IESA Headlines

2019 IESA Chess State Tournament to Play in Peoria

Almost 700 students representing 68 member schools of the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) will compete in the ninth annual IESA Chess State Tournament at the Peoria Civic Center on February 22-23. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the IESA website at: https://www.iesa.org/activities/chs/entries.asp?Year=2019.

There are almost 100 more students and 11 more schools participating this year compared to last year.

There are three divisions---6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade. A school can enter from 1-7 individual in each division. The tournament will be conducted in a Medley Team Swiss System format. Students with varying degrees of experience will be participating.

The first round on Friday is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Round two will not begin before 12:30 p.m.; the third round will not begin before 2:30 p.m.; and the fourth round will not begin before 4:30 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, round five will begin at 9:00 a.m.; round six not before 11:15 a.m.; and round seven not before 2:00 p.m. Students will compete in all seven rounds at the tournament. Results will be posted on the IESA website as each round is concluded. Go to www.iesa.org.

There will be an awards ceremony after the conclusion of round seven on Saturday, February 23 at approximately 3:45 p.m. Individual and team awards for all three divisions will be distributed.

The complete tournament schedule can be found at https://www.iesa.org/activities/chs/IESA-CHS_Schedule.pdf

Additional tournament information, plus the FanZone can be found at www.iesa.org. Click on the Chess line at the top of the IESA website home page. Should weather become a factor, the IESA website will contain up-to-date information regarding the tournament playing schedule.

Bloomington Evans won the 6th grade team title last year while Normal Chiddix captured the 7th grade title. Lincolnshire Daniel Wright took home first place honors in the 8th grade division. The cumulative scores of the individual points from the top five scorers of each team determine the order of finish. The top four teams in each division will take home state trophies.

The individual champion in the 6th grade division last year was James Douglas from Bloomington Evans. He is not participating in the tournament in 2019 so the 7th grade individual title will be up for grabs this year. There was a tie for first place individual honors in the 7th grade division last year-Thaddeus Bergschneider from Franklin and Jay Fitzgibbons from Metamora St. Mary’s tied for 1st place honors last year and both return this year as 8th graders. Each will be looking to repeat as champion in the 8h grade division.

Admission is free to the event. Fans are allowed in the room where the competition is being held but they are not allowed on the floor itself where the matches are being played.

For more information, please contact IESA Associate Executive Director and Chess Administrator, Nicole Schaefbauer at nicole@iesa.org 309-829-0114.