[imagefield_assist|fid=15353|preset=fullsize|lightbox=true|title=IM Darwin yang secured his first GM norm in Saint Louis in April and earned his second GM norm this week in New York. He will be looking to make his mark at the Junior Championship this year.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=700|height=477]
SAINT LOUIS, June 26, 2012 -- The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis has increased both the size of the field and the prize fund for the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship, scheduled from July 10 through July 16.
Organizers increased the field from 10 players to 16 due to a misunderstanding on current regulations. The U.S. Chess Federation verified some invitations, but inadvertently overlooked one qualifying tournament and one invitation by rating. Thanks to additional sponsorship by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, the USCF and software development company ConRadical, the prize fund for this prestigious event has been increased to a record-breaking $18,000.
To accommodate the larger field, the organizers modified the format of the Junior Championship. The group of 16 will be split into two fields of eight players each. The eight players will play one another in a round robin, and the winner of each field will play a head-to-head, two-game match for the title. If the score is tied after two games, there will be a playoff to determine the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion.
The list of invited players and current USCF ratings is as follows:
IM Marc Arnold (2612)
IM Conrad Holt (2580)
IM Darwin Yang (2562)
IM Daniel Naroditsky (2552)
FM Victor Shen (2532)
NM Robert Perez (2519)
NM Will Fisher (2436)
FM Eric Rosen (2422)
FM Alec Getz (2410)
FM Jeffery Xiong (2394)
NM Raven Sturt (2387)
NM Atulya Shetty (2379)
FM Kayden Troff (2368)
NM Justus Williams (2318)
NM Kevin Cao (2230)
Matthew Michaelides (2164)
The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion also will receive an invitation to the 2013 U.S. Championship, 2013 U.S. Junior Closed Championship and the 2012 World Junior Championship, scheduled to be held August 1 through August 16 in Athens, Greece.
For more information on the players, prizes, rules and tournament format, please visit http://saintlouischessclub.org/2012-us-junior-closed-championship.
