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ST. LOUIS, Oct. 4, 2009 -- The preliminary events for the 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship have the Saint Louis community and chess-enthusiasts worldwide anticipating the tournament, which begins 2 p.m. today at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.
Here are the highlights of those events:

A Jazzy Start: 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship
The “Queens of Jazz” kick-off for the 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship was a huge success!   The 10 female players and other chess big-wigs gathered at the Contemporary Art Museum Friday night for a breathtaking concert featuring Grammy nominee Ann Hampton Callaway and Saint Louis native Denise Thimes.
 
Already Breaking Records: Opening Day
Opening day of the 2009 US Women’s Chess Championship on Saturday proved how much fun chess could be.  The Contemporary Art Museum of Saint Louis was filled with hula chess games, life-sized chessboards and bounty blitz matches.  But the highlight of the event was the blindfold chess demonstration played by two-time champion Anna Zatonskih.  She called out and remembered her move on five boards against tough chess connoisseurs, including CCSCSL founder and board member Rex Sinquefield—who was the last competitor standing.  Zatonskih’s five wins set a record for female blindfold chess.

Ready to Play! Opening Ceremony
Saturday night’s opening ceremony for the 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship set the tone for tournament play, which will begin today.  After opening remarks from CCSCSL Founder Rex Sinquefield, St. Louis 28th Ward Alderman Lyda Krewson, Saint Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, Official Arbiter Carol Jarecki and former Champion Jennifer Shahade, players began drawing lots to determine who would play in the first round.  Jarecki announced the pairings and the 10 players dazzled the audience playing a ceremonial team blindfold chess match against each other.  Two-time Steller award winner Kevin Burroughs Neeley, known as KBN, started the evening with a stirring rendition of the National Anthem.

Last night's Opening Ceremony for the 2009 US Women's Chess Championship set the tone for tournament play, which will begin today at 2:00 p.m. at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.  After opening remarks from CCSCSL Founder Rex Sinquefield, the 28th Ward Alderman Lyda Krewson, Saint Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, Official Arbiter Carol Jarecki and former Champion Jennifer Shahade, players began the drawing of the lots.  Jarecki announced the pairings and the 10 players dazzled the audience playing a team blindfold chess match against each other.

Click here to get your tickets for the tournament and other related events: http://saintlouischessclub.org/US-Womens-Championship-2009/Schedule

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.