Over 120 junior competitors from four states competed the weekend of May 17-18 at the Ice Harbor Scholastic in scenic Dubuque, IA. 11 entrants from Illinois walked away with nine individual trophies from the main event.

The field represented 50 more players than the previous Ice Harbor which debuted in 2013, conflicting with Mother’s Day weekend. Organizer James Hodina is already promising 2015 will be even bigger and better.

Wisconsin entrants won two of the three Open sections, and one of the two Under sections. A Minnesotan grabbed the K-6 Open while an Iowan nabbed the K-6 Under 800 via tiebreak. Illinois players managed ties for second in the K-12 Open and the K-6 Open.

In the K-12 Open, with two dozen competing, Wisconsin’s Filipp Shelobolin scored 4.0/5 to win the championship outright. A five-way tie for second with 3.5 included Iowa’s Gokul Thangavel, Minnesota’s Justyn Fine, Illinois’ Tom Bareket and Varun Malladi, and Wisconsin’s Grant Zierer. On tiebreaks, Varun took home the 4th place trophy and Tom earned the 6th place award. Adam Bareket won first place among Under 1600 players in the section, and, along with his older brother Tom, earned the third place team plaque for the high school section, on tiebreaks.

16 players competed in the K-6 Open, with Minnesota’s Nathyn Fine scoring 4.5/5, ahead of a three-pack which tied for second: Iowa’s Andrew Ogrin-Cotarlan and Anish Lodh, and Illinois’ Nadia Frieden. On tiebreaks, Nadia nabbed the second place trophy.

In the K-3 Open, 20 players vied for the championship won by Wisconsin’s Hersh Singh who scored 6.0/7. There was a two-way tie for second thanks to 5.5 scores from Iowa’s Nathan Chen and Kian Thompson. Illinois' Dhruv Malladi and Austin McMurtrie finished in a six-pack tied for fifth place, with Dhruv winning the 8th place trophy on tiebreaks and Austin taking home the ninth place hardware.

In the K-12, Under 1200 section, 37 competed with Wisconsin’s Julio Pacheco overcoming a first-round loss, winning the rest of his matches to finish 6.0/7. In the final round Pacheco defeated state-mate Nathan Ruzell, who finished with 5.5 in a three-way tie for third along with Iowa’s Sayothin Yongpanya and Trevor Ciha.

The K-6 U800 was the only section requiring a tiebreak to decide first place with Iowa’s Evan Heller edging Minnesota’s Serena French, both with 6.0/7's. French had defeated Heller in the fourth round, but lost her final game to Iowa’s Anjai Lodh, while Heller won his last three games. Lodh finished 5.5 to place clear third in the 24-player section. Minnesota’s Christina Timm finished in clear fourth at 5.0.

In that section Illinois' Jeremiah Davis and Soren Moore compiled 4.5's to tie for 5th place, with tiebreaks giving Jeremiah the 5th place trophy and Soren the 7th place award. Soren's sibling Kiran Moore earned 3.0 points and the first place trophy for U300 entrants. 

The Ice Harbor also featured a number of side events including Fischer 960 chess with two sections. Tom Bareket was the winner of the K-12 event while his brother Adam won the K-6 section.

USCF National Tournament Director Glenn Panner has seen his fair share of national events -- and has organized some of Illinois' larger state scholastic events. Panner was an "interested observer" as his son Gabe played in one of his first rated events. Said Panner of the Ice Harbor event, "The Midwest really doesn't have much in the way of a scholastic regional where kids from other states can play each other, I really hope that this event grows to become one."

Panner praised the generous tournament space, the efficiency of the organizer and staff, and the readily available non-chess activities "from the water park, to the museum, and casinos, and a fun art festival in the downtown area." 

Said Glenn, "If you can't take the time off from work or don't want the expense to attend a scholastic national, I would recommend this as a very nice alternative."

Nestled between the USCF’s K-6 National Elementary Championships and the 23rd Chicago Open, it is hoped the 2015 Ice Harbor attracts more competitive teams and individuals from Illinois next year. Organizer Hodina has already doubled the room reservations at the host Grand Harbor Resort at a "chess-friendly" rate.