Thirty-two of Illinois’ premier young chess players will be battling it out on the chess boards this weekend at Skokie’s North Shore Chess Center for championship titles and opportunities to compete in national tournaments later this year.
The players will be competing in three side-by-side invitational events. The longest running event is the Illinois Denker Qualifier, and will feature ten top high school players who are competing to represent Illinois at the National Denker Tournament of High School Champions to be held in Florida at the end of July. The second event is the brand new Illinois K-8 Barber Qualifier will include 16 of the state’s top chess players in grade 8 or below, and ranging in age from 7 to 14. They will compete for a chance to become the Illinois representative to the first-ever Barber Tournament of K8 Champions, also to be held in Florida at the end of July. The third event, the Illinois Girls Invitational, will feature six of the state’s top female players under 18. All winners will receive stipends towards travel to the next round of tournaments and funds towards chess lessons. As there is no national girls’ invitational this year, the winner of the Girls Invitational will be able to use the stipend towards travel to attend a tournament of her choice.
Bill Brock, a long time observer of the Illinois chess scene and the managing editior of the prestigious Chicago Chess Blog had this to say about the competitors in these events, “It's very hard for non-chessplayers to appreciate just how talented these young players are. I've had the pleasure of playing against and analyzing with several of them: perhaps they're not quite full-blown prodigies as Mozart or Capablanca were, but they're incredibly gifted and extremely hard-working…. these kids are very competitive, but they're also collegial. They keep the game in perspective and treat their opponents with respect. They come to play and they give 110%”. Brock is also pleased about the new event for elementary and middle school players, adding “ the Illinois Barber Qualifier and the national Barber Championships will give these K-8 players the structure and the motivation to pursue excellence.”
The tournaments are organized and funded by the Illinois Chess Association Warren Junior Scholar Program, whose director is Andrea Rosen. International Arbiter Sevan Muradian of the North Shore Chess Center will serve as the tournament director for the events.
The following players from across the state of Illinois will be converging on Skokie to compete at three events on March 26 and 27.
Denker Qualifier:
Michael Auger, Chicago; Senior, Whitney Young High School
Adarsh Jayakumar, Glencoe; Junior, Lake Forest Academy
Jonathan Kogen, Deerfield; Freshman, Deerfield High School
Trevor Magness, Bolingbrook; Senior, Home-Schooled
Aakaash Meduri, Westmont; Junoir, Hinsdale Central High School
Eric Rosen, Skokie; Junior, Niles North High Schol
Sam Schmakel, Chicago; Freshman, Whitney Young High School
Evan Spiegel, Skokie; Senior, Niles North High School
Charles Swan, Chicago; Sophomore, Whitney Young High School
Tommy Ulrich, Grayslake; Sophomore, Home-Schooled
Girls’ Invitational:
Victoria Bian, Lincolnshire; 8th grade, Daniel Wright Junior High
Alice Hu, Champaign
Miranda Liu, Buffalo Grove; 4th grade, Country Meadows Elementary School
Cheryl Liu, Buffalo Grove; Junior, Stevenson High School
Rachel Ulrich, Grayslake; 5th grade, Home-Schooled
Sonya Vohra, Wilmette; Sophomore, New Trier High School
K8 Barber Qualifier
Jimi Akintonde, Chicago; 8th grade, Saint Sabina Academy
Alex Bian, Lincolnshire; 5th grade, Daniel Wright Junior High
Daniel Bronfeyn, Mundelein; 5th grade, Aspen Elementary School
Vincent Do, Rockford, 3rd grade, Washington Academy
Zachary Holecek, Lincolnshire; 6th grade, Daniel Wright Junior High
Nate Kranjc, Wheaton; 8th grade, Saint. Michael School
Spencer Lehmann, Barrington Hills; 6th grade, Barrington Middle School
Bryce McClanahan, Glenview, 6th grade, Pleasant Ridge School
Gavin McClanahan, Glenview, 8th Grade, Springman Middle School
Conrad Oberhaus, Lincolnshire, 5th Grade, Daniel Wright Junior High
David Peng, Wilmette; 3rd grade, Avoca West Elementary School
Matthew Stevens, Burr Ridge; 4th grade, Anne M. Jeans Elementary School
Abe Sun, Wilmette; 5th grade, Avoca West Elementary School
James Wei, Buffalo Grove; 5th grade; Daniel Wright Junior High
Penny Xu, Champaign; 8th grade, Urbana Middle School
Max Zinski, Wheaton; 8th grade, Saint Michael School
