Registrations Heating Up For Judd Lauger Memorial Sept 10

The week is still young and yet we are projecting a 40-player field for the Judd Lauger Memorial Classic, Saturday, September 10.

We have 8 players signed up for the Open and 12 for the Reserve with another 8 in the Booster -- and even one person wishing to play in the non-rated event (fingers crossed we'll get more non-rateds!).

Currently the prize fund is $100 for first overall with $50 for first U1800 in the Open. The Reserve will feature $60 for first and $40 for top U1400.

The Booster will include $30 first prize and a trophy.  There will also be trophies for second and third in the section along with top U1000, U800, U600 and U400.

But once we hit 32 players, we'll go to $120 for first overall, $60 for second place with $50 for the U1800 in the Open.

And in the Reserve we'll add a second place prize of $40 and first place will grow to $80. Upset prizes will go from $5 per section to $10 -- and that will add $155 to the existing prize fund of around $300. So stay tuned!

Grunfeld Early Registration Deadline Extended

Partial List of Registrations (38) as of 3/31: 

Open: V. Do (2084), A. Carey (1856), J. Winick (1827), S. Rajamani (1786), A. Raje (1727), S. Henderson (1701), J. Willett (1634), et al...
Reserve: J. Gaenzle (1563), E. Patterson (1559), S. Lauger (1503), R. Padilla (1500), A. Emrikian (1408), S. Insley (1377), J. Zarris (1363), A. Insley (1325), T. Segreto (1315), D. Bell (1309), J. Davis (1292) et al...
Booster: A. Ramirez (1249)*, D. Reyes (1247), W. Cahill (1231)*, S Mamidi (1200), D. Chen (1193), J. Marchert, Jr. (1083), M. Chen (1059)*, and others...
Super-Booster: K. Sureshkumar (966), P. Cappaert (963), J. Marchert, Sr. (916), J. Wilde (872), T. Verden, D. Henderson, J. Marchert III and others...

* Have requested to play up

Date: Saturday, April 2, 2016

Tournament Name: Ernst Grunfeld Memorial Class

Recognizing what would have been 54th anniversary of the passing of Ernst Franz Grunfeld in early April of 1962 (see below).

4 rounds, G/60 with no delay, Regular-rated. 

Sections expected as Open, Reserve - Under 1600, Booster – Under 1250 and Super-Booster – Under 1000. Requests to play up considered at TD discretion and TD reserves the right to combine or split sections depending upon registrations.

Prize Fund: Cash Prizes at TD discretion (calculated and posted during second round). Guaranteed 67% of entry funds received, generally 80%. At least $100 guaranteed to clear first place in the Open.

Additional “Under” prizes within sections and upset prizes too. For example, Under 1800 in the Open Section, Under 1400 in the Reserve, Under 800 in the Super-Booster. Must have at least three eligible players for a prize to be created. Unrated players are eligible for Section prizes only.

Where: First Congregational Church, 615 N First Street, DeKalb, IL

On-site Registration: 8:15am - 8:50am (after which ½ bye available for round one ONLY)

Rounds: 9:00am, 11:10am, (Lunch), 1:50pm, 4:00pm, with conclusion anticipated by 6:00pm.

Vincent Do Wins March 26 Alekhine Memorial

Rockford phenom Vincent Do swept all four of his opponents to claim top honors at the 2nd Alekhine Memorial Open March 26.

The event honored the 70th anniversary of the passing of World Champion Alexander Alekhine whose time expired 3/24/46 at the age of 53.

Vincent sealed the tournament with a rapid dispatch of Jonathan Gaenzle.

Do, now rated 2084, joined several of his Thurgood Marshall teammates in preparing for the US Chess Junior High Nationals in Indianapolis in April.

Finishing tied for second with 3.0/4 were Sureshkumar Rajamani and Ashwin Raje.

DeKalb's Chris Sheehan-Jago raised his rating 132 points while his teammate Paul Cappaert added 39 points to the rating, now at the cusp of 1000. Chris and Paul tied for top score among players rated Under 1000.

Sycamore's Don Reyes enhanced his rating 42 points, earning the top score among players rated Under 1400 with 2.5/4.

Alexander Alekhine was World Champion from 1927 until his death in 1946, with the exception of a relinquishment to Max Euwe from 1935-1937.

In July of 1933 he conducted a blindfold simultaneous exhibition in Chicago with 32 people, at the time, a new world record. He won 19, lost four and drew nine games.

The next DeKalb Chess Club event will be the April 2 Grunfeld Memorial with four rounds of Game/60 play.

The club will also host a three-pack of events on April 16 with Game/90, Game/40 and a scholastic event with Game/30 time controls. Please address questions to info@dekalbchess.com.

Alekhine Memorial Features Four Rounds: G/40; 5-second delay

The DeKalb Chess Club will sponsor the Alekhine Memorial Open on Saturday, March 26. Note: this event is open to all-ages and will most likely be conducted in one section although the TD reserves the right to split sections.

By popular demand, the time control will be Game/40 with a 5-second delay.

All equipment will be provided. There will be a $6 entry fee with certificates as prizes. All juniors will receive awards.

Registration will conclude at 9:00 am with the first round starting shortly thereafter. The second round will begin at 11:00 am -- and folks are welcome to take a 1/2-point first round bye. A brief lunch will be available before round three which will kick off at 1:15pm. The fourth and final round will begin at 3:00pm with conclusion of play by 4:30pm.

Grandmaster Alekhine passed away March 24, 1946 making this the 70th anniversary of his death.

This is a perfect warm up for the scholastic nationals coming up: High School, April 1-3 in Atlanta; Jr. High, April 15-17 in Indianapolis; and Elementary, May 6-8 in Nashville.

Tarrasch Memorial Features 1pm Start Feb 13

Due to a funeral service at the hosting site, the Tarrasch Memorial will take place in an abbreviated manner.

We will get started at 1:00pm sharp (please be there at least 15 minutes ahead of time. The format will be a round robin quads with each player getting three games. Game/40 will be the time control.

The lowest section (or only section or only section if need be) will be Swiss-paired with three rounds at the same time control.

With round robin pairing, games can start ASAP since the opponents are pre-determined. Play should conclude by 5:30. There will be no lunch break.

Text Bill at 815-995-0174 with any questions. Entry fee will be $10 with $20 going to the winner of each quad.

Siegbert Tarrasch was an influential chess coach -- and strong player -- in the late century and early 20th century. Feb 17 will be the 82nd anniversary of his passing in 1934.

Registrations Strong For Lasker on Saturday January 9

In all sections except the Under 1000, registrations are looking strong for Saturday's Lasker Memorial. People seem to like the option of Game/75 with three rounds and Game/40 with five rounds. Perhaps this is a format worth perpetuating.

Please DO NOT show up without pre-registering in the U1000. There may be a consolidation with the higher-rated sections and I don't want to disappoint folks.

Lasker Memorial on January 9 Promises Something For All

Whether you like Game/40 or Game/75, the Lasker Memorial on January 9th promises to please.

The Championship Section will be for those who like the slow time control with three rounds of regular-rated play starting at 9:30am. Other Sections including Open, Reserve, Booster and Sub-Booster will feature five rounds of dual-rated play starting at 10am. All play should end by 6pm.

Entry fee is $12 for the first 24 players registering -- $15 for those who sign up after this or at the door... but a special discount is available (see below).

A family discount will give the second player in the same clan a $2 discount, the third member a $4 discount, etc. So if you have a brood of a seven or more, the youngest players get free entry! (yes, parents count too!)

Cash prizes will be distributed within the upper sections while eight trophies are available in the Super-Booster for players Under 1000.

Complete details are on this downloadable flier. (Note this flier was updated Tuesday night).