Indy Chess

We are kicking off the Crossroads of America Open tonight with the 3-day sections! Here are the top four boards in the 1900+/Major section (FIDE-rated):

https://view.livechesscloud.com -af4c-4b13-a455-12727b52cf06

We are approaching 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ players registered for the inaugural Crossroads of America Open (FIDE), and more than 30 are already registered for the Scholastic Sunday kids tournament there!

Who are you rooting for to win their section?!?!🎱

♟️Info: indychess.org/events
♟️Players: tinyurl.com/indychess

♟️Making the Crossroads of America Open your first FIDE-rated tournament? Here’s how initial FIDE ratings work 👇

To earn an initial FIDE rating, you generally need:
✅ At least 5 games against FIDE-rated opponents
✅ At least 0.5 total points scored
✅ A performance strong enough to reach the FIDE publication floor (currently 1400)

Important: Your qualifying results can carry over between tournaments. So...if you score 2/5 but only 3 opponents were already FIDE-rated, despite not getting an initial FIDE rating post-event, those results will still count later when you face more rated players in future events.

One interesting quirk:
If an unrated player scores 0 points in an event, those results normally do not count toward an initial FIDE rating calculation!

That sometimes leads players to wonder whether withdrawing from a disastrous event is “strategically” better than finishing with a very low first rating.

Any arbiter's answer: Only withdraw for a valid reason. Ratings manipulation does not suffice!

Our Spring League Awards & Blitz Night was a blast last night!

In Spring Leagues, the following double quad (G/60+30) winners from the last two months of competition received a medal and "League Champion" fleece just in time for the upcoming cooler months:
♟Top Quad: James Graham (4.5/6.0)
♟Middle Quad: Kenneth Scarbrough (5.0/6.0)
♟Lower Quad: Mason Wang & Varyan Goyal (5.0/6.0)

We had 21 players for the double-round Swiss (3+2) blitz tournament following, and congrats to the following winners:
♟1st Place: Spiro Bereveskos (9.5/12.0)
♟T-2nd Place: Drew Hollinberger, Keith Swedo, Shouryesh Chanda (8.5/12.0)

League rated results (rds 1-3): https://ratings.uschess.org/event/202604240483
League rated results (rds 4-6): https://ratings.uschess.org/event/202605150283
Blitz rated results: https://ratings.uschess.org/event/202605220083

Reminder: There is NO Tuesday Weekly at the Latvian Center this week (May 26). We'll see you all downtown at our inaugural Crossroads of America Open (& Scholastic Sunday side event) next weekend. Enjoy race day!

Just 1 more day to go. Please register ASAP.

Tomorrow (Friday) is BLITZ NIGHT (USCF-rated) and all are welcome!

The Spring Leagues have their award ceremony Friday night in the tournament room at the Latvian Center (1008 W 64th St.), and after will be a 3+2, 12ss (6 double rounds), USCF-rated blitz tournament, all equipment provided. Entry is free for league players, and $10 for other members. There are cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place! Register at indychess.org/events, or arrive by 6:15p to be paired in round one. Awards start at 6:30p, with clocks for blitz starting immediately after.
Phil Degen went 12.0/12.0 last time, and he's returning to see if he can keep the streak alive!

🏆 CHECKMATE! Indianapolis Public Schools Holds 4th Annual Chess Championship! 🏆

We were thrilled to partner with Indianapolis Public Schools last week to host the district’s 4th annual chess championship! More than 150 brilliant students put their critical thinking and strategy skills to the test. 🧠✨

The competition was fierce, the focus was intense, and the talent was unmatched! Swipe through to see some of our incredible teams in action. 📸👇

Huge congratulations to all of our competitors and winners (decided by individual tiebreak points):

♟️ 12th Grade & Under
🥇 1st Place: Christel House Academy South (3.5/4.0)

🥈 T-2nd Place: Herron Preparatory Academy & Harshman Middle School A (3.0/4.0)

♟️ 5th Grade & Under
🥇 1st Place: Sidener Academy (4.0/4.0)

🥈 T-2nd Place: CFI 84 B, CFI 27A, Theodore Potter 74, and Cold Spring School A (3.0/4.0)

♟️ 3rd Grade & Under
🥇 T-1st Place: CFI 27 B and Herron Preparatory Academy (3.5/4.0)

🥉 T-3rd Place: Cold Spring A, CFI 27 A, CFI 84 C, Rousseau McLellan 91, George Julian 57 (2.5/4.0)

🤝 A HUGE THANK YOU TO:

Northwest Middle School for being fantastic hosts! 🏫

IPS (especially the amazing Mr. Ryan Bean) for coordinating this event for over 12 schools!

All the dedicated coaches, teachers, and chaperones who make opportunities like this possible for our kids.

Our incredible Indy Chess Tournament Directors, Xavier Colter and Mike Gant, for keeping the event running smoothly!

Everyone celebrated hard with a well-deserved Jimmy John's lunch afterward, and the players are already plotting their strategies to come back even stronger next year. 🥪💪

Will we see some of these amazing teams at the State Championship next year?! We are betting on it! 📈👑

THREE EVENTS THIS WEEK:
♟️Sunday Adult Casual Meetup (18+) @ Guggman Haus
♟️Tuesday Weekly @ Latvian Ctr (incl. rated tourney 3ss, 25+5)
♟️Friday Night Blitz @ Latvian Ctr (12ss, 3+2)

All info: indychess.org/events
[🎤Note: There will be no Tuesday Weekly on May 26.]

Also, the Crossroads Open passed 70 players registered already! 🙏 Thanks to those that were sharing it. Players: tinyurl.com/indychess

⏰Today (Friday, May 15) is the last day to get the early bird price for the Crossroads of America Open! Join the 60+ players who have already registered!

Info: indychess.org/events
Players: tinyurl.com/indychess

♟$7,500 guaranteed prize fund
♟World-class venue @ Indiana Convention Center
♟Five sections, including 2 FIDE-rated
♟Two- or three-day schedule options
♟90+30 (long) time controls
♟Blitz and scholastic side events
♟Part of the ISCA Hoosier Tour | USCF Grand Prix (enhanced)

AND HE DID IT! Last night at Tuesday Weekly, club member Henry Norman (15yo) achieved the level of USCF Expert, which is a rating of 2000 or greater. He went 2.5/3.0, and achieved a peak rating of 2009.

Every Tuesday for at least a couple years, Henry has arrived early with his dad and younger brother Luke to set up our Tuesday tournament room as volunteers. Then his dad plays a warm-up game against him in the Skittles Room. So many Tuesdays this pattern of commitment to playing--even at times when he was the highest rated player in the event--paid off last night with a wonderful milestone. It's hard to believe his first rated tournament was one of our Scholastic Sundays at St. Thomas Aquinas School in May 2023 when he went 1.0/3.0 and started rated 612P3. He worked so hard and is a gifted attacker to gain 1400 Elo in just three years.

Huge thanks to all the players who came out to battle him the past couple years and give him the training game opportunities. Congratulations Henry--you have made us all proud!

Rated results: https://ratings.uschess.org/event/202605120043