Phillip Scores Big Downstate

The FIDE invitational on the North Side isn’t the only chess tournament going on this weekend. Today, down in Bloomington-Normal, Ray School fourth grader Phillip Parker-Turner finished in a tie for 2nd place (4th place officially on tiebreaks) in the Illinois All-Grade Championship, posting four victories in five games. Congratulations to Noah Weeks-Brittan of the Chicago Latin School, whose perfect 5.0/5 landed him in first place in the 4th-grade field of 51 competitors. Allen Guo, Jyotsna Bitra, and several others also finished the meet with 4.0/5.

I understand the Bloomington-Normal area is a hotbed of chess and that organizers like Illinois Chess Association President Chris Merli, tournament director of today’s event, really know how to do it right. If you ever get a chance to play down there I urge you to go.