MEDIA KIT - Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis · PDF fileMEDIA KIT SAINT LOUIS APRIL 13-28, 2011. 1 ... 1936 Samuel Reshevsky 1938 Samuel Reshevsky 1940 Samuel Reshevsky

MEDIA KITSAINT LOUIS

APRIL 13-28, 2011

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2011 U.S. CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP AND2011 U.S. WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

CHESS CLUB AND SCHOLASTIC CENTER OF SAINT LOUIS

HISTORY OF THE U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP

No series of tournaments or matches enjoys the same rich, turbulent history as that of the United States Chess Championship. It is in many ways unique – and, up to recently, unappreciated.

In Europe and elsewhere, the idea of choosing a national champion came slowly. The first Russian championship tournament, for example, was held in 1889. The Germans did not get around to naming a champion until 1879.

The first official Hungarian championship occurred in 1906, and the first Dutch, three years later. But American chess fans knew as early as 1845 who their champion was: the little-known Charles Stanley – and many non-players knew it, too, because the title match of that year was well publicized.

Twelve years later the industrious American organizers mounted their first tournament for a national champion. And that event, New York 1857, won by the “pride and soul of chess,” Paul Morphy, was only the fourth true chess tournament ever held in the world.

In its first century and a half plus, the United States Championship has provided all kinds of entertainment.

It has introduced new heroes exactly 100 years apart in Paul Morphy (1857) and Bobby Fischer (1957) and honored remarkable veterans such as Sammy Reshevsky in his late 60s. There have been stunning upsets (Arnold Denker in 1944 and John Grefe in 1973) and marvelous achievements (Fischer’s winning debut as a precocious 14-year-old in 1957, and his remarkable perfect score of 11-0 in 1964, to his record-breaking eight title wins).

The championship has seen scandals and swindles, boycotts and brilliancies, bitter controversy and theoretical innovations. The games have been won and lost by geniuses and drunkards, prodigies and émigrés, college dons and coffeehouse hustlers.

It has also been a truly national championship. For many years the title tournament was identified with New York. But it has also been held in towns as small as South Fallsburg, New York, Mentor, Ohio, and Greenville, Pennsylvania.

Fans have witnessed championship play in Boston, and Las Vegas, Baltimore and Los Angeles, Lexington, Kentucky, and El Paso, Texas. The title has been decided in sites as varied as the Sazerac Coffee House in 1845 to the Cincinnati Literary Club, the Automobile Club of Detroit. The U.S. Championship has been held in the auditorium of a fundamentalist Christian college in Pasadena and, in 1984 the Student Union Building of the University of California at Berkeley, as well as the Seattle Center in the shadows of the Space Needle. The most recent title was decided at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, widely recognized as the premier chess club in the country if not the world.

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While chess was not immune to historic gender barriers, women players have long refused to concede the game to men. In fact, the history of chess in the U.S. dates back to the start of the 19th century for both sexes.

For the first few decades, women were tacitly banned from traditional chess clubs and tournaments. So, passionate female players established their own venues, with some success. An 1897 article in The American Chess Magazine stated: “Ladies’ chess clubs are quite the fashion now.”

Despite that observation, another 40 years would pass before the first U.S. Women’s Chess Championship would be held in 1937. This was 80 years after the first official U.S. men’s champion was crowned and 40 years after the first-ever international ladies tournament took place in London (where the U.S. had three representatives).

The first U.S. Women’s Championship was held at the Rockefeller Center in New York City, organized by Caroline Marshall, the wife of U.S. Chess Champion Frank Marshall. Since then the event has become a tradition with its own proud history.

Gisela Gresser, a 1992 Chess Hall of Fame inductee and one of the first American women to become a rated grandmaster, has captured the title an unmatched nine times.

Susan Polgar, another repeat title-holder and grandmaster, crossed the boundary and became the first woman to qualify for the Men’s World Championship in 1986.

Clearly women’s chess has come a long way in the United States. Indeed, 2011 undoubtedly will offer an inspiring new chapter in the history and development of women’s chess in America and around the world.

HISTORY OF THE U.S. WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

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FACTS ABOUT THE U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS

With a heritage line that includes great legends of the game, no series of tournaments or matches enjoys the same rich history as that of the U.S. Chess Championships.

The first player to be termed, by popular acclaim, “U.S. Champion”, was Charles Stanley in 1845.

The first unoffcial U.S. women’s champion was crowned in 1857. Though her name was never listed, a description of the chess queen secured her legacy: “This lady is believed to be the strongest amateur of her sex in the country, and would certainly be ranked as a first-rate in any club.”

The first championship to name a true national champion was New York 1857, won by Paul Morphy. It was only the fourth chess championship ever held.

The first published game by a U.S. woman player appeared in an eight-page brochure in 1830.

The first “official” U.S. Champion was Jackson Showalter (who is also credited with the invention of the curve ball in baseball) in 1890.

A Texas man in 1885 publicly offered a $100 bet that his wife could beat any man in chess.

From 1905 through to 1936, the title was decided by a match between the top two players in the country; Frank Marshall holding the title throughout.

Mona May Karff won seven titles, topped only by Gisela Kahn Gresser’s nine wins.

The longest gap between title wins is 33 years when Sammy Revshevsky won his first title in 1936 and his last, in 1969.

Irina Krush holds the record as the youngest player to win the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship. She won it in 1998 at age 14.

The youngest winner of the title at 14 in 1957 was Bobby Fischer. He also holds the record for the most titles won with eight.

In 1909 Eliza Foot “placed on the market a series of chess puzzles,” making her the first female U.S. chess author.

The player with the best score is Bobby Fischer, who in 1964 recorded a perfect 11-0.

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CHAMPIONS BY ACCLAMATION FROM PAST YEARS

1845-1889

1845-1857 Charles Stanley, defeated Eugène Rousseau in a match in 1845

1857-1871 Paul Morphy, won the first American Chess Congress in 1857

1871-1889 George Henry Mackenzie, won the 2nd, 3rd and 5th American Chess Congress

Match Champions: 1889-1935

1889 - 1890 S. Lipschütz

1890 – 1890 Jackson Showalter

1890 - 1892 Max Judd

1892 - 1892 Jackson Showalter

1892 - 1893 S. Lipschütz


1894 - 1895 Albert Hodges


1897 - 1906 Harry Nelson Pillsbury


1909 - 1935 Frank Marshall

Tournament Champions: 1936-1980

1936 Samuel Reshevsky




1944 Arnold Denker


1948 Herman Steiner

1951 Larry Evans

1954 Arthur Bisguier

1957/8 Bobby Fischer


1959 Bobby Fischer






1968 Larry Evans


1972 Robert Byrne

1973 Lubomir Kavalek and John Grefe

1974 Walter Browne

1975 Walter Browne

1977 Walter Browne

1978 Lubomir Kavalek

1980 Walter Browne, Larry Christiansen, Larry Evans

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CHAMPIONS BY ACCLAMATION FROM PAST YEARS continued ...


1983 Walter Browne, Larry Christiansen, Roman Dzindzichashvili

1984 Lev Alburt

1985 Lev Alburt

1986 Yasser Seirawan

1987 Joel Benjamin and Nick de Firmian

1988 Michael Wilder

1989 Roman Dzindzichashvili, Stuart Rachels, Yasser Seirawan

1990 Lev Alburt

1991 Gata Kamsky

1992 Patrick Wolff

1993 Alexander Shabalov and Alex Yermolinsky

1994 Boris Gulko

1995 Nick de Firmian, Patrick Wolff, Alexander Ivanov

1996 Alex Yermolinsky

1997 Joel Benjamin

1998 Nick de Firmian

1999 Boris Gulko

2000 Joel Benjamin, Alexander Shabalov, Yasser Seirawan

2002 Larry Christiansen

2003 Alexander Shabalov

2005 Hikaru Nakamura

2006 Alexander Onischuk

2007 Alexander Shabalov

2008 Yury Shulman

2009 Hikaru Nakamura

2010 Gata Kamsky

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1937 Adele Rivero

1938 Mona May Karff

1940 Adele Rivero

1941 Mona May Karff

1942 Mona May Karff

1944 Gisela Kahn Gresser,

1946 Mona May Karff

1948 Gisela Kahn Gresser, Mona May Karff

1951 Mary Bain

1953 Mona May Karff

1955 Gisela Kahn Gresser, Nancy Roos

1957 Gisela Kahn Gresser, Sonja Graf

1959 Lisa Lane

1962 Gisela Kahn Gresser

1964 Sonja Graf


1966 Gisela Kahn Gresser, Lisa Lane



1972 Eva Aronson, Marilyn Koput

1974 Mona May Karff

1975 Diane Savereide


1978 Diane Savereide, Rachel Crotto

1979 Rachel Crotto



1986 Inna Izrailov

1987 Anna Akhsharumova

1989 Alexey Root


1990 Elena Donaldson

1991 Esther Epstein, Irina Levitina

1992 Irina Levitina

1993 Elena Donaldson, Irina Levitina

1994 Elena Donaldson

1995 Anjelina Belakovskaia, Sharon Burtman

1996 Anjelina Belakovskaia

1997 Esther Epstein

1998 Irina Krush

1999 Anjelina Belakovskaia

2000 Elina Groberman, Camilla Baginskaite

2001 Jennifer Shahade


2003 Anna Hahn


2005 Rusa Goletiani

2006 Anna Zatonskih

2007 Irina Krush

2008 Anna Zatonskih

2009 Anna Zatonskih

2010 Irina Krush

WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS BY ACCLAMATION FROM PAST YEARS

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THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT CHESS

The youngest grandmaster in history is Sergey Karjakin who received the title when he was twelve years and seven months old, in 2002.

There are 318,979,564,000 possible ways to play the first four moves of a chess game on each side of the board.

In 1995, Robert Smeltzer of Dallas, Texas, played 2,266 USCF rated games in one year, the most ever.

The shortest chess game recorded lasted for only one move. It was played between Rogoff and Huber in 1972.

The number of possible, unique chess games is far greater than the number of electrons in the universe. The number of electrons is estimated to be a mere ?, while the number of unique chess games is ?. In English, that’s a thousand trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion games.

The folding chessboard was originally invented in 1125 by a chess-playing priest. Since the Church forbid priests to play chess, he hid his chessboard by making one that looked simply like two books lying together.

The Grandmaster title is awarded by the World Chess Federation and the requirements are as follows:

A player must have an Elo (a chess skill rating) of at least 2500 at one time (although they need not maintain this level to keep the title).

In addition, at least three favorable results (called norms) in tournaments involving other Grandmasters, including some from countries other than the applicant’s, are required before a player can become a Grandmaster. There are other milestones a player can achieve to get the title, such as winning the Women’s World Championship, the World Junior Championship, or the World Senior Championship.

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2011 CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYERS

GM Gata KamskyAge: 36Residence: New YorkRating: 2804Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2010 U.S. Champion, Reggio Emilia 2010 Champion, Rapid World Championship Mainz 2010, 2007 World Cup, 1991 U.S. Champion

The reigning U.S. Champion, Gata Kamsky came to the U.S. in 1989 and, at 16, became a Grandmaster in 1990. He played Karpov for the World Championship in 1996. Although he lost the match, he was the first American since Bobby Fischer to go that far. After losing, he gave up chess, attended and graduated from law school. After a break of nearly a decade, Kamsky returned to chess and won the 2007 World Chess Cup just three years after his comeback. Kamsky lost his February 2009 match against Veselin Topalov and with it, the chance to advance to the most recent World Championship, which was won by Viswanathan Anand. In May, Kamsky has a chance to get his revenge, squaring off against Topalov once again in a Candidates Match. Kamsky seeks to defend his title against an elite and determined field.

GM Alexander OnischukAge: 35Residence: Baltimore, MarylandRating: 2764Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2010 SPICE Cup Champ, 2009 World Team Championship: Silver (Individual Gold), 2006 U.S. Champion, 2nd at 2007 Biel

Alexander Onischuk has won more than 20 tournaments, including the 2000 Ukrainian Championship. He became a Grandmaster in 1994 at the age of 19 and relocated to the U.S. in 2001. When he won the 2006 U.S. Championship, he called it the happiest moment of his career to have his name on a trophy alongside players such as Fischer and Morphy.

Onischuk, the 2010 SPICE Cup Champion, was key to America’s bronze medal finishes in 2006 and 2008 Olympiads. He has an impressive international record: He placed second in the 2007 International Chess Festival in Biel and also won the super-strong Moscow Open in January 2009. He delivered a gold-medal performance on board two at the 2009 World Team Championship in Bursa, Turkey.

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2011 CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYERS continued ...

GM Varuzhan AkobianAge: 27Residence: North Hollywood, CaliforniaRating: 2699Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2009 World Team Championship: Silver, 2004 World Open, T-1st World Open 2002

Varuzhan Akobian is a strong Armenian-American player who emigrated to the U.S in 2001. In 2002, he won the Samford Chess Fellowship, which allowed him to focus on chess for two years. It paid off: Akobian reached his first long-time goal of becoming a Grandmaster in 2004. Var is known for being a great team player: He was a member of the bronze medal Olympiad teams in 2006 and 2008. He also represented the U.S. team in Bursa, Turkey at the 2009 World Team Championship where he helped the U.S. earn silver medals. He was featured on MTV’s “True Life” series. Akobian is the highest-ranked Californian player.

GM Yasser SeirawanAge: 50Residence: Amsterdam, NetherlandsRating: 2691Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: U.S. Champion 1981, 1986, 1989, 2000; World Junior Chess Champion: 1979

Yasser Seirawan was born in Damascus, Syria. When he was 7, his family emigrated to Seattle, and he began playing chess at 12. Just one year later, he became the Washington state junior champion and at 19, Seirawan won the World Junior Chess Championship. Seirawan was the dominant force in U.S. chess in the 1980s, winning three championships and securing another U.S. Championship title in 2000. Seirawan hasn’t played a major tournament since the 2003 “Kings and Queens” match in China. He is the author of numerous chess books including Chess Duels: My Games with the World Champions, the 2010 Chess Cafe book of the year. He is married to WFM Yvette Nagel.

GM Yury ShulmanAge: 35Residence: ChicagoRating: 2688Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2010 U.S. Championship Runner-up, 2009 World Team Championship: Silver, 2008 U.S. Champion, 2006 U.S. Open Champion, T-1st World Open 2001

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Yury Shulman achieved the Grandmaster title in 1995 and moved to the U.S. four years later to become one of the top American players. Shulman also uses chess for philanthropic causes. He founded the Yury Shulman International Chess School and consistently contributes to not-for-profit entities, schools and camps. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and an MBA. 2008 proved to be a great year for Shulman: In addition to winning his first U.S. Championship title, he was also part of the bronze medal Olympiad team in Dresden, Germany. In 2009, Shulman represented the U.S. at the World Team Championship in Bursa, Turkey and helped the team earn silver. Last year, Shulman played an armageddon game against GM Gata Kamsky to determine the 2010 U.S. Champion, and Kamsky managed to hold a draw to secure the victory.

GM Jaan EhlvestAge: 48Residence: Baltimore, MarylandRating: 2673Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2008 Pan American-Continental Championship, qualifying for the 2009 FIDE World Cup, T-1st in the “A2” section of the Aeroflot Open, T-1st World Open 2003

Jaan Ehlvest rose to chess fame quickly in the early 1980s, placing second in the 1981 World Junior Championship and first in the 1983 European Junior Championship. He became a Grandmaster in 1987 and two years later finished clear first in the 1989 Reggio Emilia. Ehlvest won the Grand Prix title in 2006, the same year he switched federations from Estonia to America, making him eligible for the U.S. Championship for the first time.

GM Alex StripunskyAge: 40Residence: New YorkRating: 2671Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: T-1st Philadelphia Open 2010, T-1st National Chess Congress 2009, 2008 Continental Open first, T-1st World Open 2007, T-1st U.S. Championship 2004

Alexander Stripunsky, 40, missed out on qualifying by rating for the 2010 U.S. Championship by a single rating point. In a similar fashion, his hopes were dashed in 2009, missing out by just one spot. It seemed his fate was cursed until he received, and accepted, a wildcard invitation to play in 2010. Since that time, Stripunsky has been on a tear, picking up more than 60 rating points, starting with an excellent performance in Saint Louis at the 2010 U.S. Championship.


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GM Larry ChristiansenAge: 54Residence: Cambridge, Massachusetts Rating: 2665Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2009 U.S. Senior Champion, 2002 U.S. Champion, 1983 U.S. Champion, 1980 U.S. Champion, 2001 Canadian Open Chess Championship

Larry Christiansen was the first junior high school student to win the National High School Championship, taking the title in 1971. He went on to win three invitational U.S. Junior Championships and three U.S. Championships. He became a Grandmaster in 1977 at the age of 21, skipping over the usual step of becoming an International Master. Christiansen has won the prestigious Linares tournament twice. He has a thrilling chess style that is always fun for spectators.

Larry Christiansen is an American master of attack. He even published two widely praised books on the subject of attacking chess, Storming the Barricades and Rocking the Ramparts.

GM Robert HessAge: 19Residence: New YorkRating: 2641Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2009 World Team Championship: Silver, 2009 U.S. Championship: T-2nd, 2008 Foxwoods Open: T-1st, 2006 U.S. Junior Championship, 2002 Pan-American Youth Championship in Argentina, won 2009 National High School Championship with a perfect score

Grandmaster Robert Hess is one of a handful of promising young stars on the U.S. chess scene. Hess was awarded the International Master title in 2007. He achieved his first norm for the Grandmaster title in Foxwoods 2008 and earned the final two in quick succession at the SPICE Spring Invitational and Foxwoods 2009.

Robert swept the 2009 High School Championship in Nashville, where he also led his high school, Stuyvesant, to a team victory. After being awarded a wild card berth to the 2009 U.S. Championship, Robert, originally seeded 17 out of 24 players, put on a remarkable performance to fall just short of the championship with a second-place finish. Last year, Hess was awarded the Samford Chess Fellowship and will attend Yale University in the fall.


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GM Alexander ShabalovAge: 43Residence: Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaRating: 2654Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2007 U.S. Champion, 2003 U.S. Champion, 1997 U.S. Champion, 1993 US. Champion, T-1st 2003 World Open, 1st in Chicago and North American Opens

Alexander Shabalov realized chess would be his profession after winning the Latvian junior championship at the age of 11. He went on to win the Under-16 Championship of the Soviet Union in 1982. The four-time U.S. Champion is known for no-holds barred chess, and he thrives on wild moves.

GM Gregory KaidanovAge: 51Residence: Lexington, KentuckyRating: 2629Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2002 U.S. Masters winner, 2002 Chicago Open Winner, 1992 World Open Winner, 1992 U.S. Open Winner

Gregory Kaidanov’s first major win came in a Moscow tournament in 1987, and he was awarded the Grandmaster title a year later. Kaidanov moved to the U.S. in 1991. He’s racked up a number of tournament championships. Kaidanov was a member of the silver Olympiad team in Russia in 1998, won a silver board medal at the Calvia, Spain Olympiad in 2004 and was a member of the bronze medal Olympiad team in 2006. Kaidanov is one of America’s premiere chess coaches. In 2008, he coached the U.S. team to a bronze medal finish at the Women’s Olympiad.

GM Alexander IvanovAge: 54Residence: Newton, MassachusettsRating: 2593Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2010 U.S. Senior Open Championship, 1998 Pan-Am Championship, T-1st 1995 U.S. Championship

The Boston-based Grandmaster, Alexander Ivanov is known for being a fantastic calculator and a loyal supporter of his favorite openings. He’s played the same sharp openings (1.e4 Main Lines in the Ruy and the Open Sicilian, Nimzo and Bogos against 1.d4 and the Zaitsev defense and an occasional Modern against 1.e4.) for his entire career, making him somewhat predictable but very dangerous. He knows his stuff so well that an opening error in his territory will be swiftly punished.


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GM Ray RobsonAge 16Birthplace: Largo, FloridaRating: 2570Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2009 World Team Championship: Silver, 2009 U.S. Junior Champion, 2008 Miami Open, National Champion, elementary division, 2005 Super Nationals, tied for first in 2005 and 2006 Pan American Youth Championships

Ray Robson learned chess at age 3 and has earned seven national scholastic titles since. For winning the Super Nationals in 2005, he will receive a full scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas. Robson finished in the top 10 at the World Youth Championship from 2004 to 2007. He defeated his first Grandmaster in 2006, the same year he earned the USCF National Master title.

GM-elect Sam ShanklandAge: 19Birthplace: Berkeley, CaliforniaRating: 2559Title: GM-elect

Chess Highlights: 2010 U.S. Junior Closed Champion, 2009 Champion of State Champions, 2009 Philadelphia International third, 2008 World Under 18 co-champion, 2008 Calchess State Champion

Sam Shankland, 19, announced he would be retiring from the game of chess shortly before winning the 2010 U.S. Junior Closed Championship. That achievement offered him an automatic invitation to play in the 2011 U.S. Championship, which ultimately proved to be a difficult offer to refuse. Although Sam vowed to quit chess last year, he did have some outstanding commitments he promised to uphold. He performed quite well in the U.S. Chess League for the New England Nor’Easters as their top board, helping them secure the USCL title in their first year in the league.


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GM Ben FinegoldAge: 41Residence: Saint Louis, MORating: 2554Title: Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 2009 SPICE Cup, 2007 U.S. Open, 2005 Chicago Spring Invitational, 2002 World Open, 1994 U.S. Open, 1989 U.S. Junior Closed Championship

In January of 2010, Ben Finegold took on a full-time position as the resident GM at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. He has been ranked as high as 2662, at which point he was neck and neck with GM Larry Christiansen for the distinction of being the highest rated American born chess player in the country. For many years, Ben Finegold was missing the two most vital letters in a pro chess player’s career, “G” and “M”, giving him the double-edged honor of the “strongest IM in America.” That all changed in 2009. Just after his 40th birthday, Ben earned his final GM norm at the SPICE Cup in Lubbock, Texas.

Ben Finegold is also somewhat understated; in contrast to many confident grandmasters who strut around with their heads in the clouds, Ben is funny, friendly, and apt to make self-effacing jokes. His description of his style is characteristically modest: “I play simple moves and try not to blunder or get in time trouble.” He won first place at the 2006 U.S Championship blogging contest, and now he has a blog of his own (Ben’s Blog: Musings of a Grandmaster) where he posts anecdotes, games and crosstables from his tournaments.

IM Daniel NaroditskyAge: 15Residence: San Francisco, CaliforniaRating: 2469Title: International Master

Chess Highlights: 2010 U.S. Open, National Scholastic Chess Champion 2004-2005, 2006 Pan-American Youth Chess Festival: Bronze Medal

Daniel Naroditsky was born on November 9, 1995, in San Mateo, California, and learned how to play chess when he was six-and-half years old. He started to take serious chess lessons shortly thereafter, and has studied with a number of famous Grandmasters. Daniel has been rated #1 in his age category for five years in the United States, and has been a member of the All-America Chess Team continuously since 2005.


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IM Anna ZatonskihAge: 32Residence: Long Island, NYBirthplace: UkraineRating: 2554Title: International Master

Chess Highlights: Three-Time U.S. Women’s Champion (2009, 2008, 2006); Gold Individual Medal in 2008 Chess Olympiad

Anna Zatonskih is a three-time U.S. Women’s Champion. She came to Saint Louis to defend her title at last year’s U.S. Women’s Championship, but ran into stiff competition against IM Irina Krush who equaled Zatonskih with her third title. Two years ago, Zatonskih won the U.S. Women’s Championship with a dominating score of 8.5/9 and took home $15,000. She’ll have to bring another dominating performance to snatch the title away from Krush at this year’s event.

IM Irina KrushAge: 27Residence: Brooklyn, NYBirthplace: UkraineRating: 2534Title: International MasterChess Highlights:

Three-time U.S. Women’s Champion: 2010, 2007, 1998 (youngest winner ever at age 14); Member of 2004 Silver Medal U.S. Olympiad Team and 2008 Bronze Medal Team

Irina Krush looks forward to chess matches, but doesn’t spend much time contemplating her chess success or failures. “I’m more attached to my future accomplishments.” She said she enjoys the challenge of playing grandmasters most. “When you beat a strong GM, that’s when you feel like you can play chess.” Krush was the only female player to compete in the 2010 U.S. Championship, and turned in an impressive 12th-place finish, narrowly missing another GM norm.

2011 WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYERS

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WGM Sabina FoisorAge: 21Residence: Baltimore, MDBirthplace: RomaniaRating: 2402Title: Woman Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: Multiple Romania girls youth champion; 2004 Multiple Romanian and European champion in blitz and rapid; finished in top 20 at European Chess Championship in 2007, qualifying her for the World Chess Championship

Sabina Foisor has been a chess dynamo since starting around age 4. While her parents have been her biggest chess influence, she says her favorite players are Garry Kasparov and the late Bobby Fischer. Like many players, she has traveled the globe playing in tournaments, and she has participated in each of the past two U.S. Women’s Championships (2010 and 2009). 2011 will mark her third appearance. Her main goal in chess is to become one of the top 20 women players in the world.

IM Rusudan GoletianiAge: 30Residence: Hartsdale, NYBirthplace: GeorgiaRating: 2390Title: International Master

Chess Highlights: 2005 U.S. Women’s Champion, Soviet Union champion under age of 12; Georgian and Russian champion under 14; World Junior Champion under 14, 16, 18

For about as long as Rusudan Goletiani has been playing chess, she has been among the elite players, and that includes the ten years she has spent in the United States. The winner of the 2005 U.S. Women’s Championship says she can’t pick out one or two highlights that stand out. “Every accomplishment means a lot,” she says, adding that her ultimate chess goal is to become a grandmaster.

2011 WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYERS continued ...

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WGM Camilla BaginskaiteAge: 43Residence: Sioux Falls, SDBirthplace: LithuaniaRating: 2386Title: Woman Grandmaster

Chess Highlights: 1987 World Under-20 Champion; 2000 U.S. Women’s Chess Champion; Six Chess Olympiads

Camilla’s deep understanding of chess and years of experience at elite competitions like the Olympiad and the Women’s World Championships makes her capable of major surprises despite being less active than many of her rivals. For instance, in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Championship, Camilla took clear second place, winning some brilliant games in the process, and earning herself an IM norm.

FM Alisa MelekhinaAge: 19Residence: Philadelphia, PABirthplace: UkraineRating: 2374Title: FIDE Master

Chess Highlights: Represented the U.S. in Eight Consecutive World Youth Tournaments and Three Pan-American

Alisa Melekhina was the youngest player in the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship three years ago, and is still the youngest today. That’s what you might expect from someone who started playing at age 5 and entered her first tournament at age 7. In less than three years, she was winning prestigious international tournaments.

Alisa has already earned an International Master norm, which she considers her top chess accomplishment so far, but her ultimate goal is to become a grandmaster.


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WFM Tatev AbrahamyanAge: 23Residence: Glendale, CABirthplace: ArmeniaRating: 2370Title: Woman FIDE Master

Chess Highlights: 2004 U.S. Women’s Championship Runner-Up; 2008 and 2005 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship Third Place; 2006 Pan-Am U18 (Perfect Score)

Tatev Abrahamyan started playing chess at 8 after her father took her to the Chess Olympiad games in 1996. There she met Grandmaster Judit Polgar, arguably the greatest woman player of all time and the only woman in the tournament. “I was in complete awe,” Tatev said. “My first thought was, ‘I want to be just like her.’” She was soon playing competitively among the top players her age in Europe and has played in the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship seven times.

WIM Iryna ZenyukAge: 25Residence: Pittsburgh, PABirthplace: UkraineRating: 2317Title: Woman International Master

Chess Highlights: First Woman to Win Jerry Simon Memorial (2006); 2007 MVP of NY Knights Chess Team and Best 4th Board; 2450 Tournament Performance Rating in 2008 Berkeley International

Iryna Zenyuk has two huge goals in life: To be a chess champion and to help the environment. She has a good start on her chess goal, ranking as one of the top 10 women players in the U.S. And she is active with her second goal too, currently pursuing a master’s and eventually a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She plans to use the degree to develop ways to make renewable energy more prevalent. Iryna defines her interests this way: Chess is her love, it’s fun. But mechanical engineering will give her the means to give back to society.


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Chess isn’t just for scholars… some very famous people loved chess, too!

Leaders & Politicians:John AdamsJames MonroeThomas JeffersonBen FranklinGeneral Robert E. LeeAbraham LincolnGrover ClevelandTheodore RooseveltQueen VictoriaWilliam H. TaftWoodrow WilsonBill ClintonHenry KissingerSpiro AgnewFidel CastroAnatole LeninWinston ChurchillNapoleon Bonaparte

Show Business:Humphrey BogartCharlie ChaplinJohn WayneMarlon BrandoKatherine HepburnMarilyn MonroeMadonnaWoody AllenHenry FondaJohn Lennon & Yoko OnoWillie NelsonWoody HarrelsonFrank SinatraBill CosbyBen AffleckBono [U2]Bob DylanBarbra StreisandBjorn Ulvaeus[ABBA]StingLauren BacallDave BarryWill SmithJessica Simpson

Others:Albert EinsteinBilly Graham

Sports:Larry BirdDominic HasekLennox LewisKareem Abdul-JabbarEvander HolyfieldAnna KournikovaBarry Sanders

FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO PLAYED CHESS

Documents

MEDIA KIT - Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis · PDF fileMEDIA KIT SAINT LOUIS APRIL 13-28, 2011. 1 ... 1936 Samuel Reshevsky 1938 Samuel Reshevsky 1940 Samuel Reshevsky