Chicago Public League Sports Blog

Whitney Young- 3rd! Northside-6th! Kelly- 17th at state chess tournament with 1 round remaining

Whitney Young lost to Hinsdale Central 35-33 in the 6th round of the state chess tournament. The loss denies Whitney Young the opportunity to repeat as state chess champions. The Dolphins will clinch a state trophy with a win versus one loss Naperville North in the 7th and final round.

Northside Prep bounced back after its 5th round loss to Stevenson by shutting out Riverside Brookfield 68-0. Northside Prep can improve on its current 6th place standing if it can defeat one loss Nequa Valley in the final round.

Kelly is at 17th place. It plays a winnable game against Niles West in the final round. A win over Niles West will likely propel Kelly to a top 15 state finish- one of the Kelly's best if not the best finishes ever in school history.

CPS @ State Chess Tournament- 5th round

Stevenson ends Northside Prep's state championship aspirations with a huge 44-24 win over previously undefeated Northside Prep. Stevenson's top 3 board won. Northside took 4,5,6 board but Stevenson was able to finish them off at boards 8,9.

Whitney Young showed great strenght on top by taking 4 of the top 5 boards against a very tough Evanston team.

Hinsdale Central and Niles North also won, setting up a final 4 of Stevenson, Hinsdale Central, Whitney Young, and Niles North.

Lincoln Park showed some mettle (and much more respect) in a tough 37-31 loss to Illinois Math and Science Academy.

Kelly is 4-1 with a win over Elgin.

Lane beats Plainfield Central. #1 board Thomas Grudzinski(sr) of Lane is undefeated at 5-0 and has a shot of winning board #1 individual champion.

Great showing for CPS in round 5. Although Northside may feel differently. I will say it is not a shame to lose to Stevenson.

 

CPS @ State Chess Tournament- before 5th round

"Now things get serious.  Eight undefeated teams.  All strong. Four will win, four will take their first loss and be out of contention for the state title. Last year, we made it into the undefeated eight, and we proudly finished eighth.  This year, we intend to go beyond.
On paper, the number two seed would be distinctly favored against the 7 seed.  On paper, Stevenson has two boards USCF rated above 2000, likely the highest-rated board 2 in Illinois.
At Evanston in November, Liang beat Kent Cen on Board 1.
The match will be decided over the board today, in Peoria."

Last year we were 4-0 at the end of the first day, and we were exhilarated.  We are happy today, too, but it feels different.  This is what we came here to do, and, so far, we have met our expectations.  We feel right.  We feel on track

---

Dan Caldwell
Asst Chess Coach

Northside College Prep

Final 8 undeafeated teams schedule round 5
Whitney Young vs Evanston
Stevenson vs Northside
Niles North vs Urbana
Nequa Valley vs Hinsdale Central

CPS @ State Chess Tournament- 4th round

Stevenson and #1 board Kent Cen(left) is shown here playing against Northside Prep's Edmond Jay in a game last year. The two chess titans clash again in the 5th round of the state championship tomorrow. The winner stays alive for the state title.

After the 4th round and Day 1 of the 7 round 2 day state chess tournament Northside Prep and Whitney Young are two of only 8 teams undefeated. The other undefeated teams are Urbana, Niles North, Stevenson, Evanston, Hinsdale Central, and Nequa Valley.

At stake is a state championship and state trophy. That will be determined in tomorrows final round.

Here is how the top 8 (undefeated) teams match up in round 5 tomorrow:

Whitney Young vs Evanston
Stevenson vs Northside
Niles North vs Urbana
Nequa Valley vs Hinsdale Central

Lincoln Park and Kelly had a great 1st day with 3-1 records. Kelly opens tomorrow against Elgin and Lincoln Park plays a tough Illinois Math and Science Academy.

CPS @ State Chess Tournament- 2nd round-blogging

After 2 rounds Whitney Young, Northside Prep, Kelly, and Lincoln Park are all undefeated at 2-0.

The 3rd round is where it gets really tough. 2-0 teams all play against each other. Whitney Young plays chess power New Trier. New Trier is a bit down this year so I expect a big WY win. Northside Prep plays a tough Glenbard South team. Northside should win that game by about 20 points. Lincoln Park and Kelly are heavy underdogs against Stevenson and Evanston. They will be lucky to pull out more than 6 points apiece.

3rd round pairings (CPS teams)
Whitney Young (2-0) vs New Trier(2-0)
Northside Prep (2-0)vs Glenbard South (2-0)
Evanston (2-0)vs Kelly (2-0)
Stevenson (2-0)vs Lincoln Park (2-0)
Lane Tech(1-1) vs Moline(1-1)
ACE Tech(1-1) vs Stagg(a-1)
Marshall vs Ottawa

 

CPS @ State Chess Tournament-1st round- Live Blogging

Whitney Young 68- Cary Grove 0
Northside Prep 65.5-Waubonsee Valley 2.5
Kelly 38 - McHenry 30
Lincoln Park 42 - Oak Lawn 26
Riverside Brookfield 47 - Lane 21
Homewood-Floosmore 51 - Marshall 17
ACE TEch 37 Mahomet Seymour 31

#1 Whitney Young and # Northside Prep take care of business with dominating wins over Cary-Grove and Waubonsee Valley.

Kelly and Lincoln Park sweat it with wins.

Lane looks terrible with their number one board Danny Feng MIA. Lane had to forefeit board #8 with no player playing that board.

ACE Tech comes up with a bog upset over Mahomet Seymour.

No upsets or surprises in top 12 seeds.

The biggest upset of round 1 was #13 seed Benet losing to #41 seed Mt. Prospect.

 

The Path to a State Title Goes Through Niles North and Whitney Young

National chess champion Eric Rosen(sr-left) and Rafe Quazi(sr-right) provide a formidable feat against anyone that wants to win state in chess. Just ask Northside Prep, who lost to Niles North 68-0 at last year's state tournament.#2 seed Northside Prep and/or #1 seed defending state champion Whitney Young will almost surely face Niles North in the later rounds of the state tournament. To win state you have to beat Niles North.

In the last 6 years, here is how Whitney Young and Niles North have performed at the state meet:

2006
Niles North-1st
Whitney Young-3rd

2007
Whitney Young-2nd
Niles North-3rd

2008
Whitney Young-2nd
Niles North-4th

2009
Whitney Young-2nd
Niles North-3rd

2010
Niles North-1st
Whitney Young- 8th

2011
Whitney Young-1st
Niles North-2nd

As you can see, these two schools have a history of chess dominance. This year is no different. Both schools are again powerhouses and are striving for the state championship. Whitney Young is seeded #1 and Niles North is #3. Any team that has state title aspirations will have to prove its mettle by beating at least one of these juggernauts at the state meet.

Personally, I feel Niles North is stronger at the top with national chess champion Eric Rosen(sr). Though expected board #2 Rafe Quazi(sr) is suspect after a rough showing with a 1-2 record at the Niles North Tournament.

Defending state champion Whitney Young has a deep team. Their board #1 Sam Schmakel(so)is very good. Though, I feel he will not go through the state tournament unschathed. He did beat Gauri Manoj(sr-2300 chess rating) of Glenbrook South- one of the state's best players at the Glenbard South Tournament. Whitney Young may play two freshman and one sophomores at the state meet.

There are so many strong teams this year with a realistic chance at a state trophy.

#2 seed Northside Prep from the Public League is hoping for at least a state trophy. Their #1 board does not have the reputation of a Schmakel or a Rosen, but #2-#8 is as deep as you can go. Evanston showed me some good signs at the Niles North tournament and could go very deep. Then you have traditional powers Hinsdale Central and Stevenson. Glenbrook South is very dangerous with Gauri Manoj. You also have to watch out for downstate team Urbana (seeded 6th) and even Wheaton Warrenville South, who as a #12 seed may be a bit underrated.

Fans will get a chance to see the teams next at the IHSA state chess tournament this Friday and Saturday Feb 10-11, 2012.

Whitney Young is #1 seed, Northside Prep #2 seed for State Chess Tournament

In a sign of respect and depth for the CPS, the IHSA seeded 3 teams in the top 26. Defending state champion Whitney Young is seeded #1, Northside Prep is #2, a much improved Kelly team is #24 and Lincoln Park and #1 Board Gar Crowell (above) is seeded #26.

The first round pairings for State are now online at http://www.ihsa.org/data/ct/mpairings.htm. 

Whitney Young is the #1 seed, Northside Prep is the #2 seed.

If I have followed the pairing system correctly, the other CPS teams' seeds are:

24 Kelly

26 Lincoln Park

47 Lane Tech

108 ACE Tech

116 Marshall

The CPS teams' first round matches and table numbers (higher seed first) are:

1 Whitney Young vs. Cary-Grove

2 Northside Prep vs. Waubonsie Valley

19 Riverside-Brookfield vs. Lane Tech

24 Kelly vs. McHenry

26 Lincoln Park vs. Oak Lawn Community

45 Plano vs. ACE Tech

53 York vs. Marshall

I have never seen the CPS seeded #1 and #2 in the state chess tournament. The last time the CPS finished 1-2 in the state tournament was in 1988 when Kenwood won state and Lane Tech came in 2nd.

Key CPS Chess Championship Games

Charles Swan(jr-above) of Whitney Young and Christian Kavouras(so) of Northside Prep played a key game against each other in the CPS Chess Championship last Saturday. Northside won a narrow match 36-32 over Whitney Young. Here is an annotation of the game via Rennaisance Knights:

http://www.renaissanceknights.org/News/2012/CPS_Champ.htm

Instructions:

If you go to the website http://chesstempo.com/pgn-viewer.html, copy and paste the text below into the "Enter PGN Text" box, and click on "Load PGN", the game should load and you can replay it move by move. Note that I had to put each comment in curly brackets so the PGN viewer can read them properly.

Game #1

{White: Charles Swan (Whitney Young)}

{Black: Christian Kavouras (Northside Prep)}

{Board 2}

1. e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7 6.Nb5 Bxd2+ 7.Qxd2 O-O 8.Nf3 Nbc6 9.dxc5 f6 10.exf6 Rxf6 11.O-O-O e5

{White has an extra pawn, but Black has a strong pawn center.}

12.Nd6 b6 13.Nxc8 Rxc8 14.Ba6 Rb8 15.Bb5

{15.cxb6 Qxb6 would threaten Qxb2 checkmate and attack the bishop on a6.}

15...e4 16.Ng5 bxc5 17.Bxc6 Rxc6 18.Nxe4

{The knight looks safe because of the pin on the d-file. But...}

18...Qb6!!

{Probably the most important move of the entire CPS Championship! Kavouras moves his queen off of the d-file and out of the pin, and at the same time threatens Qxb2 checkmate! Swan cannot stop the checkmate and save his knight.}

19.Qc3 dxe4 20.Rd7 Rc7 21.Rhd1 Rxd7 22.Rxd7 Rb7

{For each White rook on the 7th rank, Black has a rook to counter it.}

23.Rxb7 Qxb7 24.Qxc5 Kf7 25.Qh5+ Ng6 26.Qxh7 Qb5!

{Now the Black queen will crash into White's position for a counter-attack, beginning with Qf1+ and Qxf2. Now White hangs his queen under pressure, but Black already has a winning position because he will start winning pawns back very quickly and win with his extra knight.}

27.Qh5 Qxh5 0-1.

Game #2

{White: Edmond Jay (Northside Prep)}

{Black: Jimi Akintonde (Whitney Young)}

{Board 3}

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.cxd4 Nc6 6.Nf3 d6 7.Bc4 Nb6 8.Bb3 e6 9.O-O dxe5 10.dxe5 Qxd1 11.Rxd1 a6 12.Nc3 Nd7 13.Bg5

{Now if Akintonde takes the pawn on e5, Jay will checkmate him with Rd8 protected by the Bg5.}

13...h6 14.Bh4 g5 15.Bg3 g4 16.Nd4 Ndxe5

{Akintonde finally wins the pawn, but Jay has more pieces developed, and he moves quickly to take advantage of this.}

17.Na4!

{Threatening Nb6 attacking the rook on a8 and the bishop on c8. If the rook moves to b8, it will be on the line of the bishop on g3. Jay devastatingly takes advantage of these threats.}

17...Nxd4 18.Bxe5 Nxb3 19.axb3 f6

{Black has to give back a pawn to deflect the bishop from attacking b8.}

20.Bxf6 Rg8 21.Nb6 Rb8 22.Rd8+ Kf7 23.Be5!

{The rook on b8 has nowhere to go.}

23...Bc5 24.Rxg8 Kxg8 25.Bxb8 Bxb6 26.Rd1 e5 27.Rd6 Ba5 28.b4! 1-0.

{After 28...Bxb4 29.Rd8+ and Rxc8, White will be up a whole rook. The bishop on a5 has no safe square on the a5-d8 diagonal.}

 

Northside Chess Team Looking For More Than Just City

Attached is a photo of the Northside Prep varsity team with the city championship plaque. From left to right, coach Jeff Caveney, junior Alex Bologna, junior Edmond Jay, junior Aamir Ansari, freshman Slavisa Djukic, sophomore Christian Kavouras, junior Chengliang Luo, senior Jayce Feiger, coach Dan Caldwell, and junior Ahmed Akhtar. Photo credit to Kehuan Luo.

Interesting note: the four NCP players who won against Whitney Young included one senior, one junior, one sophomore, and one freshman. The team needed every class for this victory! You might also be interested to know that at one point earlier in the Board 7 game, Northside's Djukic offered a draw and Whitney Young's Natarajan declined. If they had agreed to a draw, Whitney Young would have won 35-33. Of course neither play knew that at that earlier point in the match.

State will be a very tough competition and also interesting to watch. I think Northside Prep and Whitney Young clearly deserve the 1 and 2 seeds. But many of the other top teams in the state have not yet brought their full teams to non-conference statewide events this year, so they will be tougher at State -- in particular Niles North, Stevenson, and Evanston. Hinsdale Central may field a stronger team for State as well. We saw Glenbrook South play Whitney Young down to the final seconds 38-30 at the Raider Tournament. Urbana and IMSA are always tough too. And the top teams can never afford to overlook lower seeds, as Wheaton-Warrenville South showed by playing Northside Prep so close at the Raider Tournament.

If Northside Prep and Whitney Young do get to play a rematch at State, I expect it to be just as tight as yesterday's match. It could go either way. The Whitney Young players who lost are capable of playing better, but the Northside players who lost are also quite capable of improving their results too!

Jeff Caveney

Northside Prep coach