Youth Chess News
Trio of Turgut and Two Li's Hold Top Combined State Score at Denker, Barber and Girls in Virginia; Li Is Co-Leader in Barber While Turgut Tied for High Score in Denker After Round 5 of 6
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Heading into the sixth and final round of the 2017 Denker, Barber and National Girls Invitationals, Illinois holds a point-and-a-half lead in the combined state score designation.
George Li (4.5), Aydin Turgut (4.0) and Marissa Li (3.5) have combined for 12.0 ahead of three states with 10.5 tallies.
Southern California, Michigan and Washington state all have 10.5's while five states have 10.0 totals: Texas, Missouri, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Georgia.
Seven Illinois Youth Among 112 Selected By US Chess For September World Youth Competitions In South America
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Seven Illinois juniors -- four male, three female -- have been named as eligible to participate in the World Youth competition as part of the American delegation.
The 2017 competition will be held in Uruguay in September. US Chess details are here.
Aydin Turgut and David Peng qualified in the U14 Boys, Jacob Furfine in the U16 Boys and George Li in U18 Boys.
Shreya Mangalam and Aria Hoesley were named as part of the U14 Girls squad and Marissa Li earned a spot in the U16 Girls.
Aria Hoesley Assures Land of Lincoln is Well-Represented at 2017 Polgar Girls Invitational; Perfect 20-for-20 in Puzzles
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
A lot of factors went into the selection of Aria Hoesley as Illinois' selection to the 2017 Susan Polgar Foundation Girls Invitational completed July 27 at Webster University in St. Louis.
The Chicago player -- and World Youth qualifier -- was not the highest-rated qualified female from Illinois but she had scored very well at the Illinois Youth Invitational held earlier in the year. That event wound up qualifying Marissa Li as the Illinois representative to the National All-Girls beginning this weekend in Virginia.
Ultimately, Illinois could not have asked for better representation at the Polgar event as Aria finished 4.0/6 -- including a perfect 3.0/3 score as white.
Wisniowski Places In Top 5 at North American U12 Girls
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
WCM Natalie Wisniowski of Chicago has placed in the top five at the 2017 North American Youth Open in New Jersey. Ms. Wisniowski compiled a 5.5/9 score in the Under 12 section, closing out with three straight wins.
The lone Illinois entrant in the event drew the eventual champion, Annapoorni Meiyappan, in the first round, and wound up with four wins and three draws out of nine rounds.
Ms. Wisniowski earned her Women's Candidate Master title from FIDE after participating in the 2016 event in Canada.
Bian Wins '17 US Junior Open; Gurevich 2nd in Senior Open
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- Written by Bill Feldman Bill Feldman
Alex Bian trailed his higher-rated Pennsylvania opponent, Grant Xu, 4.5-5.0 heading into the final round of the 2017 US Junior Open, completed July 23 in Northfield, MN.
Observers indicate Alex was down several pawns -- and trailing on time. But king safety is often paramount, and Bian's triumph over Xu gave the Illinois high schooler uncontested first place in the top section of the six-round tournament.
Xu finished second in the 51-player U21 section, followed by a three-pack of 4.5's. Shreyas Reddy finished in a multi-way tie for sixth place with 4.0.