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The 2015 Showdown in Saint Louis at the Saint Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis took place November 12 – 15, 2015. The Showdown showcased America’s two highest rated grandmasters: U.S. Chess Champion, Hikaru Nakamura versus Fabiano Caruana. In a second match-up, Chinese Grandmaster and former Women’s World Champion, Hou Yifan, played against Indian Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi. Whenever the two best players in any discipline square off against one another, it is an occasion to be savored.

The atmosphere in the boardroom of the Chess Club was inviting and exciting as nearly a dozen women took their seats in front of chess boards, snacks and drinks in hand, waiting for the first of the weekly Ladies’ Knight classes to begin. Taught this week by IM Irene Sukandar, the goal of this new weekly  class was apparent from the beginning: to make chess both accessible and approachable for women interested in learning the basics of the game.

Fall weather hit just as the Tenth Annual GroveFest occurred on October 3rd. Colder weather did not keep the crowds from flooding the streets nor did it keep the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL) from entertaining GroveFest attendees. The organizations stood among other vendors selling clothing or food within the kid-friendly section of the festival.

The third and final summer scholastic tournament concluded this weekend with a surprisingly low number of upsets but left many players with heartache. Time trouble blunders and accidental stalemates were in abundance during the Back to School Bash, but the higher-rated opponent continually seemed to come out on top this month.