | L3 | D16 | L12 | L10 | 0.5 | |
| 16 | Kenneth N Marshall | 10357861 | 1525 | U--- | D15 | --- | --- | 0.5 | |
| 17 | Hiro Mich Higuchi | 15299750 | 1992 | L1 | U--- | --- | --- | 0.0 |
Reserve Section
| # | Name | ID | Rtng | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Tot | Prize |
| 1 | Kenneth N Marshall | 10357861 | 1525 | L4 | B--- | W5 | W6 | 3.0 | 137.50 |
| 2 | Joseph G Zemgulys | 12401176 | 1600 | H--- | W7 | D4 | D3 | 2.5 | 50.00 |
| 3 | Slawomir Borkowski | 13926645 | 1505 | D5 | W10 | D6 | D2 | 2.5 | 50.00 |
| 4 | Craig A Boskey | 12570124 | 1378 | W1 | D6 | D2 | D7 | 2.5 | 50.00 |
| 5 | Derrick Red | 13483955 | 1305 | D3 | W8 | L1 | W9 | 2.5 | 50.00 |
| 6 | John De Mastri | 12580948 | 1655 | W9 | D4 | D3 | L1 | 2.0 | |
| 7 | Alan Gasiecki | 12475905 | 1415 | D10 | L2 | W8 | D4 | 2.0 | |
| 8 | Rudy Padilla | 12420298 | 1500 | H--- | L5 | L7 | W10 | 1.5 | |
| 9 | Anthony Charles Gasunas | 12590508 | 1400 | L6 | H--- | W10 | L5 | 1.5 | |
| 10 | Alexander Doolas | 16386265 | 602 | D7 | L3 | L9 | L8 | 0.5 | 25.00 |
2016 Illinois Class Championships
- Details
- Written by Bill Buklis Bill Buklis
Master/Expert
| No. | Name | ID | Rate | Exp. | Pts | Rnd1 | Rnd2 | Rnd3 | Rnd4 | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LI, ZHAOZHI | 13646954 | 2387 | 0217 | 4.0 | W13 | W8 | W3 | W4 | $500.00 |
| 2 | KALGHATGI, NIKHIL | 13797221 | 2082 | 0217 | 3.5 | W12 | D4 | W17 | W5 | $200.00 |
| 3 | WALLACH, KENNETH T | 12188500 | 2273 | 9999 | 3.0 | W18 | W19 | L1 | W7 | $50.00 |
| 4 | MENON, GOPAL | 12885980 | 2362 | 0917 | 2.5 | W14 | D2 | W7 | L1 | |
| 5 | ANGELOV, ANGEL YOSIFOV | 15055926 | 2204 | 0717 | 2.5 | W10 | D17 | W6 | L2 | |
| 6 | WOOD, CHRISTOPHER | 12853032 | 2079 | 0818 | 2.5 | -H- | W20 | L5 | W8 | |
| 7 | MACENIS, AUDRIUS | 13471795 | 2219 | 1116 | 2.0 | W15 | W11 | L4 | L3 | |
| 8 | KALGHATGI, AKHIL | 13797215 | 2143 | 0217 | 2.0 | W16 | L1 | W19 | L6 | |
| 9 | RAJENDRA, ANUPAMA SHASHIKALA | 14061227 | 2129 | 0217 | 2.0 | L17 | W18 | D11 | D10 | |
| 10 | HAO, HANSON | 13858968 | 2042 | 0217 | 2.0 | L5 | D14 | W20 | D9 | |
| 11 | Coffman, Charles Z | 14375064 | 1938 | 0517 | 2.0 | -B- | L7 | D9 | D15 | |
| 12 | KARAGIANIS, PETROS | 12542549 | 2319 | 1116 | 1.5 | L2 | W15 | -U- | -H- | |
| 13 | KLUG, STEFFEN | 12595805 | 2116 | 0817 | 1.5 | L1 | D16 | -H- | -H- | |
| 14 | RAJENDRA, AVINASH SHASHIKALA | 14061212 | 2115 | 0217 | 1.5 | L4 | D10 | L16 | W19 | |
| 15 | Marshall, James A | 12423882 | 2050 | 0217 | 1.5 | L7 | L12 | W18 | D11 | |
| 16 | VENKAT, ABHYUDHAYA | 14519152 | 1975 | 0117 | 1.5 | L8 | D13 | W14 | -U- | |
| 17 | BAREKET, TOM | 14949310 | 1955 | 0817 | 1.5 | W9 | D5 | L2 | -U- | |
| 18 | DANIELS, JASON SCOTT | 14107163 | 2087 | 0217 | 1.0 | L3 | L9 | L15 | W20 | |
| 19 | CURCIO, JACK THOMAS | 13451367 | 2079 | 0517 | 1.0 | W21 | L3 | L8 | L14 | |
| 20 | BROCK, WILLIAM H | 10152763 | 2113 | 0817 | 0.5 | -H- | L6 | L10 | L18 | |
| 21 | Zin, Aung Thant | 14089913 | 2261 | 0517 | 0.0 | L19 | -U- | -U- | -U- |
Class A
| No. | Name | ID | Rate | Exp. | Pts | Rnd1 | Rnd2 | Rnd3 | Rnd4 | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KORENMAN, MIKHAIL | 12803377 | 1970 | 1216 | 3.5 | W13 | D9 | W18 | W5 | $112.50 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Hector | 10344875 | 1800 | 9999 | 3.5 | D11 | W21 | W7 | W9 | $112.50 |
| 3 | WEI, JAMES | 13577813 | 1902 | 0217 | 3.0 | L4 | W22 | W13 | W14 | $10.00 |
| 4 | HO, KEVIN | 14701285 | 1805 | 0817 | 3.0 | W3 | D7 | D11 | W10 | $10.00 |
| 5 | Zhang, Richard | 14006780 | 1753 | 0117 | 3.0 | W19 | W8 | W6 | L1 | $10.00 |
| 6 | Loh, Harrison | 15340692 | 1720 | 0317 | 3.0 | W12 | W14 | L5 | W11 | $10.00 |
| 7 | JAY, NEEL | 14803101 | 1867 | 0117 | 2.5 | W20 | D4 | L2 | W18 | |
| 8 | STARKMAN, ERIC CHANDLER | 14556452 | 1866 | 0417 | 2.5 | D21 | L5 | W23 | W15 | |
| 9 | TOMPKINS, TYLER | 13519790 | 1820 | 1117 | 2.5 | W24 | D1 | W15 | L2 | |
| 10 | MIDDLETON, DOUGLAS ALAN | 10340187 | 1944 | 0117 | 2.0 | L14 | W23 | W12 | L4 | |
| 11 | CONDRON, JAMES K | 10340403 | 1900 | 9999 | 2.0 | D2 | W17 | D4 | L6 | |
| 12 | KUCHIPUDI, LOKESH | 13112218 | 1858 | 0707 | 2.0 | L6 | -X- | L10 | W20 | |
| 13 | RAJAMANI, SURESHKUMAR | 14871583 | 1828 | 0517 | 2.0 | L1 | W16 | L3 | W22 | |
| 14 | SINGH, HERSH | 15024326 | 1825 | 0817 | 2.0 | W10 | L6 | W19 | L3 | |
| 15 | LEE, MINKEE | 13415961 | 1933 | 1117 | 1.5 | W22 | D18 | L9 | L8 | |
| 16 | TALAYKO, EDGAR | 14811933 | 1903 | 0217 | 1.5 | L18 | L13 | D22 | W23 | |
| 17 | BAREKET, ADAM | 14949325 | 1849 | 0817 | 1.5 | D23 | L11 | W21 | -U- | |
| 18 | RICHARDSON, RYAN | 12939553 | 1807 | 0617 | 1.5 | W16 | D15 | L1 | L7 | |
| 19 | CAREY, AIDAN M | 14949435 | 1890 | 0317 | 1.0 | L5 | W20 | L14 | -U- | |
| 20 | Bale, Leslie | 12150440 | 1748 | 0217 | 1.0 | L7 | L19 | -B- | L12 | |
| 21 | YONG, DAVID | 15273720 | 1746 | 0118 | 1.0 | D8 | L2 | L17 | -H- | |
| 22 | GONG, BRIAN HOPE | 14663750 | 1822 | 0518 | 0.5 | L15 | L3 | D16 | L13 | |
| 23 | JACONETTE, RICK | 12821947 | 1692 | 0517 | 0.5 | D17 | L10 | L8 | L16 | |
| 24 | BLACKMAN, WILLIAM | 12729656 | 1910 | 0117 | 0.0 | L9 | -F- | -U- | -U- |