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Altounian wins U.S. Championship spot on ICC

By on April 14, 2010 in

Altounian now goes forward to claim a spot in next month's U.S. Championship sponsored by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

In his youth, Altounian was an incredibly strong Armenian junior player in the early 1990s. He was the U.S.S.R Junior Team Champion in 1991 and the Armenian Junior Champion from 1992-1993 and, as his country's representative, ...

The Bill Wright Saint Louis Open: Final recap, games and standings

By on April 11, 2010 in

[imagefield_assist|fid=3571|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]The Bill Wright Saint Louis Open, the strongest open tournament in the history of Missouri, has finally wrapped up here at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. After a quick, round five draw between co-leaders GM Robert Hess and GM Alejandro Ramirez, the opportunity opened up for four others with 3.5.

GM Hikaru Nakamura defeated WIM Alisa Melekhina to make it a three-way tie, and the final match between GMs Josh Friedel and Mesgen Amanov proved pivotal as the winner would make it a four-way split. Friedel's solid play wore Amanov down, and once he got into time trouble, Friedel was able to secure the victory.

Saint Louis Open: round four recap and round five preview

By on April 11, 2010 in

Round four brought more excitement as GM Robert Hess managed to outlast GM Dmitry Gurevich to hang on to first place. GM Alejandro Ramirez defeated IM Irina Krush, which created a two-way tie atop the leaderboard between Hess and Ramirez.

A quick draw between the two early on in round one opened the door for a multiple-way tie to take place. GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Josh Friedel and Mesgen Amanov all have 3.5/4 heading into the final round as does WIM Alisa Melekhina. Melekhina, who upset GM Ben Finegold in round four, takes on Nakamura.

Day One Recap at the Saint Louis Open

By on April 11, 2010 in

[imagefield_assist|fid=3565|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]SAINT LOUIS, APRIL 10, 2010 -- Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura has been playing an exceptional brand of chess over the past year. Since winning the 2009 U.S. Championship, his stellar performance tournament after tournament has vaulted him into the international spotlight and cemented his place as the player to beat in the United States.

But the heavy favorite coming into this year’s Bill Wright Saint Louis Open ran into a round-three roadblock. WIM Iryna Zenyuk provided stiff opposition against Nakamura’s Leningrad Dutch to hold on to a draw in a hectic finish.

Saint Louis Open: Round Three Recap

By on April 11, 2010 in

After three rounds, four titled players share the first place lead at the Bill Wright Saint Louis Open, but the heavy favorite coming into the tournament ran into a tough round-three opponent.

Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, the 2009 U.S. Champion, drew WIM Iryna Zenyuk in round three. IM Irina Krush and GMs Dmitry Gurevich, Robert Hess and Alejandro Ramirez all share the first-place lead with scores of 3/3. GMs Ben Finegold, Josh Friedel, Mesgen Amanov and WIM Alisa Melekhina all took a round-three bye, which left them tied with Nakamura for second.

Saint Louis Open: Round 2 results and recap

By on April 10, 2010 in

[imagefield_assist|fid=3563|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]After round two, the usual suspects are still leading the pack. In round two, GM Hikaru Nakamura defeated USCF Executive Director Bill Hall and GM Robert Hess took the victory on board two against 2009 U.S. Women's Championship competitor Yun Fan. Thirteen others join Nakamura and Hess atop the pack with scores of 2/2.

A couple of youngsters have put on a good showing early on in the tournament. Sean Vibbert of Indiana, Daniel Gurevich of Atlanta and the CCSCSL's own Kevin Cao are all vying for a top spot and a chance to play top competition in the later rounds.

Saint Louis Open: Round 1 updates

By on April 10, 2010 in

The Bill Wright Saint Louis Open is underway here at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, and the Open field saw few upsets in the first round. GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Robert Hess, Ben Finegold, Alejandro Ramirez, Josh Friedel and Dmitry Gurevich all won as did IMs Irina Krush and Michael Brooks.

WIMs Alisa Melekhina and Iryna Zenyuk both won as well, but Christopher Prather managed to knick WIM Tatev Abrahamyan for a draw in round one. Click Read more to view round one results and pairings, and stay tuned for updates.

Record field set for Saint Louis Open: Pre-register now

By on April 08, 2010 in

The heat is on, and Saint Louis is just getting warmed up.

In May, Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura is set to return to Saint Louis to defend his title at this year's 2010 U.S. Chess Championship, but first he'll stop by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL) for a tune-up at the Bill Wright Saint Louis Open.

The Bill Wright Saint Louis Open, held at the CCSCSL this weekend, April 10-11, features a $5,700 prize fund and some of the top players in the country.

Chess Club parking guide: the handy handout

By on April 06, 2010 in

Finally, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis has put together an easy-to-follow, color-coded map for members and visitors alike to find the best parking options for any occassion.

Simply click the Read more link at the bottom of this story to access the Chess Club parking guide. The guide contains easy instructions to find the best ways to access the club via public transportation, and also lists the free and paid parking zones in the CWE.

Ben's Blog: Easter Updates

By on April 04, 2010 in

I have not blogged in a while, as I am still recovering from my long trek. I was =2nd in Lubbock, Tx and =1st in Skokie, Il, and was able to score 6 wins and 12 draws (with no losses!) in 13 days, with no rest! Luckily, I was able to workout on the treadmill in Skokie, and walk a lot in Lubbock to keep fit as well as staying on the straight and naarrow food-wise. I have lost 27 pounds thus far this year, and have about 100 more to go!