This Just In

As May 7th inches closer and closer, an aura of anticipation and excitement has been steadily building around the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Beginners and Masters alike are teeming with enthusiasm, and many of them for different reasons.  Whether it is the chance to watch live analysis by top class GMs , observe some of the most competitive chess games ever played in Saint Louis, or the opportunity to meet some of the brightest chess minds in the United States, the 2009 U.S. Championship being hosted by the CCSCSL has something for every chess enthusiast, from the casual club player to the seasoned tournament professional.  In early May, 24 of the best U.S. chess players will converge at the premiere chess club in the United States to vie for the right to become the 2009 United States Chess Champion and claim the $35,000 first place prize that comes with that honor.  In fact, this year's U.S. Championship offers a potential prize pool four times the size of last year's event, thanks in large part to CCSCSL founder and primary benefactor Rex Sinquefield.  The tournament features a main prize fund totaling $135,000, with an additional $64,000 Fischer Memorial Prize Fund.  The Fischer Memorial Prize Fund provides incentive for every competitor to strive to go undefeated, and duplicate Fischer's dominance of the 1963-64 U.S Championship when he demolished that field with a perfect 11-0 score!  Even the last place contestant will receive a $2,000 cash prize to reward their participation and fighting spirit.
 
Before anyone even begins to break down the field of incredible chess talent that will convene in Saint Louis in the next few weeks, everyone must take a minute to appreciate the planning and accommodations that will be available to both the players and members!  Besides 9 rounds of intense chess action, the U.S. Championship will feature several lavish celebrations, including a simultaneous exhibition by WGM Jennifer Shahade at the Saint Louis Science Center on May 2nd, a Grand Opening Ceremony on May 7th open to the public, and an Awards Ceremony on May 17th.  There will be several other concurrent chess events, including a book signing and reception on May 5th and the United States Chess Federation Board Meeting on May 16th and 17th at the Chase Park Plaza hotel.  While these events will certainly pique the interest of the hardcore chess fans, it is the amenities the club will offer to its members that really have people buzzing about the impending event.  The CCSCSL and the Internet Chess Club will be sponsoring door prizes and trivia contests that are sure to be crowd-pleasers.  Spectators will be able to follow world class analysis by WGM Jennifer Shahade and GM Emil Sutovsky.  Jennifer's resume and participation at the club certainly speaks for itself, but Emil Sutovsky may be a new name to many of the regular members.  Emil, among other things, was Gata Kamsky's second, and manager, in his recent match against Veselin Topalov for a chance to challenge World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand!  Besides acting as Kamsky's second, the Israeli GM won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1996 and tied for first in Gibraltar 2005 and the 2005 Aeroflot Open in Moscow.  With his impressive resume and Jennifer Shahade's chess acumen and beaming personality, the analysis and commentary should be lively and interesting for all in attendance!  This of course is all made possible by the high tech audio/visual set up the club has touted since its inception.  Twelve DGT boards will be employed to broadcast all the action to the multiple flat screen LCD televisions throughout the club.  Jennifer and Emil will take advantage of the large television in the club's classroom to deliver their commentary and analysis which will be available to not only the members in attendance, but everyone across the world thanks to the club's website, the Internet Chess Club, and chess.fm!
 
While all of this is enough to make even the most casual chess fan excited, it is really the caliber of players that will be participating this year that really sets this tournament apart.  Unfortunately, with the lucrative opportunities abroad for top GMs, the U.S. Championship has been unable to secure all the top tier American players for this prestigious event for the past two years.  Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Sinquefield, and all our sponsors, the U.S. Championship has returned to the stature it once occupied amongst the United States chess scene, and this year's field features 14 of the top 15 GMs, by rating, in the entire country.  Along with a variety of qualifiers and a few wild cards, this tournament promises to be one of the most memorable U.S. Championships ever!  Among the field of top players are Gata Kamsky and Hikaru Nakamura.  Besides being the top two rated players in the country, both are top FIDE rated GMs, hovering around or in the ever elusive 2700 class that many international GMs only dream about attaining.  Certainly either of these fine players would be great choices to finish first when the smoke clears.  It is very exciting to have Gata Kamsky playing, coming off of his tough loss to Veselin Topalov in his World Chess Championship qualifier match.  He often had the former champion in worse positions (a gargantuan feat for any GM against Topalov), but was unable to deliver the knockout blow.  Hikaru, often known for his blitz skills, moonlighting as "Smallville" on the Internet Chess Club, will get a prime opportunity to showcase his talents and prove he is more than a one trick pony.
 
As if the inclusion of Kamsky and Nakamura weren't enough, a quick glimpse at the list of names confirmed exemplifies just how tough this tournament is going to be: Defending champion Yury Shulman...2003 and 2006 champion Alexander Onischuk...1980, 1983, and 2002 champion Larry Christiansen...1987, 1997, and 2000 champion Joel Benjamin...1994 and 1999 champion Boris Gulko...2007 champion Alexander Shabalov.  In addition to these former U.S. Championship winners, other big names include Julio Becerra, Varuzhan Akobian, Gregory Kaidanov, Jaan Ehlvest, Ildar Ibragimov, and Melikset Khachiyan, all of whom will be battling for their first chance to call themselves a U.S. Champion.  Besides these top rated GMs, some other players will be looking to make their mark on history after qualifying through other means.  These special qualifiers include 2008 U.S. Open Champion Enrico Sevillano, 2008 U.S. Junior Closed Champion Tyler Hughes, and ICC State Champion of Champions Sam Shankland.  Also participating will be recently crowned grandmaster and 2007 Samford Scholarship winner John Friedel, 2009 National High School Chess Champion and GM-elect Robert Hess, 14 year old (and 2542 rated!) elementary division National Champion Ray Robson, and 2008 U.S. Junior Championship winner Tyler Hughes.  While the field is predominantly male, anyone would be a fool to count out either 2006 and 2008 U.S. Women's Champion Anna Zatonskih or 1998 and 2007 U.S. Women's Champion Irina Krush!  They will certainly relish the opportunity to represent female chess players and affirm that women can compete just as well as men at the highest level.  Rounding out the field are a pair of Missouri natives representing the state by way of a wild card entry.  International Master Michael Brooks, Missouri's highest rated resident, will look to do his state proud, while local National Master Charles Lawton will bring his intense, fighting brand of chess, which will undoubtedly provide some of the most exciting and wild games of the event.  Many local Saint Louisans will be watching NM Lawton's games very closely.  In fact, if karma were any indicator of who would win this event, NM Charles Lawton's friendly personality and openness to teach and play anyone and everyone would unquestionably deserve a 9-0 record and a huge payday.  Everyone is rooting for him to represent Saint Louis well, and regardless of his final record, he will provide the local fans with fun and imaginative games that will provide hours of excitement and intensity for those fortunate enough to witness this spectacle.
 
Details continue to stream out from various sources as the May7th deadline approaches.  There are some great troves of information from which fans can take advantage to stay in the loop.  The best place as always for anything related to the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is our official website at www.saintlouischessclub.org. From our newly revamped homepage, a simple click will lead viewers to a page containing all things related to the "U.S. Championship 2009".  In addition to the club's official site, the CCSCSL has set up an official Twitter for all information about the championship.  We encourage everyone to check out Twitter and subscribe to the club's account at www.twitter.com/ccscsl. For those that don't know, Twitter is a micro-blogging website, providing short, quick updates to subscribers, which will function as an excellent clearinghouse for all links pertaining to the 2009 U.S. Championship.  The club also has an official FaceBook group that can be found by searching for Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis from your FaceBook home page.  Other excellent sources of pertinent information include the United States Chess Federation's website at www.uschess.org and the Internet Chess Club's site at www.chessclub.com.  Members wanting to be a part of the festivities must visit the club's website and reserve tickets for the days they plan to attend.  Attendance is limited and any additional tickets for each round will be given out on a first come/first serve basis that day.  Room is very limited, so we encourage everyone to make your reservations now.  See the U.S Championship section of the CCSCSL website for more information.  We look forward to seeing everyone in May and hopefully we can all make this the most memorable U.S. Championship ever, and one of the most memorable chess event to come to Saint Louis...at least until next May!