IESA Headlines

2017 IESA Chess State Tournament

Over 550 students representing 56 member schools of the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) will compete in the seventh annual IESA Chess State Tournament at the Peoria Civic Center on February 24-25. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the IESA website at: http://www.iesa.org/activities/participants.asp?activitycode=CHS

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 an Individual/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 25 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 http://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.

Normal Chiddix captured the 6th grade and 7th grade team titles last year while Rockford Marshall took home first place honors in the 8th grade division. The individual champions in the 6th grade and 7th grade divisions are all returning and will be looking to repeat as champions this year in the 7th grade and 8th grade divisions. Fred Yuan from Lincolnshire Daniel Wright took home first place in the 6th grade division in 2016 and is back this year in the 7th grade division. There was a tie for first place individual honors in the 7th grade division last year. Jason Daniels and Joseph Suh from Normal Chiddix tied for 1st place last year and both are entered this year as 8th graders and will be hoping to repeat as champions or co-champions. In the 8th grade division, Jeremiah Davis and Sreyanish Mamidi from Rockford Marshall both took home runner-up honors last year when they competed as 7th graders in the 8th grade division. This year, as 8th graders, they are only eligible for the 8th grade division. The 8th grade individual title is definitely up for grabs with Daniels, Suh, Davis, and Mamidi all hoping to checkmate their opponents.

Admission is free to the event but fans are not allowed in the competition rooms while play is going on.

For more information, please contact IESA Associate Executive Director and Chess Administrator, Leslie Alappattu at leslie@iesa.org 309-829-0114.