Posted Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006, The OG, news

[Note: Visit our gallery for photos of the tournament.]

Freshman Gordon Ruan finished second in the state among first-board players and Uni placed fourth overall as the IHSA state chess tournament ended today.

Two other Uni players finished in the top 10 on their respective boards. Sophomore Alex Zhai was the state's No. 3 player on second board, and junior Annie Liang was No. 5 on fifth board.

The three teams ahead of Uni were Niles North in first place, defending champion Evanston Township in second, and Whitney Young in third. The seven-round tournament, which began Friday, was held at the Peoria Civic Center. Uni finished 13th at last year's tourney.

Ruan was undefeated on first board in all seven rounds but lost the title on a tiebreaker to senior Andy Applebaum of Highland Park. In fact, the two players were so close that the IHSA had to use a second tiebreaker to determine the overall winner. Ruan completed Friday's four rounds of competition No. 1 among first-board players, a position he held throughout Saturday until tournament's end.

Here is how the Illineks, coached by Chris Merli, fared individually, according to results posted by the IHSA:

Board 1 freshman Gordon Ruan — seven wins; second place
Board 2 sophomore Alex Zhai — six wins, one draw; third place
Board 3 sophomore Geoffrey Beck — two wins, three draws, two losses; 56th place
Board 4 junior Marquis Wang — two wins, one draw, four losses; 84th place
Board 5 junior Annie Liang — six wins, one loss; fifth place
Board 6 freshman Alan Liang — two wins, one draw, four losses; 83rd place
Board 7 freshman Jason He — four wins, three losses; 36th place
Board 8 freshman Gregory Atherton — one win, two losses; 129th place
Board 8 junior Ben Schaap — three losses, one draw; 151st place

— Gargoyle staff