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Record Turnout Produces Excitement, Upsets in 7th Annual Show Me Classic

Upsets abound in the 7th annual Show Me Classic as lower rated players came to prove that they can compete with their often much higher rated opposition. The tournament boasted a record 42 participants, and prizes were awarded to first in each class. Joseph French (1949) came in first overall with a perfect 4/4 score. 

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chess, club, scholastic, show, me, classic, tournament, swiss, may

Our Resident Grandmaster: Ben Finegold

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is excited to have GM Ben Finegold back as its Resident Grandmaster through the rest of May! Finegold’s unique style combined with an incredible depth of experience across all levels of chess has earned him an outstanding reputation as a superior trainer to children, amateurs and tournament players alike. 

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chess, club, scholastic, lesson, grandmaster, GM, finegold, saint, louis, CCSCSL

Our Resident Grandmaster: Ben Finegold

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is excited to have GM Ben Finegold back as its Resident Grandmaster through the rest of May! Finegold’s unique style combined with an incredible depth of experience across all levels of chess has earned him an outstanding reputation as a superior trainer to children, amateurs and tournament players alike. 

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chess, club, scholastic, lesson, grandmaster, GM, finegold, saint, louis, CCSCSL

Paul Mechem Does it Again: Winning Knights for a Second Straight Month

Despite April featuring five Wednesdays -- and a bonus round of chess -- the monthly Knights Tournament featured a familiar winner. Paul Mechem (2000) put together back-to-back Knights Tournament victories, first taking March and now winning April with a score of 4.5/5. Over the past two months, Mechem has stacked up an impressive 8.5/9 points with performance rating of 2226. April was also a good month for Jason Clark (1839) and Kyle Neese (1305), who shared second place with 3.5/5 points.

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chess, club, scholastic, knight, tournament, swiss

From the Broadcast Desk of GM Alejandro Ramirez: Kasparov Still Has It

By GM Alejandro Ramirez 

I remember it rather clearly, though it was over ten years ago. I hadn't moved yet to America, and at that point I wasn't even sure that I would. I was sitting in my bedroom back in Costa Rica, watching the Topalov-Kasparov game. Kasparov would win Linares even if he lost, which he did... quite typical actually, Kasparov dominating a tournament. And then the news broke out: Kasparov was retiring.

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GM, grandmaster, alejandro, ramirez, saint louis, chess, club, kasparov, short, legend

GM Ramirez Defends the Saint Louis Open!

By Alejandro Ramirez

Every tournament has its favorites. Even in tournaments as strong as the 2015 U.S. Chess Championship -- where each of its 12 participants were grandmasters -- there were clearly a few standouts who seemed more likely to take the throne. This was also the case at the Saint Louis Open on April 17-19 – but as with every good tournament, there were many, many surprises from the get go. 

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GM, grandmaster, alejandro, ramirez, saint louis, chess, club, open, bill, wright

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