For the second consecutive tournament, Pete Karagianis has run the table in a 2013 Chess Tour event. Pete's 4.0/4 topped the field of 32 entrants for the Normal Open, held May 4 at the North Bridge Baptist Church.

14 entrants received some portion of the many prize pools ranging from overall first and second to Class A through E winner. Twin City Chess Club hosted the Open.

Jeffrey Davis achieved second place overall with a 3.5/4 tally, drawing Robert Naiman in the third round. Robert and Michael Brun divided the Class A prize with 2.5 points.

Jason Daniels and Scott Schmidt both needed thrilling fourth-round victories to split the Class B prize fund with 3.0/4 scores.

Balaji Iyengar's 2.5/4 was good enough to claim Class C outright.

Adita Sharma earned a draw against Class A-Robert in the final round to finish at 2.5, splitting Class D with Aditha Chandramouli.

James Risoli recently returned to rated-chess after an 8 1/2 year absence. The Peoria-area player had the upset of the event, beating a Class B-player in the third round. James wound up with 2.0/4, tying with Jai Mahajan and Jason Li for Class E honors. James, Jai and Jason have all raised their ratings above 1200, Class D territory.

Ryan Wilke was the only entrant with no prior USCF experience recorded, and therefore claimed the unrated prize fund. Way to go, Ryan! Yours truly did not have his finest day at the chessboard, but managed to claim the generous gas prize for longest distance traveled to the site.

Organizer and Tournament Director Jeff Smith ran another smooth event with dodge ball and cheap snacks enjoyed between rounds. Jeff even managed to win both his house games to return his rating back over the magic 1400-mark.

Despite concurrent events in Evanston (50+) and Joliet (17), the Normal Open continued its growth from the prior year's turnout. Paying out over 90% of funds received, the event distributed over $500 to participants, all tolled, more than the other two events combined.

Complete crosstables can be found in the MSA.

The Illinois Tour continues May 23-27 with the Wheeling-hosted Chicago Open. 4-day, 3-day and 2-day options are also available along with some shorter time control side events.