Youth News
Illinois Has Seven Top 10 Youth on January Lists
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Published: 31 January 2017 31 January 2017
Aren Emrikian may have skipped First Grade -- but he hasn't missed a beat at the chess board!
The Wilmette wunderkind recently turned seven and is now the number two "7 & Under" in the US. He is just over 100 points away from the number one at that age -- from New Jersey. Aren's rating is more than 600 points greater than the second highest Illinois "7 & Under".
Six other talented Illinois youth are in the top 10 of their respective age groups as of January's official US Chess supplement including Dimitar Mardov (3), Arthur Xu (4), Aydin Turgut (6), David Peng (3), Jacob Furfine (9) and George Li (10).
US Chess Expert Giurgiu Wins Metro Suburban Conference Crown, Bensenville's Fenton High School Is Top MSC Team
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Published: 23 January 2017 23 January 2017
Holding its second-ever conference tournament, the Metro Suburban Conference (MSC) fielded five teams at Walther Academy in Melrose Park on Saturday, January 21.
Ionatan Giurgiu of Ridgewood High School in Norridge posted the lone undefeated score in the 46-player field, defeating Joseph Ghanimah of Fenton High School in the final round.
Nonetheless, Joseph's Fenton team (of Bensenville) ran away with the team title with 19.0 from its top 5 players. Riverside Brookfield placed second with 17.0 while Aurora Central captured third place with 15.0.
300 Observe MLK Day With Bloomington-Normal Scholastic
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Published: 17 January 2017 17 January 2017
Bloomington Normal Area Scholastic Chess hosted its 30th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. event. The scholastic tournament played out in four sections at the Bone Center of ISU on January 16.
Pragyan Misra had the lone perfect 5.0/5 score in the Lower Primary with 62 competing. Pragyan saw his rating go up 120 points.
Harshvardhan Bhangale and Jack Kerr were only a half-point back with 4.5/5 scores with Jack enhancing his rating by 239!
340+ Play January YCFC at Brooks College Prep; Decatur Classical Wins K-2 and Advanced, Gora Wins Advanced
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Published: 17 January 2017 17 January 2017
While there was plenty of hardware spread around the multitude of teams competing, Decatur Classical (of Chicago) managed to win two sections of the January 14 YCFC / CCF free scholastic tournament.
Christopher Gora managed to earn a better tiebreak than Decatur's Avi Kaplan when both posted 4.5/5 scores in the Advanced section. After two previous championships, Avi's second place finish lead the Decatur squad to the top team trophy, posting 12.0 to Fox Valley's 10.0.
Decatur's John Seward (4.0) and Yuvraj Chennareddy (3.5) also contributed to the team total, with John nabbing 5th place honors and Yuvraj earning 7th.
Chicago Chess Foundation Announces Advanced Training
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
- Published: 09 January 2017 09 January 2017
[Editor's Note: The ICA has been notified that sufficient applications for Pawns to Queens have been received for the current acadmic year with only five scholarships available. Check back with the CCF at www.Chicagolandchess.org for 2017-2018 school year opportunities.]
Do you participate in or operate a Chicago school-based chess club? *
Have your students learned the rules of chess and the basics, but are they seeking to achieve that next level of chess prowess?
The Chicago Chess Foundation (CCF) may have the solution for your school program in what they are calling "Pawns to Queens" (P2Q).