ICA Tournaments
2025 Illinois All Grade Championship
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- Written by Jacob Plotnick - Editor in Chief Jacob Plotnick - Editor in Chief
2025 Illinois All Grade Championship
The Illinois Chess Association is happy to congratulate Emily Dawson from Greater Peoria Chess Association for brilliantly organizing our 2025 Illinois All Grade Championship at the historic Pere Marquette Hotel in Peoria, Illinois on November 15, 2025.
The tournament had thirteen sections: 2nd through 8th grade, while kindergarten was combined with 1st grade, each getting their own awards. Each grade for High School represented 9th through 12th grade. In total, almost 300 kids participated.
Kindergarten through third grade had a g/30;d5 for 5 rounds
Fourth grade and fifth grade had a g/45;d5 for 4 rounds
Sixth grade through high school had a g/60;d5 for 4 rounds
Listed below are the results for the different sections:
12th grade, Senior in High School
Washington Community High School senior Brandon Adams secured the top 3.5/4 score in the 12th Grade section with a fourth-round victory over schoolmate Landon Scott. Classmates Samuel Zekany and Nicholas Winchell, secured a runner-up tie with 3.0’s, Samuel drawing Brandon in round three, Nicholas losing to the champion in round two. Brandon increased his rating 78 points to 533 in the event.
The 12th grade had 7 players.
Below are the results for all 7 players.
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11th grade, Junior in High School
In the 11th Grade section, Arnav Gupta of Palatine Fremd High School and Savan Giri of Peoria-area Dunlap High School shared the top 3.5 score, drawing head-to-head in the third round. Arnav’s rating dropped to 1559, down slightly, while Savan boosted his rating 53 points to 1140.
The 11th grade had 11 players.
Below are the results for all 11 players.
10th grade, Sophomore in High School
10th Grade competition also saw a shared championship with 3.5/4, as Dunlap’s Andres Maldonado and classmate Nathan Pulley both enjoyed three wins and a draw, but did not face-off head-to-head. Andres added a point to his previous 1492 rating while Nathan enhanced his rating 129 points to 996.
The 10th grade had 10 players.
Below are the results for all 10 players.
9th grade, Freshman in High School
Dunlap’s Varun Gurramkonda defeated Normal Community’s Srikar Jayam in the final round of the 9th Grade section to finish with a perfect 4.0/4. Varun’s rating climbed to 1886, up 17 points. Srikar, the highest rated entry of any player in the tournament saw his rating decline 14 points from 1931, as the freshman finished in a four-way tie for second.
The 9th grade had 18 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 2 points out of 4.
8th grade
St Philomena (Peoria) classmates Ben Ibeck and Evan Van Ryn were co-Eighth Grade champions, notching perfect 4.0 scores. Lucas Mideros of Champaign’s Next Generation was third with 3.5/4 .
The 8th grade had 40 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 3 points out of 4.
7th grade
Top-rated Sean Pepper scored the lone 4.0 for 7th Graders, bringing the championship trophy back to Peoria’s Reservoir Gifted School. A three-way tie for runner-up included Srivibhav Rayasam of Dunlap Middle, Lohith Reddy Gongati of Normal Chiddix and Kaushi Dheeravath of Bloomington’s Evans Junior High.
The 7th grade had 43 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 3 points out of 4.
6th grade
Dunlap’s Nabhya Shah brought the highest rating into 6th Grade competition and finished 4.0/4, ahead of a four-way pack at 3.5
The 6th grade had 38 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 2.5 points out of 4.
5th grade
Fifth-grader Rowan Neye of Oak Terrace Elementary in Highwood posted the lone 5.0/5 tally, ahead of a four-pack of downstaters at 4.0.
The 5th grade had 35 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 3 points out of 4.
4th grade
Naperville’s Eesha Kumar of Peterson Elementary was the 4th Grade champion thanks to a fifth-round draw against challenger Tanish Sen of Normal’s Grove Elementary. With the draw, Eesha finished 4.5/5 while Tanish finished in a two-way tie for runner-up with Naperville Patterson’s Brendan Raferty.
The 4th grade had 19 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 2.5 points out of 4.
3rd grade
Third grade competition saw Peterson’s Samarth Gupta of Naperville post the lone 5.0/5 score, ahead of co-runners-up Larin Zeff Rajeev and Yurman Yesuntumur, both with 4.0’s. Larin attends Peoria’s Wilder-Waite and Turman is a student of Earl Pritchett of Buffalo Grove.
The 3rd grade had 20 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 2.5 points out of 4.
2nd grade
Normal’s Vis Santhoshrajan was the solo 5.0/5 scorer in 2nd Grade chess, ahead of runners-up Deekshith Bravin and Shamuel Daniel Raj, both of Dunlap’s Hickory Grove, who compiled 4.0’s. Vis of Normal’s Grove Elementary beat Deekshith in the third round and Shamuel in the fourth round. It was Deekshith’s first rated event.
The 2nd grade had 19 players.
Below are the results for all players that scored at least 2.5 points out of 4.
Combined Kindergarten and 1st grade
Kindergarteners and First Graders were combined for competition purposes, but separate awards were distributed. Nonetheless, kindergarteners were competitive in the 15-player section. Abir Sumbhate of Normal’s Thomas Metcalf was First Grade Champion with a 4.5 tally, drawing Peoria Academy Kindergartner Vijayav Reddivari in the final round. Vijayav was crowned the state Kindergartner Champion, while Meera Patel of Washington’s Lincoln Grade School was the runner-up with a 3.5 score.
The Combined Kindergarten and 1st grade had 15 players.
Below are the results for all players in the kindergarten and 1st grade combined section.
Linked here is a complete rating report cross-table for the event. Following these links, you can view the full results across any sections instead of the abbreviated standings above.
Once again, we want to congratulate everybody who participated and gave it their best in the tournament and to congratulate Emily Dawson from Greater Peoria Chess Association for running the tournament so smoothly on behalf of the Illinois Chess Association.
Illinois' other annual scholastic championship, the two-day K-8's, will be held in March 2026 in upstate Schaumburg.
Illinois Chess Association Update
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- 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 |