Youth Chess News
New Qualifications for Warren Junior Scholar Program
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At its Jan. 27 board meeting, the ICA board approved revised qualifications for the Warren Junior Scholar program, which serves the state's top youth chess players. Warren Scholars are chosen every February, and in the past it's been based on having attained a certain place in the national rankings during the prior year. Under the new guidelines, students may now also qualify if they achieve certain minimum ratings during the prior year. Players in high school now qualify for the program if they've achieved a minimum 1900 peak rating in the past 12 months; players younger than high school qualify if they've achieved a minimum 1700 peak rating in the past 12 months, and girls of any age qualify if they've achieved a minimum 1500 peak rating in the past 12 months. For more specifics, see the ICA Warren Scholar page.
Players who qualify as 2011 Warren Scholars will be notified within the next week, and will be recognized during the awards ceremonies at the state high school team tournament in Peoria and the state K8 championship in Bloomington.
Many Excel at State Girls Tournament; Shayna Provine Wins Title
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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.
New K8 Invitational Announced
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The U.S. Chess Federation will be hosting a new K8 invitational tournament this summer during the U.S. Open, which will be held in Florida beginning on July 30. One representative from each state, chosen by their state chess association, will be invited to attend. To choose the Illinois representative, the ICA Warren program will sponsor a qualifier tournament the weekend of March 26-27 at the North Shore Chess Center. The winner will receive a $500 travel stipend to attend the national event, along with $250 towards chess lessons. Invitations to the qualifier will be issued to the top 14 players by rating (peak rating based on games played from 2/1/10 to 1/31/11). Additionally, the highest scorer at the March state K8 championship in Bloomington in both the K8 and K5 divisions, who are not otherwise qualified by rating, will also be invited.
An Enjoyable Challenge
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- Written by Leticia Espinosa Leticia Espinosa
reprinted from: HOY CHICAGO , Monday, November 29, 2010
The challenge of finding the best move is what motivates Mark Jungo, a 7th grade student, to search for more and better strategies when he plays chess. The same interest is shared by Nathan Guadarrama, age 5, and Elisa Blancas, 91.
All three competed in last Saturday’s Latino Chess Championship, organized by the Rudy Lozano Branch Library, 1805 S. Loomis St., in the Pilsen community.
All 55 participants showed up at the library with pencil and paper to record the moves of their games. They came from a number of primary and secondary schools, from the city as well as the suburbs.
Latinos, African-American, Caucasian, children, young adults, men and women, challenged, thought and calculated the moves of their chess pieces for about seven hours.
Schmakel Becomes Two-Time National Champ
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Presents arrived early for a slew of Illinois chess players who were in Orlando earlier this month for the National All Grade tournament, in the form of big shiny trophies for some great performances. Leading the Illinois pack was Whitney Young freshman Sam Schmakel, whose superior tiebreaks in a 6-way tie for first in the ninth grade section earned him a second national championship title with 5.5/7 points. His first title was as a 2nd-grader back in 2003.
Other Illinois Players Also Excel
Also turning in stellar results were Burr Ridge fourth-grader Matthew Stevens and Lincolnshire fifth-grader Alex Bian, both of whom tied for second place at their grade levels with six points each.