Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago season begins at Lane Tech on Nov. 16!

Fresh from the inbox:

Please join us next Saturday, November 16th, for the first

YCFC tournament of the year, at Lane Tech College Prep.  A

location guide is attached.

All rosters are due Thursday, November 14th.  This is for

everyone - both new and returning players.  Once a player is

submitted on a roster, they are eligible to play in all six YCFC

tournaments this year.

I hope to see you next Saturday!

November 16th Tournament at Lane Tech

Albert G. Lane Technical High School.

2501 W. Addison (3600 North)

Schedule:  Registration   9:00 - 9:30

                  Tournament  10:15 - 3:00

                  Trophy Presentation  3:15 (est.)

   All players must check-in at the tournament site by 9:30!

   Late arrivals will not be paired in the first round

3 Sections:  Novice K-4, Novice 5-8, Advanced

   Unrated, no entry fee 

   Swiss-style, 5 rounds (est.), USCF standard tiebreaks

   G/20 + 3 sec. increment in Advanced section when clocks are available

   Notation required in the Advanced section

Awards:  Individual trophies to the top 10 in both novice

   sections.  Individual trophies to the top 6 in the advanced

   section.  Team trophies to the top three teams in both novice

   sections.  Team trophy to top team in the advanced section.

   Team score calculated by top four scores in novice sections,

   top three scores in advanced.

Entries:  YCFC uses a roster system for tournament entries.

  All players on submitted rosters are eligible to play in any

  YCFC tournament during the scholastic year.  Submit

  rosters, including name, grade, school and section to

  accounting@apartmentpeople.com, or by fax to 773-248-1007,

  attn: Mike Cardinale, no later than Thursday, November 14th.

  All players must check-in on site by 9:30.

Coaches:  Please let me know if you plan on attending with a

  rough estimate of the number of players by Thursday, November 14th.

Many thanks to athletic director Brian Hofman for welcoming us to

the school, and to Cindy Frapolly and to Debi Prince for suggesting

Lane Tech and for doing all of the groundwork.  A great effort!

2013 Illinois Open

Crosstables here.  I had a lot of fun this weekend!  We were worried about tournament fatigue just a few weeks after the US Open in Madison, but I believe we had 138 noses, all with players attached. The group was very strong and very congenial.  On behalf of the Illinois Chess Association, thank you for playing! (And if you didn't play this year, why not put it on your calendar for next Labor Day weekend?)

Congratulations to the 2013 Co-Champions, Grandmaster Mesgen Amanov and Grandmaster Nikola Mitkov.  (Mesgen was first on tiebreaks.)

And thanks to ICA President Carl Dolson, who organized on behalf of ICA, directors Tim Just, Wayne Clark, and Chris Baumgartner, Illinois Chess Tour impresario Mike Cardinale, postcard mailer Adrian Brock, and everyone else who made this event possible.

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

Mille felicitazioni!

Stolen from Tom Panelas on Facebook (and you are already a member of the Chicago Area Chess  Facebook group, no?)

Congratulations to Marco Codenotti of Pisa, Italy, who reports that he’s just earned his IM title. Marco is a former Chicagoan, Hyde Parker, and student at William H. Ray Elementary School. His father told me a few years ago that Ray was the place where Marco started getting serious about chess. He played for the school in the 2005 CPS elementary school championships at Lane Tech, at least one or two of Mike Cardinale’s YCFC tournaments, and possibly one of Zack Fishman's Navy Pier events, though I’m not sure about the latter. He also did Wayne Smith’s summer chess camp at Kennicott Park in Kenwood. Marco is 15 or 16, which means he’s certainly on track to make GM in due course.

 International Master Marco Codenotti of Chicago Pisa

Tom had blogged about Marco as early as 2007.

Congratulations to Marco and his family!  (Well, we still have the Leaning Tower Y....)

YCFC at Northside: Karafiol takes Advanced section

There were no perfect scores in the Advanced section, but Jonah Karafiol (Skinner North) took clear first with 4½-½.

Here are the top finishers in this 38-player section (if the font is too small for you to read, click on the image below to enlarge):

YCFC: Sell, Ninofranco win Novice 7-8

Nick Sell (Blaine) and Russell Ninofranco (Waters) each had a perfect 5-0 in the Novice 7-8 section of Saturday's Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago event at Northside Prep. 

Top finishers from this 66-player section are below:

YCFC: Valle and Pitter tie for top Novice 5-6

Jesse Valle (Kanoon) and Tayhe Pitter (Beasley) shared the top spot 4½-½ in the Novice 5-6 section after a final round draw; Valle took the trophy on tiebreaks.

Edgebrook took top team in this section.

YCFC: Joey Buklis wins Novice 3-4

There were 109 (!) players in the Novice 3-4 section.  Joey Buklis (Bell)  and Miles Lokken (Decatur) tied for first with perfect 5-0 scores; Joey won the blitz playoff.

Hat tip to two other players undefeated in regular play, Alexander Ursu (Bell) and Joseph Garza (Gallistel), each with 4½-½.

Congratulations to all the top finishers below!

Lennin Bravo wins YCFC K-2 Novice at Northside

Well over 300 players came to Northside Prep last weekend to play in the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago's event.  How many students were there?  Hey, I'm a blogger, not a reporter: count the noses yourself :-)

Here are the top finishers in the 58-player Novice K-2 section (click on the image to see the names without squinting...)

Lennin Bravo of Burbank took clear first with 5-0; his teammate Danny Del Liano took clear 2nd with 4½-½.

YCFC at Northside Prep this Saturday!

Rumor has it that Northside Prep isn't easy to get into.  But follow the instructions below, and your scholastic team shouldn't have any problem this coming Saturday!

February 16th Tournament at Northside

 

Northside College Preparatory High School

5501 N. Kedzie (3200 West), just south of Bryn Mawr

 

Schedule:  Registration   9:00 - 9:30

                  Tournament  10:00 - 3:00

                  Trophy Presentation  3:15 (est.)

 

   All players must check-in at the tournament site by 9:30!

   Late arrivals will not be paired in the first round.

 

5 Sections:  Novice K-2, Novice 3-4, Novice 5-6, Novice 7-8, Advanced

 

   Unrated, no entry fee 

   Swiss-style, 5 rounds (est.), USCF standard tiebreaks

   G/20 + 3 sec. increment in Advanced section when clocks are available

   Notation required in the Advanced section

 

Awards:  Individual trophies to the top 7 in all novice sections,

               and to the top 6 in the advanced section.  Team trophies

               to the top two teams in all novice sections, and to the 

               top team in the advanced section.  Team score calculated

               by top four scores in novice sections, top three scores

               in advanced.

 

Entries:  YCFC uses a roster system for tournament entries.

              All players on submitted rosters are eligible to play in

              any YCFC tournament during the scholastic year.

              Submit rosters, including name, grade, school and

              section to accounting@apartmentpeople.com, or by

              fax to 773-248-1007, attn: Mike Cardinale, no later than

              Thursday, February 14th.

 

              All players must check in on site by 9:30.

 

Coaches:  Please let me know if you plan on attending with

                a rough estimate of the number of players by

                Thursday, February 14th.

 

Thanks to Dan Caldwell for welcoming us back to Northside, with

able assistance from Mike and Lydia Bologna and the Northside

Mustangs chess team!

YCFC - January 19th event at De La Salle

Cut and pasted from email 

A Happy New Year to all!

Following is the announcement for our January 19th tournament at De La Salle Institute, co-hosted by St. Columbanus Elementary School.  

This year, we will be expanding our Novice sections from two to four for the January and February tournaments. This tournament will have a total of five sections - Novice K-2, Novice 3-4, Novice 5-6, Novice 7-8, and Advanced. Each Novice section will award seven individual trophies and two team trophies.  Overall, we will be awarding 43 trophies, up from the usual 33.  Don't miss this improved chance at taking home a trophy!

Those who have rosters on file need only submit additions to the roster - an entry list is not needed.

Please make note of the balance of our schedule below. I'm happy to report that we will be returning to Northside College Prep for the big February event!

January 19th Tournament at De La Salle

De La Salle Institute High School

3434 S. Michigan (100 East), NW corner of Michigan and 35th St.

Parking:  we have access to the IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology) parking lot adjacent to the west side  of the school on the north side of 35th Street.  If you  are proceeding east on 35th street from the Dan Ryan expressway, you will see the lot entrance on your left just before the school and Michigan Ave.  The sign on the lot says IIT, but there should also be an "Event Parking" sign up on Saturday.

Schedule:  Registration   9:00 - 9:30

                Tournament  10:00 - 3:00

                Trophy Presentation  3:15 (est.)

All players must check-in at the tournament site by 9:30! 

Late arrivals will not be paired in the first round.

5 Sections:  Novice K-2, Novice 3-4, Novice 5-6, Novice 7-8,  Advanced

   Unrated, no entry fee 

   Swiss-style, 5 rounds (est.), USCF standard tiebreaks

   G/20 + 3 sec. increment in Advanced section when clocks are available

   Notation required in the Advanced section

Awards:  Individual trophies to the top 7 in all novice sections, and to the top 6 in the advanced section.  Team trophies to the top two teams in all novice sections, and to the top team in the advanced section.  Team score calculated by top four scores in novice sections, top three scores in advanced.

Entries:  YCFC uses a roster system for tournament entries.All players on submitted rosters are eligible to play in any YCFC tournament during the scholastic year.Submit rosters, including name, grade, school and section to accounting@apartmentpeople.com, or by fax to 773-248-1007, attn: Mike Cardinale, no later than Thursday, January 17th.

All players must check in on site by 9:30.

Coaches:  Please let me know if you plan on attending with a rough estimate of the number of players by Thursday, January 17th

Thanks again to George Dzuricsko of De La Salle and Kelli Moore of St. Columbanus for welcoming us back, and to the De La Salle Meteors chess team for assisting!

Moving Up!

The following players will move up to the advanced section on January 19th according to YCFC rules:

Vicki Liang, Goudy, 1st place, Novice 5-8

Miguel Castro, Bateman, 2 trophies, Novice 5-8

Andres Hernandez-Sanchez, Bell, 2 trophies, Novice 5-8

Johnny Tran, Goudy, 2 trophies, Novice 5-8

Russel Ninofranco, Waters, 2 trophies, Novice 5-8

Remaining Schedule

February 16                 Northside College Preparatory High School

                                  5501 N. Kedzie (3200 W)                                      

April 13                       Air Force Academy High School

                                  3630 S. Wells (200 W) 

May 11                       T.B.A.

Stolen from Facebook and Hemingway

A message from Mike Cardinale, Illinois Chess Association Metro Vice President:

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

Ever been to the Dice Dojo in Edgewater? It's the competitive and social headquarters for offline gaming in Chicago. Whether you want to play wargames, miniatures, card games, role-playing games or any other kind of tabletop game, the Dojo provides a clean, welcoming and relatively sweet-smelling environment. Why shouldn't chess players enjoy the same?

Unlike the majority of gamers at the Dice Dojo, you play a game with no dice. There's no good luck to save you and no bad luck to blame; it's all on you. But you're not alone: There are 550 USCF members living in Chicago, with a total of 2,820 in the greater metropolitan area. More impressive, over 26,000 Facebook users in Chicago list chess as an interest. This is a population in need of exactly what the Chicago Chess Center intends to provide: a comfortable gathering place for players of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. Why should Warhammer players have all the goodies?

By donating now to the Chicago Chess Center, you’ll support the creation of a new home for chess in Chicago. But it's not just a recreational mission. The Chicago Chess Center will promote excellence through classes, tournaments and open play to residents of all ages. For scholastic players, chess has a measurable impact on many essential skills, including analytical reasoning, pattern recognition and attention span. Those gains can’t be matched by Magic: The Gathering and HeroClix. Older players also benefit from the cognitive exercise that chess provides. You can contribute to a brain-healthy populace!

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity, the Chicago Chess Center will serve Chicago, providing a safe haven for play, instruction and fun, and partnering with other civic institutions to make our community a better and brighter place for all. Just as the Dice Dojo is active in its community, participating in "positive loitering," hosting events for local schools and churches, and donating items for fundraisers, the Chicago Chess Center will similarly fulfill its mission through community engagement and service.

The center has a plan for financial viability and top-notch professionals on its board. But opening the doors is not cheap. The seed money that this campaign will provide is essential to ensure that those doors stay open and that the center thrives.

So I ponied up. Why don’t you? Join me in supporting the Chicago Chess Center, and we may see its doors open as soon as this May.

Thank you for considering my plea,

Mike Cardinale 
Metro Vice President, Illinois Chess Association
Founders' Court, Chicago Chess Center
1981 East Coast Champion, Cosmic Encounter

 P.S. Just 16 days remain in this drive to open the doors. Give now!

YCFC event this weekend at Rickover Naval Academy

Mike Cardinale reminds us that the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago will have an event this Saturday at Rickover Naval Academy (Rickover is part of the Senn High School campus in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, on the Far North Side).  Email cut-and-paste follows:

A final reminder that the second YCFC tournament of

the year takes place this Saturday, December 8th, at

Rickover Naval Academy, with details reprinted below.

 New rosters and roster additions are due Thursday.

Also, please reply with a an estimated number of players

if you haven't already done so.  This is also important

for coaches who wish to reserve a team room! 

Once again, we'll put Will Tseng to the test with a

warm-up clock simul, beginning at approximately 9:30.

All are welcome to participate.

December 8th Tournament at Rickover

Rickover Naval Academy

5900 N. Glenwood (1400 West), just south of Thorndale

Entrance/Parking:  we will be using Door 10 on the west

   side of the building, facing Ridge Ave.  We'll have use of

   the parking lot adjacent to the entrance at Door 10.  The

   entrance to the lot is on Thorndale, which is the street

   bordering the north side of the school.  Thorndale is a

   one-way street heading west, so you will need to approach

   the school from the east on Thorndale to enter the lot.

   There should also be some street parking available.

Schedule:  Registration   9:00 - 9:30

                  Tournament  10:00 - 3:00

                  Trophy Presentation  3:15 (est.)

   All players must check-in at the tournament site by 9:30!

   Late arrivals will not be paired in the first round.

3 Sections:  Novice K-4, Novice 5-8, Advanced

   Unrated, K-8, no entry fee 

   Swiss-style, 5 rounds (est.), USCF standard tiebreaks

   G/20 + 3 sec. increment in Advanced section when clocks are available

   Notation required in the Advanced section

Awards:  Individual trophies to the top 10 in both novice

               sections.  Individual trophies to the top 6 in the

               advanced section.  Team trophies to the top

               three teams in both novice sections.  Team trophy

               to top team in the advanced section.  Team score

               calculated by top four scores in novice sections,

               top three scores in advanced.

Entries:  YCFC uses a roster system for tournament entries.

              All players on submitted rosters are eligible to play in

              any YCFC tournament during the scholastic year.

              Submit rosters, including name, grade, school and

              section to accounting@apartmentpeople.com, or by

              fax to 773-248-1007, attn: Mike Cardinale, no later than

              Thursday, December 6th.

              All players must check-in on site by 9:30.

Coaches:  Please let me know if you plan on attending with

                a rough estimate of the number of players by

                Thursday, December 6th.

Thanks to Principal Michael Biela for welcoming us back to Rickover this year!

Braswell Memorial Blitz results

I've known for a long time that Michael Auger and William Aramil are infinitely better blitz players than I am.  But I really got a kick out of losing to the third-place finisher, George Li. 

It's one thing to lose a game by overlooking NxK or to draw a game because one fails to look at the clock when one's position is overwhelming and one's opponent flagged several seconds earlier, which happened in my games with other honorable opponents.  It's another to get squashed like a bug in a theoretical line, which is what George did to me.  I forgot the event was USCF blitz-rated, and shouted in horror, "My position is wretched!" or something like that.

"SHHH!!"

(Only slightly more quietly): "But it is wretched." 

After the game, I peppered George with move-order questions in his deadly 4.e3 Slav, and he was kind enough to answer them.  George is 12 years old.

Crosstable here. The three prizewinners received enormous chocolate bars: Isaac would have approved

Before the event, organizer Maret Thorpe was honored by Mike Cardinale of the Illinois Chess Association for her past & current contributions to ICA. Thank you, Maret!

Preregister today for Tim Just's Winter Open tomorrow!

You have until 6 p.m. today (Friday, January 6th) to preregister for this weekend's Tim Just Winter Open XXVIII!   The TJWO is the first event of the Illinois Chess Association's reboot of the Illinois Tour.  (Please thank Mike Cardinale for his work in resurrecting the Tour!)

Play begins at 9 a.m. tomorrow Saturday, January 7th, for the two-day Open and Reserve. Preregistrants in the Open Section include FM Chow and NMs Bungo, Schmakel, Macenis, and Shaw.

Play begins at noon tomorrow for the one-day Scholastic event (in two sections).

Enter here!

You can enter the Scholastic Section here!

Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago event at Rickover Naval Academy

Mike Cardinale of the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago and Michael Biela (principal of Rickover Naval Academy, a CPS school on the Senn High School campus) hosted a 5-round game/20 event today that drew about 280 players. 

I had to leave before the awards ceremony, so I don't have final standings.  Unofficially, Abdel Raoul took clear first in the top section with a perfect 5-0.  I saw him drop a Fried Liver on Abraham Cornejo in Round 4 and win with good endgame technique.

And here are a few photos of the action in the Senn/Rickover cafeteria.  (An iPhone doesn't do the space justice: one would need a wide-angle lens.)

Mark your calendars for the next YCF event on January 21st, at De La Salle Institute / St. Columbanus, 3434 S. Michigan Avenue.

Another title for Eric Rosen

Sevan Muradian just sent me an email: we have a new FIDE Master.

Eric scored a perfect 12-0 in Saturday's simul to publicize the return of the Illinois Chess Tour.  Having been paid appropriate hush money, we withhold the names of all victims.  Thanks to Mike Cardinale for organizing and for treating seven of us to a wonderful breakfast at Yolk (I hadn't seen Captain Streeter's statue before!), to the kind folks at Marbles for a very nice venue, for Grandmaster Dmitry Gurevich for stopping by to give Eric his good wishes, and to Eric for his volunteer service.

This was the first game to finish, if  only because a player with chess culture knows when to resign:

And here's the finale of the last game.  Black outplayed Eric in the middlegame.  A pawn up, our brave N.N. quite correctly turned down a perpetual check to press Eric for the win.  But it's hard to win a queen ending against a 2400, and no one has had more heartbreaking losses than Nomen Nescio:

P.S. Wow, what a boo-boo I made above! Pattern recognition is not the best substitute for thinking....

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.