News
Illini Team Makes it to Final Four Again
- Details
- Created: 14 January 2014 14 January 2014
For the second year in a row, the chess team from the University of Illinois has excelled at the Pan American Games, beating teams with considerably higher average ratings and proceeding to the President’s Cup (national Final Four) in Manhattan in April. In doing so, the team has once again gained national recognition.
The Illini foursome is comprised of FIDE Master Eric Rosen, National Masters Michael Auger and Leo Xin Luo, and Akshay Indusekar. The team upset Texas Tech-B, Columbia University and Lindenwood A-teams, all with ratings 200 or more points above the Illini. As noted in an article on the USCF website, Illinois’ two consecutive strong performances mean “they can hardly again be termed a ‘dark horse.’” (http://bit.ly/1dq8yJx)
November 2013 Chess Roundup
- Details
- Created: 19 December 2013 19 December 2013
There is a lot going on in the world of chess. For starters, as the world gets set to battle between youth and experience at the World Championship, the next wave of youth is getting ready for the battle down the road as Wei Yi becomes the youngest person to ever become a grandmaster. The 51st National Challengers Chess Championship 2013 in India had IM Thejkumar and IM Ashwin Jayaram tied for first. Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo won the Women's Section of the European Club Cup which is her fifth title for this tournament. After starting in Bastia, the 17th Corsica Masters moved on to Aiacciu, and in the end GM Ivan Saric won. IM Jahongir Vakhidov not only won the 3rd Central Asia Cup but also achieved a GM norm. Over in St. Louis, IM Kayden Troff tied for first at the SPICE Cup Open and achieved his second GM norm. GM Alexey Dreev won the Indonesian Open Chess Championship 2013, and Fabiano Caruana secured victory in Bucharest at the 7th edition of Kings Tournament.
Schmakel leads Whitney Young to Four National Titles
- Details
- Created: 16 December 2013 16 December 2013
Sam Schmakel, Chicago’s top youth player, added to his long string of national championships on the weekend, winning a fifth individual national title and leading the chess team from Whitney Young Magnet High School to three other national first place awards. The event, USCF’s National Scholastic K-12 Championships, was held Friday through Sunday in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Schmakel won the 12th grade national championship, the clear winner with 6.5 out of a possible seven wins. He previously won the national championship in 2nd grade (2003), 9th grade (2010), and 10th grade (2011) and was co-champion in 11th grade (2012).
Class Struggle Resolved in Lisle
- Details
- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 30 November 2013 30 November 2013
A huge walk up registration saw 99 compete in six sections at the 2013 Illinois Class. The ICA-sponsored event was held November 24 at the Lisle Hilton. The four-round event also represented the tenth and final stop on the 2013 Illinois Chess Tour.
With a fourth-round draw over Gopal Menon, GM Nikola Mitkov claimed the championship in the combined Masters/Expert section. Menon shared second place with Aung Zin and Nathan Kranjc, all posting 3.0/4 scores.
Chess Documentary Airing on PBS
- Details
- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Created: 06 October 2013 06 October 2013
After a whirlwind appearance in select movie theaters and a recent DVD release, Brooklyn Castle is coming to the home theater this week, courtesy of public television and its award-winning POV program.
The documentary depicts the travails of New York's Intermediate School 318 (NY's version of middle school), highlighting the challenges of its chess program through a critical period a few years back.
Public television stations including WTTW in Chicago will air the program at various times and dates through early November, and online viewers can stream the documentary starting October 8 at http://www.pbs.org/pov/brooklyncastle/.