ICA Tour
FM Zin Nabs '14 IL Class; Akintonde Wins Class A; Baumann Family Posts Three Perfect Scores
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
A fourth-round draw with FM Eric Rosen secured the 2014 Illinois Class championship for FM Aung Zin. The long-time Illinois registrant had won his three prior games at the event held November 23 in Lisle, IL.
For FIDE puproses, Zin is a Myanmar registrant, earning his FIDE Master title in 1995. He ranks in the top 20 of players from his native country. Zin was the co-runner up at the 2013 Illinois Class won by GM Nikola Mitkov.
Rosen had previously drawn GM Dmitry Gurevich, compiling a 3.0/4 result and tying with Gurevich as runners-up.
Iowan Youth Wan Wins 11th Tour Stop in Moline
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Defending K-6 National Champion Joseph Wan went 4-0 at the 2014 Quad Cities Classic claiming the first place trophy and over $100 in prize money. In doing so, he defeated both competing 2014 Illinois Tour participants, Aidan Carey in the first round and Jason Daniels in the third round.
Wan, currently the 30th-ranked 12 year-old in the country, recently moved to Iowa City, IA from Nebraska. His father, who teaches accounting at Western Illinois University, suggests we may be seeing more of Wan at Illinois events.
Tour Continues To Quad Cities Oct 25
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
The dust has barely settled from the Midwest Class but for 2014 Illinois Tour stalwarts, it's on to the Quad Cities for this year's penultimate tour event. This marks the first time this tournament has been included in the Tour lineup but marks the fifth year for the Quad-City Classic, to be held in Moline on Saturday, October 25.
According to Rick Rector, "The Illowa Chess Club, or as it is now called, the Illowa Bi-State Chess Club, has been around for decades in the Quad-Cities." Straddling the mighty Mississippi River, Rector explains the club serves both Illinois and Iowa. "Nowadays we meet in Moline but we have met on the Iowa side of the river, too."
The tournament announcement indicates that in addition to cash prizes that trophies will be awarded. The four-round Swiss will feature two sections, an Open and a Reserve designated for Under 1400's.
GM Georgiev Earns 2014 IL Championship Title, Rajamani and Zhang Co-Champions in Reserve
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Heading into the sixth and final round of the 2014 Illinois Open, Illinois FM Sam Schmakel had the only perfect score atop a field of 80 including four Grandmasters and four International Masters.
Unfortunately for the soon-to-be UIC freshman, Schamkel succomb to GM Vladimir Georgiev in the final match, giving Georgiev the tournament and the 2014 Illinois Champion title. Georgiev had previously been co-champion of the event in 2005.
GM Georgiev finished with 5.5. Schmakel had to settle for a share of second place with Illinois-newcomer GM Boris Avrukh, both with 5.0/6 scores.
USCF Crosstables can be viewed here while tiebreak-ordered results can be seen here.
GM Avrukh, IM Kannappan Top '14 Midwest Class
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
With a fourth round head-to-head draw and respective victories in the final round, GM Boris Avrukh and IM Priyadharshan Kannappan earned the co-championship in the top section of the 2014 Midwest Class. On tiebreaks, Missouri-based Kannappan earned the bonus prize.
For the first time, the Continental Chess Association event featured a Premier section which attracted 58 players competing in more than a single round, including four Illinois-based Grandmasters. With re-entries and Under 1100 entrants counting as only half, the overall field fell just short of the 250 "based on", but the $20,000 prize fund was paid out within a few percentage points of the guarantee.
The event featured two- and three-day options in seven sections, completing October 12 at Wheeling's Westin North Shore. Crosstables available here.
Tour Leaders Stake Claims Entering Homestretch
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- Written by Mike Cardinale Mike Cardinale
The leaders of each of the three performance prize divisions of the 2014 Illinois Chess Tour have established daunting leads, chiefly by playing in six of the eight completed Tour events.
With just four events remaining, beginning with the Illinois Open over the upcoming holiday weekend, players pursuing the leaders will need to excel in multiple events down the stretch to pressure the frontrunners. But just beneath the leaders in the standings, the fight for prizes in positions 2-5 is extremely tight.
Both Pete Karagianis and Andrew Fei missed the Tour opener, the Tim Just Winter Open, but haven’t missed a beat since, playing in six of the next seven events, both downstate and in the Chicago metro area.