Winick, Robledo Top '13 Northern Illinois Fall Classic Open Section

Newly-minted Class A-player Jon Winick and Expert Mark Robledo, Jr. both came within a half-point of perfect scores at the '13 Northern Illinois Fall Classic, drawing in the fourth and final round.

The dual-rated tournament was held October 19 in Lisle, attracting a robust field of 30 competing within three sections. Complete crosstables can be viewed here.

In the Reserve, Gama De Luna scored a perfect 4.0/4 in only his second USCF tournament. In the Booster, the ANCC's Matthias Guillet also ran the table 4.0/4 competing in his first USCF event. Matthias recently returned to chess after a multi-decade absence.

It was truly a tournament of personal bests for many:

• Jon surpassed 1800 for the first time, posting an 1842 post-event rating.

• Armel Peel went over 1600 for the first time, increasing his rating 145 points while scoring 2.5/4. Starting the event in Class C territory, Armel drew a Class B player, beat an Expert and a Class B player, before succumbing to another Expert. And thus Armel can add "Class B" to his chess resume, quite impressive considering his 992 provisional-rating one year ago.

• Also posting a 2.5/4 tally, Vic Zaderej eclipsed 1500 for the first time, jumping 70 rating points.

Edward Zhang, taking advantage of his 1586 official October rating, claimed second place in the Under 1600 prize distribution with a 2.0/4 score. Edward has been a busy camper since the event, claiming the Fifth Grade Championship at the 2013 All Grade and boosting his rating to a whopping 1759.

Aaron Maney, Bob Stoltz and Marissa Li split second place prize money among Under 1800's within the Open. All three scored 2.0/4.

Paul Schmitt finished 2.5/4 in the Reserve, claiming second place in the section.

In the Booster, ANCC's Steve Wilson posted a 3.0/4 score, tying for second with Ming Zhang. This was Steve's first USCF-rated event, losing only to Matthias in the third round.

Adam Bareket won the upset prize, edging out his brother, Tom, who also staked a claim. Class D Adam defeated a Class B player in the first round, while Class C Tom bettered another Class B opponent in his initial game.

The Northern Illinois Fall Classic represents the third tournament hosted by the Aurora Naperville Chess Club at the fantastic training facilities of Molex Corporation in Lisle. A debt of gratitude goes out to all the Molex participants who make this hosting possible. These are truly excellent playing conditions, and the registrant pool keeps growing at each event.

Registrations for October 19th Fall Classic Up to Two Dozen

Registrations are piling up like leaves under my oak tree for Saturday's Northern Illinois Fall Classic.

No matter what your chess level is (except for above 2000, sadly), there promises to be good competition.

Four rounds of middle-time control chess should provide excellent conditions.

Currently, the sections are shaping up as Under 1000 (8 entries), Under 1500 (8 entries) and Open/Under 2000 (8 entries). But I imagine things may shift as walk-up registrations and requests to play up are accommodated.

Plenty of room left in all sections and the early-registration discount has been extended until Friday at 11:59pm if you mention the phrase "PILE OF LEAVES".

See you Saturday!

ANCC to sponsor 4-round Fall Classic Oct. 19 in Lisle

The Aurora Naperville Chess Club is proud to announce its sponsorship of the 2013 Northern Illinois Fall Classic. This four-round event will be held the third Saturday of October filling the void left by the rescheduling of the Midwest Class.

The host site for the event will be the comfortable training facilities at Molex Corporation in Lisle, just south of the intersection of Ogden Avenue at Indiana.

First round will get underway at 9:30am with the event concluding by 7pm. Contestants will battle for cash prizes under USCF Dual-Rated time controls, Game/60 plus a 5 second delay.

Sections are designed so that all participants are generally in competition for at least some prize -- as if a full day of interesting chess competition is not its own reward. Generally these sections include Open, Reserve - Under 1600 and Booster - Under 1200 but these may be consolidated based on registrations. In the Open, where three or more registrants would qualify, there is typically an Under 1800 prize, in the Reserve, there are plans for an Under 1400 prize and in the Booster there may be an Under 1000 prize.

USCF membership is required but this can be processed at the tournament site so that the club receives credit. Questions can be addressed by writing info@aurorachess.com.