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15 spots up for grabs at 2010 U.S. Chess Championship

By on November 02, 2009 in

Tournament play will take place April 23 to May 6, with the competitors vying for more than $130,000 in prize money.

Chess for Life seeks volunteers

By on October 29, 2009 in

Chess for Life, the partnership program between the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis and the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, is in need of volunteers to help bring chess to patients and their families. The program is designed to provide a welcome escape in a time of extreme duress. Chess for Life provides chess tables, boards and pieces, along with volunteers who will play and offer instruction. In addition, Siteman patients will be able to access a website allowing them to play with other people or a computer.

Blitz Tournament Standings

By on October 20, 2009 in

Joseph Garnier delivered a perfect performance to win the $26 top prize outright. Nathan Phan and Brian Gadson split the bottom-half prize with two points apiece. Here are the standings from the latest Saturday Blitz Tourney:

Friday Action Quads: The Return

By on October 20, 2009 in

The Friday Action Quads made its triumphant return following the Women's Championship. Fourteen fierce competitors slugged it out in three sections. In the top quad, Jialin Ding and Kevin Cao, two of Saint Louis' best scholastic players, finished with 2.5/3.0 (drawing each other) to split the $36 prize. In quad 2, Namit Gaur dominated the field, going undefeated with a perfect 3.0/3.0 performance for clear first. The bottom section featured a six-player Swiss in which unrated Filippo Massari's 2.5/3.0 was good enough for the clear $36 first place prize.

A Game of Chance with Anna Zatonskih and Rex Sinquefield

By on October 16, 2009 in

The newly crowned U.S. Women's Champion took on CCSCSL founder Rex Sinquefield in a special game that blends chess and chance. Based on the musings of Marcel Duchamp, the Game of Chance used a roulette wheel to determine which piece each contestant would be able to move. This unique element gave Rex a fighting chance against a zoned-in Zatonskih, but the exciting variation ultimately ended in a draw.

Check out the images here!

Photos By: Betsy Dynako

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Closing Ceremony Photos

By on October 15, 2009 in

Photos By: Betsy Dynako

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Round 9 Photos

By on October 13, 2009 in

[view:float_left_thumb==1197]The last and final round featured some exceptional fighting chess. Defending Champion Anna Zatonskih went out in style with another dominating performance. Read the article here!

Photo By: Betsy Dynako

Intense Action Marks End of U.S. Women's Chess Championship

By on October 13, 2009 in

[view:float_right_thumb==1191]ST. LOUIS, Oct. 13, 2009 -- The 2009 U.S. Women's Chess Championship, held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, already had a clear winner going into the final round, but there was heavy drama in the battle for money, place and qualification for other tournaments.

Defending U.S. Champion Anna Zatonskih, of Long Island, N.Y., finished off the tournament in style with a positional crush of Yun Fan, of Greencastle, Ind. She won the record $15,000 first place prize fund. Zatonskih ended with eight wins and one draw in nine games, and her 8.5 points were tied for the best result in the championship in more than 20 years. She said the championship was the best performance of her career.

Round 8 Photos

By on October 12, 2009 in

Congratulations to the 2009 U.S. Women's Chess Champion Anna Zatonskih! Zatonskih proved too much for her Round 8 opponent, Sabina Foisor, and clinched a repeat performance with a hard-fought victory.

[view:float_left_thumb==1172]Irina Krush continued her late push with a win over Camilla Baginskaite to pull into a tie for second place. If Baginskaite and Krush each post the same result as one another tomorrow, we'll see a tie-break playoff to decide second place. Alisa Melekhina has an outside chance at a three-way tie for second if she posts a win and both Krush and Baginskaite lose.

Don't miss all the exciting action of the final round of the 2009 U.S. Women's Championship!

Photo By: Betsy Dynako

Zatonskih Clinches 2nd Consecutive U.S. Women's Chess Championship Title

By on October 12, 2009 in

[view:float_right_thumb==1166]ST. LOUIS, Oct. 12, 2009 -- Anna Zatonskih clinched her second consecutive U.S. Women's Chess championship by defeating Sabina Foisor in round eight of the 2009 event at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

With one round remaining, she has acquired a near-perfect 7.5 out of 8 points and will win the record $15,000 first prize. No other woman has more than 5.5 points so Tuesday's final round will be for posterity, not place.

Zatonskih, of Long Island, N.Y., said she will still try hard. "It doesn't feel right to win the championship and lose the last round," she said.

Zatonskih also earned an automatic qualification to the 2010 U.S. Women's Chess Championship. She said she was nervous today for the first time all tournament, knowing that single bad move and "I could easily spoil everything."