Midwest Class: date change

In case you didn't get the email...

Dates changed for Midwest Class!

22nd annual

MIDWEST CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Oct 11-13 or 12-13, 2013 (new dates)

WESTIN CHICAGO NORTH SHORE HOTEL, WHEELING, IL 
Luxurious hotel, free parking, $105 special room rates
$20,000 projected prizes, $16,000 minimumINCLUDING NEW MIXED DOUBLES PRIZES: $600-300.
In 7 sections: Master, Expert, Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E

SCHEDULE & TIME CONTROL: 
       3-day schedule: Oct 18-20, 40/110, SD/30, d10.
       2-day schedule: Oct 19-20, rounds 1-2 G/90, d5, then merges with 3-day.
       
EARLY FINISH TIMES: Compared to past years, play will end each day about two hours earlier Sunday, one hour earlier Friday and Saturday.

2013 Illinois Open: Labor Day Weekend in Oak Brook!

A State Championship Event

30 Grand Prix Points

Aug 31 - Sep 2, 2013

2013 Illinois Open State Championship

Oak Brook, IL

6SS, G/90, 30 sec. inc., (2-day option, rds 1-3 G/45 d5).
Doubletree Hotel, 1909 Spring Rd., Oak Brook, IL 60523, (866) 812-3959, $95 room rate if reserved by 8/16, mention Illinois Chess Association block of rooms when registering. An Illinois Chess Tour Event. Prize Fund $7,000 b/150 paid entries.
In 2 sections, Open and Reserve. Open Section: $1,050-$735-$525 U2400 $490-$350-$245 U2200 $335-$260 U2000 $245-175. Reserve (U1800) Section: $700-$490-$350 U1600 $280-$210 U1400 $210-$140 U1200 $140-$70.
Unrateds qualify for top prizes only. $20 bookseller prize given to all participants finishing with 3.5 pts or more. EF: $94 USPS received by 8/26 and on-line by 8/30 6 PM, $115 at the door by 11:30 AM on 8/31 or 10:30 AM on 9/1.
Free to Illinois GMs, IMs, FMs. $5 discount to current ICA members for IL Open only (ICA annual dues $15 regular, $10 scholastic - obtain membership at www.il-chess.org).
Register online at www.chessforlife.com by 8/30 6 PM, or mail checks payable to Chess For Life, LLC to Chess For Life, c/o Tim Just, 37165 Willow, Gurnee, IL 60031 must be received by 8/26.
No phone entries. $20 extra to play up in Open Section with rating of 1799 and below.
Re-entries $50 with appropriate byes. 3-Day Schedule Saturday-Sunday 12 Noon and 6 pm, Monday 11 am and 4 pm. 2-Day Schedule Sunday 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, then merge with 3-day schedule at 6 pm, Monday 11 am and 4 pm.
Half-point byes ok all rounds, must commit by end of round 2.
Maximum 2 half-point byes. On-site registration 10-11:30 Saturday, 9-10:30 Sunday, Entries after that may be given ½ point byes for round 1.
Advance entries posted at www.chessforlife.com. Boards, sets, and clocks not provided, please bring your own.
All special rules, details, and tournament conditions are subject to change without notice and will be posted ASAP at the site/on-line.
Scholastic side event on 8/31, details and registration at www.chessforlife.com.
Info only: 847-773-7706 (before 6 PM).

The information shown above is based on information in USCF records prior to publication of the TLA in Chess Life (or Chess Life for Kids.)
As such, the information shown above is subject to change and any URLS may not yet be activated or may refer to other events.
Please check the TLA in Chess Life (or Chess Life for Kids) for any corrections, updates or other changes.
In special cases, changes that are made after the publication of Chess Life may be found on the Tournament Listings by State page.
Sponsoring Affiliate: T5009961, ILLINOIS CHESS ASSOCIATION.

Tell the TD you heard about this event via TLA Mail or saw it on the USCF website. TLA ID: 11555

Sam Schmakel simul

Thanks to Mike Cardinale for organizing  NM Sam Schmakel's simul at the Lincoln Square Marbles to publicize the 2013 Illinois Tour, and of course thanks to Sam for generously donating his time.

I pointed out to the participants that I am still undefeated against Sam in tournament play (for an example of Sam's play at age nine(!), see page 6 of this PDF).  Sam quietly replied, "There's a board available"; wisely, I chickened out.

Sam scored a perfect 12-0 in the simul (several experienced tournament players, including Paul Kash and Keith Ammann, were among his victims), and played one of the boards blindfold.  After the event, I bought a tchotke for the office and a game for a relative: Marbles is a fun place to shop!

Last Sunday at the Lincoln Square Marbles
Foreground: Bill Brock, NM Sam Schmakel, ICA Metro VP Mike Cardinale
Photo: Eileen Schmakel

See you at Marbles in Lincoln Square Sunday at 3 p.m. for Sam Schmakel simul!

That's 3 p.m. this Sunday, March 10th, at Marbles: the Brain Store, 4745 N. Lincoln, Chicago. Kibitzers welcome!

Sorry, but I am sending this notice a second time because we had problems with our incoming email at ICA.  If any of you signed up for this event, we did not receive your registration.  If you wish to sign up, please write a second time to Mike Cardinale ataccounting@apartmentpeople.com. Jerry Neugarten ---------------- Come support the Illinois Chess Tour by joining us for a simul and fundraiser with 2012 Tour Champion Sam Schmakel.  Here are the details: http://bit.ly/Wx2HoG Mike Cardinale, Tour Commissioner, is actively looking for players of all levels, both adult and scholastic, to challenge Sam in the simul.  Challengers are limited to 16, but you can reserve your spot with a simple email to Mike at metrovp@il-chess.org.  Come out to play, watch, or shop on the 10th, and you will be doing your part to support the Tour! Subject:  Sam Schmakel Simul March 10th! Come support the Illinois Chess Tour by joining us for a simul and fundraiser with 2012 Tour Champion Sam Schmakel.  Here are the details: http://bit.ly/Wx2HoG Mike Cardinale, Tour Commissioner, is actively looking for players of all levels, both adult and scholastic, to challenge Sam in the simul.  Challengers are limited to 16, but you can reserve your spot with a simple email to Mike at metrovp@il-chess.org.  Come out to play, watch, or shop on the 10th, and you will be doing your part to support the Tour! Some of you may have students or know of others who might want to participate. Feel free to forward this email to them. Jerry Neugarten Chair, Youth Committee

TJWO in Oak Brook this weekend!

The $64 preregistration fee for Tim Just's Winter Open/Reserve XXIX is good until Friday afternoon: register online here for the kickoff event of the 2013 Illinois Tour!

Saturday's scholastic tournament has a $25 preregistration fee: register online here and save a few clams.

See you in Oak Brook!

2012 Illinois Tour standings

Here are the complete standings with one event to go, the 2012 Illinois Class.

NM Tenzing Shaw and GM Nikola Mitkov lead the Open section with 22 points.  GM Dmitry Gurevich is right behind with 21½ points, and NM Jonathan Kogen and NM Sam Schmakel remain with striking distance of the title at 21 points.

Jim Froehlich seems very close to clinching the Reserve title at 28 points.  Joe Delay (23) and Michael Penway (22) are most likely battling for second.

And here are the leaders in the Reserve Scholastic section:

Andrew Fei										29.0
Maximilian Zinski										23.5
David Peng										22.0
Jason Daniels										21.0
Akshay Indusekar										20.0
Caeley Harihara										20.0
Ethan Brown										19.0
Aydin Turgut										18.5
Aakash Meduri										18.0

You still have time to change your fate (or, less dramatically, move up a couple notches in the standings): enter the Illinois Class!

Midwest Class this weekend in Wheeling

Don't miss this Illinois Tour event!  Details on the ICA website.  The prize fund is guaranteed to be $16,000, and if the 250 paid entry quota is hit, the prize fund will be $20,000. Not bad for a weekend event!

I won't be there to play (I make my living as a tax accountant, and the procrastinator's deadline is October 15th), but hope to stop by on Sunday to kibitz and see friends.

See you at the Chicago Class!

Still time to enter on site tonight or tomorrow a.m.!

Only a few hours left for Chicago Class early entry

You can still enter online for this weekend's event (it's in Wheeling, July 20-22 or 21-22, take your pick) after Monday, July 16, but it'll cost more.

I don't like to play chess for money: I find it a distraction.  On the other hand, I do cash my prize checks, and I bet you do, too.  This weekend's guaranteed prize fund is $20,000!  (As always, not guaranteed by me, but Bill Goichberg has been doing this since the 1960s....)

So enter now!

Details on ICA Tournament Calendar.

ugly HTML, beautiful event

The Chicago Class is an Illinois Tour event!


5th annual
CHICAGO CLASS

July 20-22 or 21-22, 2012 - Wheeling, Illinois

$20,000 GUARANTEED PRIZES

July 20-22 or 21-22   Illinois
Trophies Plus Grand Prix Points: 120 (enhanced)

5 round Swiss, 40/2, SD/1, d5 (2-day option, rounds 1-2 G/75, d5).
No residence requirements.

At the luxurious Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, 601 North Milwaukee Avenue, Wheeling IL 60090. From Chicago, I-294 north to US-45 north; from Milwaukee, I-94 to Lake Cook Rd to US-45 south). Free parking.  

In 8 sections; no unrated allowed in Master or Expert.  Rated players may play up one section.

Master Section (2200/up): $2000-1000-600-400, clear win or 1st on tiebreak $100, top U2400 $800-400. FIDE rated.

Expert Section (2000-2199): $1400-700-400-200.

Class A Section (1800-1999/Unr): $1400-700-400-200.  No unrated may win over $900.

Class B Section (1600-1799/Unr): $1400-700-400-200.  No unrated may win over $700.

Class C Section (1400-1599/Unr): $1200-600-400-200.   No unrated may win over $500.

Class D Section (1200-1399/Unr): $1000-500-300-200.  No unrated may win over $300.

Class E Section (Under 1200/Unr): $1000-500-300-200.  No unrated may win over $200.

Under 1000 Section: (Under 1000/Unr): $200-100-60-40, trophies to first 5, top Under 800, Under 600, Unrated.  No unrated may win over $100.

Balance of any limited prize goes to next player(s) in line.

PRIZE LIMITS: If any post-event rating posted at uschess.org 7/19/11-7/19/12 is more than 30 points over section maximum, prize limit $500.

Top 7 sections entry fee: 3-day $103, 2-day $102 mailed by 7/11, all $104 ONLINE at chesstour.com by 7/16, $110 phoned to 406-896-2038 by 7/16 (entry only, no questions), $120 at site. No checks at site, credit cards OK.

Under 1000 Section entry fee: $70 less than top 7 sections entry fee.

Online late entries accepted from 7/17 to 2 hours before your first game (same fee as on site late entries).

All: Online or mailed entry fee $5 less to ICA members; join/renew at ilchess.org. An ICA Tour event.

Special 1 year USCF dues with paper magazine if paid with entry.  Online at chesstour.com, Adult $30, Young Adult $20, Scholastic $15.  Mailed, phoned or paid at site, Adult $40, Young Adult $30, Scholastic $20.  Re-entry $50; not available in Master Section. GMs free, $80 deducted from prize.

Unofficial uschess.org ratings usually used if otherwise unrated.

3-day schedule: Reg. ends Fri 6 pm, rds. Fri 7 pm, Sat 11 am & 6 pm, Sun 10 am & 4:30 pm.
2-day schedule: Reg. ends Sat 10 am, rds. Sat 11 am, 2:30 pm & 6 pm, Sun 10 am & 4:30 pm.

Half point byes: OK all rounds, Master must commit before rd 2, others before rd 3.

Hotel rates: $103-103-103-103, 800-937-8461, 847-777-6500, reserve by July 6 or rate may increase.

Room sharing: If you want to share a room to save money, see or post this on the CCA FORUM, or email us and we will post it for you.

Car rental: Avis, 800-331-1600, use AWD #D657633, or reserve car online.
Bring set, board, clock if possible- none supplied.

Ratings:  July official USCF rating list used.  Foreign player rating info. 
Entry: Continental Chess, Box 249, Salisbury Mills NY 12577. $15 service charge for refunds. No smoking. Questions:chesstour.com, DirectorAtChess.us, 845-496-9658. Advance entries posted at chesstour.com. Chess Magnet School Junior Grand Prix Points available.

2012 Chicago Class in Wheeling July 20-22

Another mail cut-and-paste: (kids, this is what the internet looked like in 1994).  The Chicago Class is an Illinois Tour event!


5th annual
CHICAGO CLASS

July 20-22 or 21-22, 2012 - Wheeling, Illinois

$20,000 GUARANTEED PRIZES

July 20-22 or 21-22   Illinois
Trophies Plus Grand Prix Points: 120 (enhanced)

5 round Swiss, 40/2, SD/1, d5 (2-day option, rounds 1-2 G/75, d5).
No residence requirements.

At the luxurious Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, 601 North Milwaukee Avenue, Wheeling IL 60090. From Chicago, I-294 north to US-45 north; from Milwaukee, I-94 to Lake Cook Rd to US-45 south). Free parking.  

In 8 sections; no unrated allowed in Master or Expert.  Rated players may play up one section.

Master Section (2200/up): $2000-1000-600-400, clear win or 1st on tiebreak $100, top U2400 $800-400. FIDE rated.

Expert Section (2000-2199): $1400-700-400-200.

Class A Section (1800-1999/Unr): $1400-700-400-200.  No unrated may win over $900.

Class B Section (1600-1799/Unr): $1400-700-400-200.  No unrated may win over $700.

Class C Section (1400-1599/Unr): $1200-600-400-200.   No unrated may win over $500.

Class D Section (1200-1399/Unr): $1000-500-300-200.  No unrated may win over $300.

Class E Section (Under 1200/Unr): $1000-500-300-200.  No unrated may win over $200.

Under 1000 Section: (Under 1000/Unr): $200-100-60-40, trophies to first 5, top Under 800, Under 600, Unrated.  No unrated may win over $100.

Balance of any limited prize goes to next player(s) in line.

PRIZE LIMITS: If any post-event rating posted at uschess.org 7/19/11-7/19/12 is more than 30 points over section maximum, prize limit $500.

Top 7 sections entry fee: 3-day $103, 2-day $102 mailed by 7/11, all $104 ONLINE at chesstour.com by 7/16, $110 phoned to 406-896-2038 by 7/16 (entry only, no questions), $120 at site. No checks at site, credit cards OK.

Under 1000 Section entry fee: $70 less than top 7 sections entry fee.

Online late entries accepted from 7/17 to 2 hours before your first game (same fee as on site late entries).

All: Online or mailed entry fee $5 less to ICA members; join/renew at ilchess.org. An ICA Tour event.

Special 1 year USCF dues with paper magazine if paid with entry.  Online at chesstour.com, Adult $30, Young Adult $20, Scholastic $15.  Mailed, phoned or paid at site, Adult $40, Young Adult $30, Scholastic $20.  Re-entry $50; not available in Master Section. GMs free, $80 deducted from prize.

Unofficial uschess.org ratings usually used if otherwise unrated.

3-day schedule: Reg. ends Fri 6 pm, rds. Fri 7 pm, Sat 11 am & 6 pm, Sun 10 am & 4:30 pm.
2-day schedule: Reg. ends Sat 10 am, rds. Sat 11 am, 2:30 pm & 6 pm, Sun 10 am & 4:30 pm.

Half point byes: OK all rounds, Master must commit before rd 2, others before rd 3.

Hotel rates: $103-103-103-103, 800-937-8461, 847-777-6500, reserve by July 6 or rate may increase.

Room sharing: If you want to share a room to save money, see or post this on the CCA FORUM, or email us and we will post it for you.

Car rental: Avis, 800-331-1600, use AWD #D657633, or reserve car online.
Bring set, board, clock if possible- none supplied.

Ratings:  July official USCF rating list used.  Foreign player rating info. 
Entry: Continental Chess, Box 249, Salisbury Mills NY 12577. $15 service charge for refunds. No smoking. Questions:chesstour.com, DirectorAtChess.us, 845-496-9658. Advance entries posted at chesstour.com. Chess Magnet School Junior Grand Prix Points available.

Upcoming Illinois Tour events this summer

The next Tour event is the Chicago Class, July 20-22 or 21-22 in Wheeling.

The Bradley Summer Open is in Peoria on August 25th.  (The link to the Summer Open info is not on the ICA website yet, but the info is on the Greater Peoria Chess Federation website.)

And don't miss the Illinois Open State Championship in Oak Brook this Labor Day weekend!

Shaw, Froehlich, Fei lead Illinois Tour

NM Tenzing Shaw leads the Open Section of the 2012 Illinois Tour with 12 points, closely followed by Jonathan Kogen with 10 points.  NM Sam Schmakel and FM Albert Chow are tied for third with 8.5.

Jim Froehlich leads the Reserve Section with 12 points; Joe Delay and Michael Penway are tied for second with 11.5 points.

Andrew Fei leads the Reserve Scholastic section with 14.5 points.  Akshay Indusekhar is close behind with 13 points, and Jonathan Hrach is in third with 12 points.

Details at the Illinois Tour homepage: please remember that you must be a ICA member to appear in the standings!


Open

Shaw, Tenzing 12.0
Kogen, Jonathan 10.0
Schmakel, Sam 8.5
Chow, Albert 8.5
Amanov, Mesgen 7.5
Mitkov, Nikola 7.5
Brock, Bill 7.5
Shulman, Yury 7.0
Gurevich, Dmitry 6.5
Kasiurak, Zack 6.0
Wilber, Matthew 5.5
Aliyev, Timur 5.0
Karklins, Andrew 5.0
Tsyganov, Igor 5.0
Vishnuvardhan, Arjun 5.0
Ni, Viktorija 5.0
Moskva, Robert 4.5
Young, Angelo 4.5
Shankar, Gauri 4.5
Naff, William A 4.5
Magness, Trevor 4.0
Felecan, Florin 4.0
Rosen, Eric 4.0
Zin, Aung Thant 3.5
Cohen, Lawrence 3.5
Kunche, Nikhilesh Kumar 3.5
Gupta, Saagar 3.0
Luo, Chengliang 3.0
Nibbelin, Mark 2.5
Bourgerie, Dennis 2.0
Flaga, Krzysztof 1.5


Reserve Adult 

Froehlich, Jim A 16.0
Delay, Joe 11.5
Penway, Michael 11.5
Dolson, Carl 11.0
Nach, Jordan 10.0
Hart, Vincent 8.0
Plaines, Theron 7.5
Bungo, Gregory 6.5
Zafar, Mohammed H. 6.5
Leong, Gee 6.5
Villareal, Max 6.0
Lewis, Richard 6.0
Inumerable, Florentino 6.0
Gilvary, Brian 6.0
Cox, William 5.5
Cronin, Mike 5.5
White, David 5.5
Bustamante, Edward 5.5
Karklins, Erik 5.5
Hawn, Stephen 5.5
Craigmile, Charles 5.5
Knox, Terrance 5.0
Berman, Jeremy 5.0
Henderson Jr., S.E. 5.0
Dixon, Jeff 5.0
Gasiecki, Alan 4.5
Freeman, John 4.5
Callahan, Tom III 4.5
Lewis, Otis 4.5
Gamino, Everado 4.5
Barbian, Matthew Richard 4.5
Peterson, Gregory 4.5
Harvey, Frank 4.5
Mei, Mike 4.5
Titov, Fedor 4.5
Kreisman, Philip 4.0
Doyle, Dennis R 4.0
Griesmeyer, Walter J 4.0
Tums, Valdis 4.0
Duffy, James 4.0
Ammann, Keith 4.0
Feldman, William 4.0
Kosteris, Dimitri 4.0
Djordjevic, Vladimir 3.5
Damocles, Joe 3.5
Canavan, Dylan 3.5
Ancheta, Rene 3.5
Willmore, Floyd E. 3.5
Jackson, William 3.5
Doyle, Dennis C. 3.0
Vigants, Alberts 3.0
Cohen, Frederic 3.0
Gasunas, Anthony C 3.0
Richmond, Dr. M. Barrie 3.0
Levine-Weinberg, Adam 3.0
Coleman, Mark S 2.5
Marchert, James Sr. 2.0
Dupee, Arthur B 2.0


Reserve Scholastic

Fei, Andrew Yueyang 14.5
Indusekar, Akshay 13.0
Hrach, Jonathan 12.0
Pena, Christian 10.0
Peng, David Tianjian 9.5
Meduri, Aakash 9.0
Brown, Ethan 8.5
Daniels, Jason 8.5
Zinski, Maximilian 8.5
Qazi, Rafeh 8.0
Lehmann, Spencer 8.0
Harihara, Caeley 8.0
Sun, Abe 7.5
Liu, Miranda 7.0
Bian, Alex 6.5
Swan, Jr, Charles 6.5
Jungo, Mark 6.0
Adve, Anshul 5.5
Curcio, Jack 5.5
Stevens, Matthew 5.0
Spiegel, Evan 5.0
Hu, Alex 5.0
Chinitz, Michael 5.0
Dzelilovic, Adil 5.0
Margolin, Jeremy 5.0
Kavouras, Christian D 4.5
Yang, Matthew 4.5
Shepherd, Duncan 4.0
Paykin, David 4.0
Conjeevaram, Sahil 4.0
Biondo, James 4.0
Provine, Shayne 3.5
Watford, Everett A 3.0
Gant, Jourdain 2.5

Illinois Chess Tour: Normal April Open

Make the trip to the Twin Cities this Saturday to play in the Normal April Open, an Illinois Chess Tour event!

The entry fee is only $20: cheap!  Want to save gas money?  Have fun and carpool by posting a note on the ICA Forum (or as a comment to this blog entry).

Earlybird entry fee for Chicago Open due tomorrow!

Time to open the piggy bank!  The Chicago Open will held in Wheeling May 24th to May 28th.  Only the Open Section has a 5-day schedule; most of us will be playing a 4-day, 3-day, or 2-day schedule.  Info here.

For the top seven sections, you can enter by tomorrow for $205 to $207; preregistration will cost about 10% more after tomorrow, and onsite registration will cost $250.

Players over 65 get a $100 discount; the Under 1100 and Under 900 sections are significantly less expensive.  Players who have never been rated over 2200 FIDE (like me) would have to pay an extra $100 to play in the Open Section.

While your primary goal in the Chicago Open is to have fun playing chess, a good secondary goal is to take more money from Bill Goichberg than you give him.  So enter early: it's good for you and good for him!

Enter online here.  Before you complete your entry, you can renew your Illinois Chess Association membership (I just did!.  Then, back on CCA's Chicago Open entry website, click the radio button that looks like the one below to receive $5 off on your Chicago Open entry fee AND be eligible for Illinois Tour prizes!

ICA member with paid entry?:

$5 off to ICA member

Illinois Tour: Greater Peoria Open next weekend!

Details here!

The Greater Peoria Chess Federation always organizes quality events, the Lakeview Museum is a great site, and you still have a couple days to enter this two-day event for only $35!  Have fun and boost your standing on the 2012 Illinois Tour....

If you'd like more info, contact Wayne Zimmerle at 309-692-4480 day or 309-686-0192 evenings. If you'd like to carpool, drop me a line.

More games from Tim Just's Winter Open

TJWO part three games are here: featured players include tournament winner NM Tenzing Shaw, NM Alexander Velikanov, David Peng, Dean Arond, Vince Hart, NM Sam Schmakel, and Avinash Rajendra.

2012 Illinois Tour commentary is provided by FM Albert Chow.

FM Albert Chow annotates games from Tim Just's Winter Open

Enjoy!  This is the first of several installments.  Players featured in this installment include Vince Hart, NM Sam Schmakel, Andy Applebaum, Jiahua Zhang, Jonathan Kogen, and David Peng.

Albert will be annotating games from all events of the 2012 Illinois Tour.

Illinois Tour Standings

After one event!

http://www.il-chess.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=167

The formula looks rather darn simple: you get one point for playing in each event, then one point for every point scored.  But in order for you to claim your rightful place in the Tour standings, you'll need to renew your ICA membership.

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.