SAINT LOUIS (May 9, 2014) -- Lights! Camera! Quick-draw??
Eyes rolled on the first day of the 2014 U.S. Championship when the marquee matchup -- a fireworks-filled kickoff between top-seeds Timur Gareev and Gata Kamsky -- finished after 14 moves and only 40 minutes in a draw-by-repetition, starting a trend of half-points through an anti-climactic first round.
GM Irina Krush, the reigning U.S. Women's Champion, is interviewed by a local news crew.
By Brian Jerauld
Grandmasters Gata Kamsky and Irina Krush: Please return your crowns.
Time expired on both champions’ reign over the nation Wednesday night in St. Louis, with the opening ceremonies of the 2014 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship ringing the bell for a new round of challengers to the national title.
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This story was originally published on stlpublicradio.org on April 30.
By Brian Jerauld
In chess, conquering the center is a strategy nearly as old as the game itself.
It is a building block, a foundation, with centuries of theory backing the blueprint. American legend Bobby Fischer opened all but one of his myriad games by instantly striking into the center with 1. e4, famously referring to the first move as “best, by test.”
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GM Sam Shankland has agreed to divulge all his secrets just days before he competes in the U.S. Championship!
Sam will present a special lecture at Lester's Restaurant tomorrow on Sunday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. called Attacking a Color Complex.
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By Yasser Seirawan
SAINT LOUIS, April 27, 2014 -- While he has taken over Crimea with relative ease, Vladimir Putin is presiding over the loss of an asset no doubt far dearer to the Russian people: hegemony in chess. To see the evidence, drop by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis any Sunday afternoon—if you can squeeze in, that is.
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By Brian Jerauld
Finally, the weather warmed and the sun said hello - but there were no walks in the park in Saint Louis last weekend.
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This article was originally published on stlpublicradio.org on April 23.
For six years, St. Louis has been steadily pumping its proverbial chess muscle.
There is, perhaps, no better way to gauge the strength of the city than to count the number of tough guys around here. The Chess Club and Scholastic Center opened in 2008 as a hopeful magnet to the game, and a year later GM Ben Finegold rode into town as the city’s very first Grandmaster. Today, backed by the murderer’s row of the Webster University collegiate team - including 2014 U.S. Championship-hopeful GM Ray Robson - St. Louis is home to 11 Grandmasters.
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By CCSCSL Staff
Starting this Thursday, April 24, all classes will be cancelled. The U.S. Championships require us to repurpose a lot of our space, and it is difficult to host our regularly scheduled programming. However, we will present a very speicial lecture on Thursday featuring GM Konstantin Landa.
OUR MISSION It is the mission of the Saint Louis Chess Club, an educational organization, to maintain a formal program of instruction to teach the game of chess and to promote and support its educational program through community outreach and local and national partnerships to increase the awareness of the educational value of chess.
Wheelchair access is available in the rear of the STLCC building. Please proceed through the parking lot to our east and around to our back door. If you need additional assistance, please contact us at 314-361-2437 .
The STLCC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, disability, and any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws or regulations in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, events, programs, or activities.
The Saint Louis Chess Club complies with the Internal Revenue Service's guidelines regarding publication of its non-discrimination policy in its brochures, catalogs, advertisements and otherwise making it known to the general community.
Any violation of this policy should be reported to the General Manager, Joy Bray, jbray@saintlouischessclub.org - 314.361.2437, Administrative Director, Tad Middleton, tmiddleton@saintlouischessclub.org -314.361.2437 and/or the HR Manager, Cathy Gallaher, cgallaher@saintlouischessclub.org - 314.332.5582.
The integrity of Saint Louis Chess Club's relationship with minor players is paramount to the Chess Club's educational mission and success. All individuals employed by or working under the direction or authority of the Saint Louis Chess Club are expected and required to maintain appropriate boundaries and relationships with minors and are strictly prohibited from engaging in sexual misconduct, hazing and harassment.
We encourage any victim or other persons with information regarding inappropriate conduct to contact Cathy Gallaher, Saint Louis Chess Club HR Manager at cgallaher@saintlouischessclub.org. You may also make a report confidentially, and if you wish, anonymously, through our ethics reporting hotline managed by Navex at (833)221-3624.