The Milwaukee duo of FM Alexander Velikanov (2413) and Derek Paitrick (2092) scored 3½-½ to earn $120 each at the Chicago Chess Center's Plus-Score 15, held December 9th at the University of Illinois's Student Center East. IN the final round, Velikanov was pressing against IM Angelo Young (2314) for the full point, which would have earned him $240 for a perfect 4-0 score. Young defended comfotrtably; he, Adam Chambers (1979), and Bill Smythe (1860) tied for third: each won $60. Tom Bareket and Natalie Wisniowski each won $30 for scoring +1.Notable rating performances were turned in by Bill Smythe , who picked up 60 points in a mere four games at the age of 74-ish. and Wisnowski, who was playing for a share of first in the final round. My personal hero of the day was Anastasiia Radiushyna, who had not played since she was an 11-year-old First Category Player in Ukraine! She did not win any games, but finished with a  more than respectable 1719 performance rating.

Elijah Platnick (1604) was the big prize winner of the day, as his perfect 4-0 in the Under 1800 section earned him $160 and a 102-point jump in Elo. James Webb (1634) earned $80 for 3½ points, while Andrew Cook and Andres Mauricio Celis each won $40 for their 3-1 scores. Four players scored +1 and won $20 each: Toby Yang, Malik Brewley, Kevin Behrendt, and Daniel Lee.

The full crosstables are available on the US Chess website.

Daniel Parmet directed the 40-player event for Chicago Chess Center.

Bill Brock, Chicago Chess Center