News
Illinois Chess Fixture Howard Cohen Passes Away
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 27 April 2016 27 April 2016
Long-time Illinois chess stalwart Howard Cohen has passed away.
A memorial service was held at Congregation Emanuel, 5959 N Sheridan Road in Chicago followed by a visitation. A visitation will also be conducted at Howard's sister's residence on Sunday, May 1 from 5pm to 8pm.
Howard's chess history, largely as a Class A player, spanned the entirety of the US Chess MSA compilation dating back to late 1991 -- but clearly he'd been playing formal chess for many years before that. In three monthly rating supplements he actually achieved Expert status with a peak rating of 2026 in November of 1996.
State's GM Count Will Rise to Nine With Arrival of Texas Pair
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- Written by Mikhail Korenman Mikhail Korenman
- Created: 21 April 2016 21 April 2016
Grandmasters Nadezhda Kosintseva and Leonid Kritz will soon augment an impressive lineup of grandmasters who call the Land of Lincoln home. The pair will join the likes of Gurevich, Shulman, Avrukh, Mitkov, Georgiev, Goldin, and Amanov, making Illinois one of the most popular home states for those with the prestigious title.
Recent graduates from the University of Texas at Dallas, Nadezhda and Leonid are relocating to the Chicago area next month with their two-year old daughter.
Nadezhda, 31, is the second female chess player in the US (along with Irina Krush) to hold a Grandmaster title. Her current FIDE rating is the highest among all female chess players in the US.
Chess Without Borders Honored By Points of Light
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 14 April 2016 14 April 2016
Barrington-based Chess Without Borders (CWB) has been honored by the Points of Light (POL) organization. The "service-minded" chess-education philanthropy was honored as the POL Daily recipient of April 13.
The Points of Light has recognized more than 5,000 organizations since the famous George Bush (Sr.) pronouncement of a societal need for volunteerism. The awards were initiated in November of 1989 with some the recognized volunteer initiatives dating back to 1900. CWB is recipient number 5717.
POL's posted profile recognizes the rich history borne out of Rishi Sethi's efforts at starting a chess club at an elementary school when he was nine-years old. Rishi is now a successful data analyst in New York City.
Illinois Team Got Mate? Wins 2016 National USAT Playoff
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 10 April 2016 10 April 2016
The Illinois foursome of Daniel Bronfeyn, Jacob Furfine, Vincent Do and Todd Freitag has won the US Amateur Team Playoff conducted April 9.
The Got Mate? squad had won the USAT North competition and won both playoff rounds to claim the championship.
Updated: Karagianis Publishes Cover Article in Chess Life
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 27 March 2016 27 March 2016
Bloomington-Normal Area chess coach and US Chess-master level player Pete Karagianis has published the lead article in month's (March 2016) Chess Life. The article is entitled, "The Struggle" -- well understood by anyone playing chess over the long haul.
"I have coached chess for nearly ten years and there is simply no way around it, to improve, you must play tournaments," says the well-respected coach who received a top Illinois coaching award at the 2014 K-8's.
Pete suggests he's given the same speech to thousands of students: "Chess is two parts: knowledge and playing tendencies. It is impossible to improve one without the other, and playing habits canonly truly be worked on within the confines and pressures of a tournament.