Ending on a High Note

Two Ray kids led the way in the last major tournament of the year.


It was the last tournament of the year from the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago, and two Ray School chess players grabbed top honors. Second grader Abdel Raoul, playing in only his second YCFC meet, nearly won first place in the 60-player beginner, section with a perfect 5.0/5 score in regular competition. He fell to second when he lost a tiebreaker game--his only loss of the day--to an older player from another school.

Ray fifth grader Phillip Parker-Turner, always the man to beat in the advanced section, himself managed to beat back all challengers with a perfect 5.0/5 score, to take overall top honors in the entire tournament.

Thanks to Mike Cardinale and the rest of the YCFC crew for another great year of free chess in the Chicago public schools. Thanks to Tonti Elementary School on the Southwest Side for hosting the meet.

More photos here.

Tournament at Whitney Young Sunday

Chess Parents,

I know this is very last minute, but I’ve learned that there’s a chess tournament this Sunday at Whitney Young High School for K-8 students. Details here if you’re interested.

I won’t try to organize a Ray contingent at this late date, but feel free to attend if your child would like to play.

The next tournament by the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago will be Saturday, March 14, at Wells School, conveniently located on the South Side, on Pershing Road (244 east 39th Street). I do hope we can get a respectable showing from Ray for that tournament. Please let me know if your child is interested in playing at that one. I’ll have more details soon.

The Basics for Tournament Players

This Saturday, the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago will hold a scholastic chess tournament at Bell Elementary School, where they will introduce a new competition section for “novices,” kids who are playing in their very first tournament. The idea is to get novices playing other novices and avoid having some 8th-grade “Beginner” who’s played in ten tournaments but not yet advanced to Intermediate crush some kindergartener like an aluminum can and scare the latter away from chess competition forever.

Okay, so maybe the imagery is a bit over the top, but you get the idea. I think it’s a good one.

At least three Ray kids plan to play in the Novice section, and for them, as well as anyone else who needs a refresher on the basics for tournament play, we offer these aides for brushing up. The things your child should be prepared with are:

• Scholar’s Mate. Know how to use it and how to avoid having it used on you. Go here and here for the details.
• Basic Checkmates. The two main ones are rook & king vs. king and queen & king vs. king. These are basic techniques that are used to finish the kind of endgames that frequently come up. Once your child masters the techniques, winning these games is second nature.
• Opening Guidelines. Go here for the most common openings.
• Review GM Arthur Bisguier’s Ten Tips for Winning Chess.

Review these as well as you can with your kids before Saturday, and they should be ready. Now, as Bruce Pandolfini would say, go out there and be brilliant.

Trophy Kids

Phillip Parker-Turner gets taller every year, but so do the trophies he wins.

Congratulations to Ray's George Vassilatos for winning a trophy at November 8 Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago tournament at Burbank School, and to Phillip Parker-Turner for finishing in first place in the 5th-grade section of the Illinois All-Grade Championships.

More photos from the All-Grade here, courtesy of Phillip's dad.

Weekend Roundup

Some highlights from Saturday's tournament at Fulton Elementary, courtesy of chess mom Teresa Parker:

I missed the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago tournament at Fulton, but got I a report on it from chess dad Peter Margulis and pix from Teresa. Phillip Parker-Turner was the tournament's overall winner, Andy Margulis won a trophy in the intermediate division, and George Vassilatos had a good day, coming close to a trophy himself. I believe our neighbors at Ancona walked away with the team trophy.

It was the last YCFC tournament of the school year. Hats off to those guys for another great year of free chess tournaments in the Chicago public schools.

In other action, Ray's Sonam Ford battled with the titans of scholastic chess at the national K-6 championships in Pittsburgh, finishing an excellent 64th in a K-3 field of 209 very serious chess players from all over the country.

In the big virtual matchup in the K-3 team division that the whole chess world is watching (whether they admit it or not) the banned Lincolnshire school district beat all the big New York schools, finishing second nationally, a half point behind Stevenson High Elementary School in Washington State. Correction hat tip to Chessdad64, who has the story here; backstory here.

And Howe!

It wasn’t the best of times, it wasn’t the worst of times; for the Ray School chess squad it was somewhere in between at yesterday’s tournament at the Julia Ward Howe School on the West Side, organized and directed by the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago.

Ray’s Sonam Ford and George Vassilatos did win trophies at the sparsely attended meet, though the big winner of the day was Coach Trevor Scott’s Disney Magnet School, which won the team competition as it has so many times in the past year. Disney may now have eclipsed Burbank as the dominant elementary school in the Chicago public schools.

Peterson Elementary’s Jace Miyagi won the intermediate division, and top honors in the beginner’s section went to Justin Buschnyj of Burley School. The tournament’s overall champion was Brandon Truitt of Burbank, who won the advanced section, though not before Sonam spoiled Brandon’s perfect score for the day by beating him in a thrilling final-round game. Sonam finished in second place overall with 3.5/5. George’s 4.0/6 gave him an eighth-place finish and his second trophy this year in the beginner section.

More photos here; complete standings here.

Victory in Skokie, Et Cetera

After the first three games of her four-round match with Armenian Women’s Champion IM Lilit Mkrtchian ended in draws, U.S. Women’s Champion IM Irina Krush pulled out a victory last night in the final game at the Skokie Holiday Inn. See it here. I guess that means she wins the match, right?

Upcoming Tournaments
For K-8 kids rated 500 or above, IM Angelo Young is holding his fourth “Scholastic Chess Tournament of Champions” at the Touch Move Chess Center, 5639 North Ashland, Chicago, tomorrow. Call (773) 627-2759 for details.

The next tournament by the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago will be:

Julia Ward Howe Elementary
720 N. Lorel (5332W)
Registration 9:00 - 9:30
Tournament 10:00 - 2:30
Trophy Presentation 2:45 (est.)

3 divisions: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced. Details here. The Ray School Chess Club will attend this tournament, so parents: please let me know if your kids would like to play.

This Sunday’s previously scheduled tournament at the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club from Chess Education Partners has been cancelled.

P.S. This my 200th post on this blog. Yeah, I know: Who cares?

And now for something completely different:

All Is Wells

Small Ray squad scores big at South Side tourney

Only four kids from Ray School played in Saturday’s chess tournament at Wells Prep, but every one of them went home with a trophy, the first time that’s happened in a citywide event.

(Full standings here for the tournament, sponsored by the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago and hosted by nearby Wells Prep on Pershing Road. More photos here.)

Competition for overall tournament champion came down to a head-to-head match between two Ray kids: Phillip Parker-Turner and Sonam Ford, who entered the final round leading the heady advanced section. It was not the first time that has happened: Phillip and Sonam have each won the section in previous tournaments, and they have been battling for the league’s top spot all year.

This time Phillip won the fifth-round game between the two to emerge as the day’s top player among a throng of 150. In other divisions, Ray third grader George Vassilatos won his first trophy, with a 4.0/5 eighth-place finish in the beginner section, and fifth-grader Andy Margulis, playing his first tournament as an intermediate, proved that he certainly belongs in that highly competitive section by winning a fourth-place trophy, also with a 4.0/5 score.

Congratulations to Disney Magnet School and Coach Trevor Scott for winning its fourth YCFC team competition; to Lorenzo Grego of Ancona School for winning the beginner competition; and to Jabari Dean of Cook School for finishing first in Intermediate.

Thanks to the YCFC for another great tournament and to David Layne and everyone at Wells for their first-rate hospitality.

Click for more:

Final Standings
More photos

Tomorrow's Tournament Cancelled

I just got an e-mail from Mike Cardinale of the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago announcing that tomorrow's scheduled tournament at Burbank Elementary School has been cancelled because of the cold weather. Apparently the Chicago Public Schools administration has ordered all schools closed on Saturday.

Mike says they'll try to reschedule the Burbank meet soon. Stay tuned.

Winning Streak

A Ray player takes first place again; Bell wins team competition at Gill Park

Sonam Ford took first place against a hundred other players on Saturday to give Ray School its second consecutive personal victory at a major citywide tournament.

By winning the Advanced section of the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago’s meet at Gill Park, Sonam became the tournament’s overall champion, following in the footsteps of teammate Phillip Parker-Turner, who won the same honor a month ago at the YCFC’s previous meet.

The Bell Squad

However, just as Phillip suffered his only defeat of that day at the hands of Christopher Velazquez, Sonam also lost his fifth-round game on time to the Burbank Elementary School star after going 4.0/4 up to that point.

Ryan Toepfer of Decatur Classical School won the Intermediate division, and the Beginner’s section went to Ethan May of Bell. Both kids were playing in their first YCFC tournament. Ray second grader Allen Dai also won a trophy in the Intermediate section. Kenyon Edmond and Gonzalo Higuero represented the school in the Beginners group.

For the team trophy, which goes to the school with the top beginner’s section, it was a real donnybrook, only a few points separating the top four teams. Victory went to Bell Elementary, led by Coach Jim Altenbach, which was playing in its first YCFC tournament in several years. Bell inched out Burbank by a point, with Clinton and Disney close behind.

The foundation’s network is growing rapidly. Decatur and Darwin were the new arrivals at this tournament, and they followed closely on the heels of Fulton, Clinton, and Cook, which joined the league earlier this year.

YCFC's Saadiq Sajjaad and Disney Magnet School Coach Trevor Scott

Congratulations to the YCFC’s Mike Cardinale, John Lee, Saadiq Sajjaad, and their legions of volunteer helpers, for an excellent event. Next tournament: January 19 at Burbank Elementary School. Details to come.

Standings here. More photos here.

In the Magic Kingdom

Host school Disney triumphs in YCFC opener, as Ray kids shine in all divisions

Walt Disney Magnet School on North Marine Drive yesterday hosted the long-awaited season opener of the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago. The tournament saw outstanding performances by both new and veteran players.

Tournament results are here and more photos are here.

Top Ray players

The Disney Team

Some of the highlights:

Four Ray players won trophies at the event, including fourth grader Phillip Parker-Turner, who was the tournament’s top player overall, finishing first in the Advanced division.

Tournament host Disney Magnet School, under Coach Trevor Scott, won the team competition (Beginner division), continuing a surge the up-and-coming program began at the end of last season.

Ray’s Sonam Ford, playing his first tournament in the Advanced group, won a trophy for coming in third in that category. Finishing second, between Phillip and Sonam, was Burbank Elementary star Christopher Velazquez, who handed Phillip his only defeat of the day.

Allen Dai, a Ray second grader, finished second in the Intermediate division with an outstanding 5.0/6, losing first place to Lab School’s Arthur Chang only on statistical tiebreaks. Disney’s Delvin Hajdarevic, who came in third, also scored 5.0/6.

Fifth grader Andy Margulis of Ray finished fifth in the 80-player beginner division, which was won by Cook School’s Nyshya Pollard, who was playing in her first YCFC tournament. Since it was Andy’s third top-ten finish, he will advance to Intermediate at the next tournament, as will Nyshya automatically for coming in first.

Two Ray students, Joshua Anderson and Zion Richardson, played in their first tournament. They joined returning veterans Kaytlyn James, Lauren James, and George Vassilatos. All together, nine Ray kids played in the tournament.

Two new schools, Cook and Clinton, joined the league for the first time, and Fulton School, under Coach Eric Santos, returned after having made its first YCFC appearance last spring.

Unsolved chess mystery: Powerhouse Burbank Elementary, 21 strong, came with its normally huge contingent of players, yet I didn’t see one of their signature blue shirts all day. Is being inconspicuous part of Burbank’s new strategy?

Congratulations to the YCFC’s Mike Cardinale, John Lee, Saadiq Sajjaad, and their legions of volunteer helpers, for an excellent season opener. Next tournament: December 15, at a location to be announced. Watch this space for details.

Upcoming Tournaments

Two upcoming scholastic tournaments for Ray School Chess Club members:

Sunday, November 4
Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, 5480 S. Kenwood Avenue, Chicago. Check in begins at 8:00 a.m. Round 1 begins at 9:00. Entry fee: $20 + U.S. Chess Federation membership required. Register at Chess Education Partners.

Saturday, November 17
Disney Elementary School, 4140 N. Marine Drive, Chicago. Sponsored by the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago. Check in 9:00 – 9:30. First round at 10:00. Free of charge.

Please let us know if your child would like to play in either tournament.

Tournament at Quad Club Saturday

I just noticed that Renaissance Knights is holding a chess tournament this Saturday at the University of Chicago’s Quadrangle Club, at 57th Street & University Ave. Alas, the early-bird registration deadline has passed, but you can still sign up for $30 if you’re interested. It’s an “open” tournament, which means there are no special sections for kids or lower-rated players, so I’d recommend this tournament mainly for the stronger Ray players. You can’t beat the location, though.

If you’re looking for a scholastic tournament this weekend, you can go out to Oakton Community College in Des Plaines for a Saturday match by North Shore Scholastic Chess.

The next tournament in Hyde Park will be on Sunday, November 4, at the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, sponsored by Chess Education Partners. Our friends at the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago, which sponsors free tournaments, should also have an announcement soon about a November tournament, and I’ll let you know about that as soon as I do.

Disney Dominates Kennicott Meet

But Ray kids win trophies

Disney Elementary Magnet School under Coach Trevor Scott may be the hottest team on the city chess circuit these days following back-to-back victories in the last two tournaments of the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago. After winning first place in the beginner division at the Ray School tournament in March, Disney repeated the feat at the May 19 match at Kennicott Park.

Ray had a small squad at the tournament, as often happens this time of year, but two of our kids won individual trophies nonetheless. Sonam Ford, playing in only his second YCFC tournament, took first place in the intermediate division, while Phillip Parker-Turner finished second in the outstanding advanced field, where almost all the players are older than him. With a 3.5/5.0, Phillip finished just a half point behind Burbank Elementary superstar Christopher Velazquez. Sonam, meanwhile, beat 18 of the best elementary-school chess players in town to finish on top in his category.

Disney’s team victory was in no small part the result of the school’s top two performers, who finished first and second in the beginner category. Delvin Hajdarevic’s 4.5/5.0 landed him in first place, and teammate Jonathan Klein finished right behind him with 4.0/5.0.

Hyde Park was well represented in the standings, by Ancona’s Kamal Bilal and Lab’s Jason Chang, who finished third and fourth respectively on tiebreaks, each with 4.0/5.0.

Full standings here.

Congratulations to Trevor and the whole Disney team; to Christopher, Sonam, Phillip and all the other kids who won trophies.

And finally, thanks to the YCFC squad for another year of excellent tournaments: Mike Cardinale, John Lee, Val Halliday, Saadiq Sajjaad, and their many volunteer helpers. These folks make it look easy, though it certainly is not.