"Whitney Young chess team celebrates state title"

Story in the Chicago Tribune.

Sam Schmakel, left, a junior and four-time national chess champion, and Phuc Hoang, also a junior, hold the trophy as the chess team at Whitney Young Magnet High School is honored as state champions this year. (Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune)

IHSA finals in Peoria tomorrow and Saturday!!

The Illinois High School Association's team championship will be held tomorrow and Saturday in the Peoria Civic Center.  More info here!

Here are the round 1 pairings (oops, I'd omitted the link this a.m.): two Chicago selective enrollment schools, Whitney Young and Northside Prep, are the top seeds.  FM Eric Rosen is playing in his last state event for third seed Niles North.  Realistically, I think any of the top eight teams have a chance to win (FM Gauri [Shankar] Manoj and Gavin McClanahan both play for #8 seed Glenbrook South!), and it's going to be very hard for any team to go through this event with a clean score. 

"The Father of High School Chess in Illinois Is My Dad"

Mike Zacate is profiled by his daughter Betsy Dynako on the Illinois Chess Association website.

Notes from Downstate: Uni High at the IHSA state championships

Daniel Cheng gives a nice first-person report on Chris Merli's crew at Uni High.