Warm up for the big event at the Illinois Class Championships!

This year's Illinois Class is an affordable one-day event in Lisle.  Have fun, warm up for the Midwest Class Championships, win Tour Points, and support the Illinois Chess Association.  See you there!

A State Championship Event
Sunday, November 24, 2013
2013 Illinois Class Championships
An Illinois Chess Tour Event

4SS: G/60, 5 sec. increment. Location: Hilton Lisle/Naperville; 3003 Corporate West Drive; Lisle, Illinois, 60532; USA TEL: 1-630-505-0900, $89 + tax room rate if reserved by 6pm Nov 15th, mention Illinois Chess Association. 

Six Sections: Master & Expert, Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, U1200. For a fee, you may play up one section, but you must be an E player to play up into the Class D section. November rating supplement determines section eligibility. 

Prizes: Master & Expert (one section): $500-$200-$50. Classes A, B, C, D (four sections): $150-$75-$40 each section. U1200: Trophy-Medal-Medal (no cash prizes, tie breaks apply). Cash prizes based on 90 entries in MX through D sections.

EF: MX through D $40, U1200 $20, plus $5 for non-ICA members, plus $10 after Nov 17th. Play-up fee $20 cash, payable on-site. Free entry to GM, WGM, IM, WIM, FM, WFM FIDE titleholders who list Illinois as their state of residence with the USCF. Contact Tom Sprandel, secretary@il-chess.org, to register.

Registration: On-site 8:30 - 9:30am. Online http://shop.il-chess.org/ (ends 9:00pm, Nov 23rd). Or, mail check, name, USCF#, and phone number to: Class Championships; Illinois Chess Association, Inc.; 150 N Wacker Dr, Ste 3100; Chicago, IL 60606. (Must arrive by Nov 16th.) Round Times: 10:00am, 12:30pm, 3:00pm, 5:30pm. 

Other: All special rules, details, and tournament conditions are subject to change without notice and will be posted ASAP at the site or on-line.

Schmakel simul at Lincoln Square Marbles on March 10th

The 2012 Illinois Chess Tour champion, NM Sam Schmakel, will play 16 players simultaneously on March 10th at Marbles: the Brain Store.  You can play for free if you pre-register!

Mike Cardinale asked me whether I was sponsoring the event. Uh, no: the simul fee is very reasonable, but it ain't free.  Here's the correct info.

Players of all ages and abilities are welcome, with slots available for a nominal fee of $10.00 for adult players, or $5.00 for scholastic players. 100% of entry fees collected will be contributed to the Tour fund.

Details here!

More games from Tim Just Winter Open

FM Albert Chow annotates more games from the Illinois Tour for ICA's Chess Blog. Featured players include NM Gopal Menon, Robert Moskwa, NM Alexander Velikanov, Patrice Connelly, NM Mark Marovitch, Jonathan Kogen, and Chow himself.

Eric Rosen simul this morning: walk-ins welcome!

The exhibition starts at 11 a.m.: arrive by noon and we'll make sure you play! Click on the image to read the invite!

Register for Eric Rosen simul, Saturday at Marbles!

Click on the image to read the invite!

Eric Rosen simul this Saturday at Marbles on Grand

The good folks at Marbles: The Brain Store are hosting a simul by the 2011 National High School Champion, Senior Master Eric Rosen, this coming Saturday, October 29th, beginning at 11 a.m. Get a jump start on your Christmas shopping, and Marbles will donate 15% of the proceeds to the rejuvenated Illinois Chess Tour. (I was going to say "back from the dead" instead of "rejuvenated," but I was reluctant to allude to zombies when the locale is a "brain store.")

Details here! Thanks to Eric and to Metro VP Mike Cardinale for making this event possible.

The Illinois Chess Tour Is Back!

Another email cut-and paste!

The ICA is excited to announce the resumption of  the Illinois Chess Tour for the coming year 2012.

 The new format features 10 premier chess events and begins with the 26th edition of the Tim Just Winter Open this January.

ICA Metro Vice President Mike Cardinale has spearheaded the effort, and will serve as the inaugural Tour Commissioner, with assistance from some dedicated volunteers. Any ICA members who are interested in aiding the effort may contact Mike at metrovp@il-chess.org.

Stay tuned to our website for further details about the new Tour, including a kick-off event planned for this fall.

Bring back the Illinois Chess Tour!

Nothing's official yet, but the ICA Board is very excited about Mike Cardinale's proposal.  The spiffy logo means T-shirts (and substance) are soon to follow!

P.S.  Look for more coverage of this weekend's events shortly: I'm waiting on game scores, MSA, and (not least) the delivery of a new DSL wireless router.