Wijk aan Zee round 1

Follow the live action at Tata Steel Chess.  Kamsky and Nakamura both drew with White: several games are still in progress.

"Library is heart of a neighborhood"

And the Rudy Lozano Public Library is the heart of the Pilsen chess community.  The city's budget cuts now mean that Rudy Lozano and the city's other neighborhood libraries are only open five days a week.

Story in today's Sun-Times.

2012 Illinois Tour Standings

Here they are!

You'll find an explanation of the prizes here (kids, please choose a chocolate milkshake or a root beer float instead of the complimentary glass of wine), and the Tour rules and leaderboard here.

Please note the membership requirement:

To qualify for either performance or participation awards, individuals must become ICA members by the end of the fifth Tour event, and maintain membership throughout the balance of the Tour. Membership will also be required to be listed in the Tour standings, and in any other articles or promotional materials associated with the Tour.

What, you're not showing up on the ICA Tour Standings? Renew your ICA membership today!

The next Tour event is the Greater Peoria Open on March 17-18.

Sam Schmakel featured on Chess Cafe

Here's a link to Steve Goldberg's "Scholastic Chess" column. Chicago's own Sam Schmakel of Whitney Young High School, who won the national tenth grade title this past November at the K-12 Nationals in Dallas, is one of two players featured in this month's column.

Sam Schmakel (second from left) with teammates Cristian Pena, C.J. Swan, and Mark Waechter

 Permalink (pdf) here.

The kids are alright!

I managed to keep my "undefeated against players under nine years old" streak alive, but eight-year-old David Peng gave me a serious scare.

We don't have the luxury of consulting the computer during play: as it turns out, David was closer to the brink of defeat than I was.  Lesson to be learned: if we adults believe in ourselves, we can win against any elementary-school-age player!

More seriously, the Warren Junior Scholars Program is working! 

Winter Scholastic 2012

Joseph Fennessey won the Under 1200 Section of the Winter Scholastic 2012 in Oak Brook, scoring a perfect 5-0.  Andrew Bean, Elliot Krueger, and Patrick Yasutake tied for second with 4-1.

Ross Fox Schneider won the Under 700 Section, also with a clean 5-0.  Yury Tytla, Mara Flaherty, and Adam Rubinberg tied for second with 4-1.

Crosstable here!

Daniel Parmet directed for Chess for Life LLC.

Shaw, Hrach, Ford win Tim Just's Winter Open XVIII

NM Tenzing Shaw won clear first in the Open Section of the 2012 Tim Just's Winter Open, scoring 4½-½.

Jonathan Hrach and Adam Ford tied for first in the Reserve Section, also with 4½-½.

Crosstable here!

More coverage to follow.  Look for extensive games coverage by FM Albert Chow on the ICA website.