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ST. LOUIS, Oct. 1, 2009 -- Sure, there will be plenty of great chess at the 2009 U.S. Women's Chess Championship, which will be held Oct. 4-13 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. But thanks to a variety of partnerships involving the arts, cultural and health care communities, the tournament offers much more.

The championship will leave its mark from the Contemporary Art Museum to the Siteman Cancer Center and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art to the Saint Louis Science Center.

For jazz aficionados, the unofficial kickoff of the championship starts 7:30 p.m. Friday with the Queens of Jazz , which features Tony nominee Ann Hampton Callaway and Denise Thimes at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

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There is still time to sign up for the Bounty Blitz tournament.  Nine of the ten competitors in the U.S. Women's Chess Championship will be participating.  If you are able to defeat any one of them, the prize is a free year membership at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis and a chess board autographed by all ten competitors.

If you are able to draw any of the Women's Championship competitors, you will receive a free month membership (or one month extension), and a poster autographed by all ten competitors.

In addition to the bounty prizes whomever wins the tournament overall will receive a $100 gift certificate to the chess club for use toward merchandise, memberships, or tournaments.

Who: Any chess player (event is not USCF rated)
What: Blitz Tournament (game in five minutes)
When: Saturday, October 3rd Registration 2:00 PM, first round at 3:00PM. (total event time approx. hour and a half)
Where: Contemporary Art Museum Saint Louis, 3750 Washington Blvd. Saint Louis, Missouri 63108 (314-535-4660)
Why: 2009 U.S. Women's Chess Championship Opening Day of Events.

 The Friday Action Quads were well attended with 16 participants vying in 4 quads for top honors.  In Quad 1, blitz afficianado Joseph Garnier started off with a bang, taking down top rated Kevin Cao on his way to a 3.0/3.0 performance and a $36 payday.  In quad 2, Stephen Zang recovered form a first round loss with Jialin Ding to finish strong with 2.0 points and tie with Ding for 1st after William Thompson was able to notch an impressive underdog victory of the youngster.  Quad 3 saw Sathya Anand (no relation to the renowned GM and world champion) turned in an impressive 2.5/3.0 performan

 
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 14, 2009 - A "Queens of Jazz" Concert will kick-off the 2009 U.S. Women's Chess Championship on Oct. 2 in a 12-day marathon of chess matches involving 10 of the best female players in the nation, and a variety of related events open to the public. The championship and the events are hosted by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.
The Queens of Jazz, featuring Tony nominee Ann Hampton Callaway and special guest Denise Thimes, will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, 3750 Washington Blvd., St. Louis. It will be preceded by a VIP reception from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, call 314-678-0500.