Reviewing my time in Schaumburg Illinois I saw some neat chess positions and will be revisiting my London System.

Overview of a weekend chess tournament played in February 2026 at the IMU in Iowa City.

Last weekend, I spent some time scouting in Cedar Rapids to assess the local chess talent. My main motivation for this trip was to observe the five to ten Iowa City chess players who were participating in the event. Among them were some familiar faces, as well as students from schools where I previously coached. During the event, I played a game against the tournament winner, who is currently rated around 1550. He relocated from India around eight months ago and, based on his