While a pair of international entrants shared top honors in the Open Section, Illinois players will be cashing a number of checks from the 2014 Chicago Open which concluded May 26.

In particular, a number of Warren Junior Scholars did their host state -- and the Warren program -- proud, collecting over $12,500 in prize money.  34 Scholars participated in the Open, including 31 of 38 (82%) of those living in the Greater Chicago area.

The Continental Chess Association guaranteed $100,000 in prizes for the 22nd Annual Chicago Open, hosted for the seventh time at the Westin North Shore in Wheeling. Around 700 players competed in nine sections.

Amenian Grandmaster Gabriel Sargissian and Indian International Master Priyadharshan Kannappan (now based in Missouri) posted 7.0/9's to split first and second place prize money, $7500 a piece. Sargissian took home an additional $200 bonus for earning the higher tiebreak.

The paths to victory taken by the co-champions could not have been any more different: Sargissian coasted in with draws in the final three rounds, while Kannappan came on strong winning his final five rounds.

Illinois GM Yury Shulman drew Sargissian in a quick 21-move final round match, finishing up with 6.5 in a six-way tie for 3rd through 8th places, good for $1,066.67. GM Dmitry Gurevich tied for second among Under 2500-rated entrants in the Open, taking home $333.34 for his weekend's effort.

Also in the Open, Sam Schmakel compiled a 5.0 score, closing with three draws while WIM Viktorija Ni posted a 4.5 result. 92 competed in two or more matches in the top section.

12-year old Warren Scholar Nikhil Kalghatgi won the Under 1900 section outright, compiling a 6.5/7 score. Only a second-round draw against Wisconsin's Adream Liang denied Kalghatgi a perfect score. He defeated Ohio's Michael Higgins in the seventh round to secure a $5,000 payday. Most importantly for family bragging rights, Nikhil leapfrogged his twin Akhil's rating, reaching 1959.

In the Under 1700, the Warren program's Caeley Harihara came in clear second with a 6.0/7 posting, earning $2,000 (and I'm sure a few rating points, 143 to be exact).

In the U2100 Section, FIDE Master Alex Bian shared top honors with two other Illinoisians, Sedrick Prude and Boyan Angelov, each taking home $2900 prize checks with 6.0/7 scores. Prude and Angelov drew head-to-head in the final round, while Warren Scholar Bian needed a seventh-round victory to share in the section championship.

Fellow-Scholar Zhaozhi (George) Li finished a half-point back, tying for 4th-8th place, earning $540.

Alex is Illinois' top-rated 13-year old, George is the Land of Lincoln's top-rated 14-year old.

Not content with a single check, Li also shared the Mixed Doubles $2,000 top prize, posting a 10.5 score with fellow-Scholar Marissa Li. The duo edged Illinois siblings Bryce and Emily McClanahan who finished with 10.0, good for $1,000.

Another Scholar, Daniel Bronfeyn, teamed with WIM Yulia Levitan who tied for second in the U2300 section. The duo compiled a 9.0 combined score, tying for 5th place, sharing a $125 Mixed Doubles prize. 

Marissa, Illinois' top-rated 11-year old, had tied for 10th with six others in the U1900 section, earning another $42 and change. With this event, she raised her USCF-rating to 1876, the highest in recent history for any Illinois female junior not named Penny Xu.