SAINT LOUIS (July 27, 2023) – All eyes were on Saint Louis as tournament play for the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Junior and U.S. Senior Championships hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club came to an exciting conclusion this week.
Each event featured ten of the nation’s best junior and senior players competing for more than $150,000 in prizes and scholarships. “The caliber of talent we saw among these young players indicates that American chess continues to grow and thrive,” said Tony Rich, Executive Director of the Saint Louis Chess Club. “It was also thrilling to see these icons of American chess in action over the board again and we look forward to continuing to host the nation’s best here in Saint Louis once again next year.”
The U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Junior and U.S. Senior Championships have been mainstay events at the Saint Louis Chess Club. All three tournaments ran concurrently from July 15-24, 2023. If you missed them live, you can rewatch the action by visiting the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels.
IM Elect Alice Lee Clinches U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship
Thirteen year old Alice Lee took top honors in the U.S. Girls’ Junior division. Lee has already set several American chess records becoming a National Master (NM) at 10, a Woman International Master at 12 and recently became the youngest American female International Master Elect. Her commanding performance earned her a $6,000 cash prize, $10,000 scholarship to the university of her choice and a seat to compete in the U.S. Women’s Championship this fall.
“To be able to win this tournament means alot to me, especially in such a strong field,” said Lee.
FM Ruiyang Yan finished in second place and received a check for $4,000, followed by IM Carissa Yip and FM Zoey Tang, who tied for third place, each winning $2,500.
U.S. GIRLS’ JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS | |||
PLACE | PLAYER | AGE | PRIZE MONEY |
1 | IM Elect Alice Lee, 13 | North Oaks, MN | $6,000 |
2 | FM Ruiyang Yan, 16 | Mountain View, CA | $4,000 |
T-3 | IM Carissa Yip, 19 | Andover, MA | $2,500 |
T-3 | FM Zoey Tang, 15 | Portland, OR | $2,500 |
5 | WIM Iris Mou, 14 | New York, NY | $1,500 |
6 | WGM Rochelle Wu, 17 | Woodland, CA | $1,200 |
7 | WCM Shreya Mangalam, 20 | South Barrington, IL | $1,000 |
T-8 | NM Kelsey Liu, 14 | Wellesley, MA | $700 |
T-8 | WFM Gracy Prasanna, 17 | Nazareth, PA | $700 |
10 | NM Rose Atwell, 14 | Valencia, CA | $500 |
Fourteen Year Old GM Abhimanyu Mishra Wins U.S. Junior Championship
GM Mishra, the youngest player to become a Grandmaster in the history of the game at the age of 12, bested a field of new and returning young prodigies to take home first place, a check for $12,000 and earning a ticket to compete in this year’s upcoming U.S. Championship. He, too, was awarded a $10,000 scholarship to the university of his choice thanks to the generosity of Dewain Barber and US Chess.
“The U.S. Junior Championship is a strong tournament and my main purpose was winning so I would be able to play against America’s best in the U.S. Championship later this year,” said Mishra.
GM Brandon Jacobson, GM Andrew Hong, GM Balaji Daggupati and IM Arthur Guo shared a four-way tie for second place, each winning $5,000.
U.S. JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS | |||
PLACE | PLAYER | LOCATION | PRIZE MONEY |
1 | GM Abhimanyu Mishra, 14 | Englishtown, NJ | $12,000 |
T-2 | GM Brandon Jacobson, 19 | Westfield, NJ | $5,000 |
T-2 | GM Andrew Hong, 18 | Saratoga, CA | $5,000 |
T-2 | GM Balaji Daggupati, 17 | San Ramon, CA | $5,000 |
T-2 | IM Arthur Guo, 16 | Alpharetta, GA | $5,000 |
T-6 | IM Justin Wang, 17 | Katy, TX | $2,250 |
T-6 | IM Kirk Ghazarian, 17 | Coto de Caza, CA | $2,250 |
T-8 | IM Jason Liang, 16 | Potsdam, NY | $1,250 |
T-8 | IM Josiah Stearman, 20 | Martinez, CA | $1,250 |
10 | FM Arthur Xu, 16 | Naperville, IL | $1,000 |
GM Melikset Khachiyan Wins U.S. Senior Championship
In the U.S. Senior division, wildcard player GM Melikset Khachiyan was crowned champion, winning an impressive $20,000 and bragging rights amidst a field of legendary players and hall of famers.
“I’ve been able to help coach my students to win many championship titles, but I’d never won myself until now. This is my first national championship and it was a breakthrough tournament,” said Khachiyan.
Last year’s winner GM Alexander Shabalov finished in second place and received a check for $13,000, followed by GM Vladimir Akopian in third place, winning $10,000.
U.S. SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS | |||
PLACE | PLAYER | LOCATION | PRIZE MONEY |
1 | GM Melikset Khachiyan, 53 | Glendale, CA | $20,000 |
2 | GM Alexander Shabalov, 55 | Pittsburgh, PA | $13,000 |
3 | GM Vladimir Akopian, 51 | Glendale, CA | $10,000 |
T-4 | GM Gregory Kaidanov | Lexington, KY | $6,500 |
T-4 | GM Maxim Dlugy, 57 | Albrightsville, PA | $6,500 |
T-6 | GM Patrick Wolff, 55 | San Francisco, CA | $4,500 |
T-6 | GM Joel Benjamin, 59 | Waldwick, NJ | $4,500 |
T-8 | GM Igor Novikov, 61 | Lexington, KY | $3,333 |
T-8 | IM Douglas Root, 60 | Denton, TX | $3,333 |
T-8 | GM Dmitry Gurevich, 66 | Chicago, IL | $3,333 |
For more information, visit uschesschamps.com.
About the Saint Louis Chess Club
The Saint Louis Chess Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures.
Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit www.saintlouischessclub.org.
