In the Evanston Chess Tri-Level held March 3, NM Jon Burgess and Matthew Wilber tied for first in the gold section with 3.5 points each. A more decisive outcome may have resulted when the two met in the third round, but Wilber played a conservative line. After much maneuvering the players drew. Greg Bungo and Guy Kittelsen were right on their heels with 3 points each.
In the Silver section, Jay Kushinsky was the winner with three wins and a draw. He attributed his success at the board to a good night's sleep, and playing solid chess instead of going for the quick attack. Bradley Guan, Charles Coffman, and Kymo Alboravas each had three points. Daum Hazners also did well, winning 1.5 games in this section and going one for two in cross-section pairings with Gold section players.
Our Bronze section was the largest it has been in a long time, and included players from Naperville North and Argo Township high schools (an Evanston Township student played in the Silver section), which just goes to show that the IHSA season may be over, but it's never too soon to sharpen the game for next year. Anjan Chittajallu came in clear first with 4.0 points, including a cross-section win against a Silver section player. Dan Margulis was second with 3.5 points. Big rating point gains for the day included Chittajallu and Adrian Villacorta who came into the tournament with low ratings, as well as Charles Coffman in the Silver section who picked up 111 points.
Chess players just can't get enough of the game. Whether their own games are finished or not, they've always got an extra set of eyes for someone else's board. If it's the last game going in the room, it will draw a crowd whether it's board 1 or board 17, as happened today when Dennis Doyle and Adrian Villacorta (pictured) played out their endgame in the bronze section. Why do we watch? Maybe we're testing ourselves: "Will he play Qf6?" Maybe we're cheering for a friend. Or maybe we just want to see how this particular story will come out (Stalemate! Flag Fall! Blunder! Brilliancy!). In case you were wondering, Dennis won.
What else have we been up to at Evanston Chess Club? Weekly Tuesday night attendance is in the range of 14-24, including players at all levels. One of the highlights is our monthly club blitz, a free round-robin unrated G/5 held on the third Tuesday of each month. See our events page for details.
by Maret
