Thirty-four players came from near and far to compete in the 2011 State Girls Open Championship sponsored by the ICA Warren Junior Program. It was the first time in three years that a state all-girls open was held. Shayna Provine of Plainfield took first place in the open section with three points out of four, edging out other 3-pointers Cheryl Liu of Buffalo Grove, second place; and Madeleine Reiches of Evanston, third place, on tiebreaks. Miranda Liu of Long Grove and Adele Padgett of Lake Forest took fourth and fifth, respectively.

In the K3 section, Caitlin Hong of Highland Park and Samantha Moyer of Chicago were the top scorers with 3.5 points each. Caitlin, who was playing in her first ever rated tournament, took the first place trophy on tiebreaks, and Samantha took second. Other trophy winners in the K3 section, all with 3 points, were Eric Costigan of Park Ridge, 3rd place; Nuha Mozumder of Champaign, 4th; and Isabella Rhee of Wheaton, 5th place.

In the combined K5/K8 sections, Annie Xu of Lincolnshire took first place with 4 points, the only undefeated player of the day. Maya Malecki of Wilmette and Rithika Kyaw of Glendale Heights each had three points and took second and third place, respectively. Victoria Walsh of Highland Park and Renee Huang of Lake Bluff each had two points and took fourth and fifth, respectively. K8 trophy winners in the section were: Ally Connors, Highland Park, 1st place; Taylor Czerwinski, Highland Park, 2nd Place; and Cesi Juarez, Chicago, 3rd place.

The tournament was held at Niles North High School in Skokie, which donated the space for the event. The North American Chess Association provided all boards, sets and clocks. Betsy Dyanko did a stellar job as TD, and received invaluable assistance from Highland Park High School student Bryce Robertson. More than $300 was raised for the ICA Warren Junior Program.

In addition to trophies, the players in the open section were also competing for a spot at the state girls invitational championship, a 6-player event which will be held the weekend of March 26-27. Congratulations go to Cheryl Liu, who will receive the invitation. Provine, the first-place trophy winner, had already locked in an invitation based on her rating. For more photos of the event, click this link.