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2018 US Junior Championships

This event has already taken place. All information below is for reference only.

Event Details

2018 U.S. Junior Championship

2018 Junior Closed

For the Ninth consecutive year, the Saint Louis Chess Club will host the Junior Championship, the premier, invitation-only tournament in the country for the nation’s top rising stars.

This event showcases the top students in the country and serves as the perfect example for two of our important goals: Promoting chess at the scholastic level and supporting chess at the top level by providing a professional environment for the country’s top tournaments.

2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship

2018 Girls Junior Closed

For the second time, the Saint Louis Chess Club will host the Girls’ Junior Championship, the premier, invitation-only tournament in the country for the nation’s top rising stars.

This event showcases the top young female players in the country and serves as the perfect example for two of our important goals: Promoting chess at the scholastic level and supporting chess at the top level by providing a professional environment for the country’s top tournaments.

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Tournament Crosstable

Wins / Draws / Losses

Standard Scoring

1 Win

½ Draw

0 Loss

Rank	Name	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Score
1	GM Liang, Awonder	2569	x	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	1	1	6.5
2	IM Patel, Advait	2461	½	x	½	0	1	½	1	½	1	1	6.0
3	GM Burke, John M	2524	½	½	x	½	1	½	0	1	½	½	5.0
4	GM Chandra, Akshat	2486	½	1	½	x	0	½	1	1	0	½	5.0
5	FM Bian, Alex	2291	0	0	0	1	x	1	0	1	1	1	5.0
6	IM Balakrishnan, Praveen	2411	0	½	½	½	0	x	½	1	½	1	4.5
7	GM Li, Ruifeng	2583	½	0	1	0	1	½	x	½	½	0	4.0
8	GM Tang, Andrew	2507	½	½	0	0	0	0	½	x	1	1	3.5
9	Brattain, Mika	2399	0	0	½	1	0	½	½	0	x	1	3.5
10	FM Wang, Annie	2299	0	0	½	½	0	0	1	0	0	x	2.0

Rank	Name	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Score
1	FM Yip, Carissa	2364	x	½	½	1	1	1	1	0	1	1	7.0
2	FM Yu, Jennifer	2358	½	x	1	1	0	½	0	1	1	1	6.0
3	WIM Nguyen, Emily	2215	½	0	x	1	0	1	½	1	1	1	6.0
4	FM Feng, Maggie	2236	0	0	0	x	1	½	½	1	1	1	5.0
5	WFM Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia	2208	0	1	1	0	x	½	0	1	½	1	5.0
6	WFM Samadashvili, Martha	2040	0	½	0	½	½	x	½	1	1	½	4.5
7	WCM Wu, Rochelle	2110	0	1	½	½	1	½	x	0	0	½	4.0
8	Morris-Suzuki, Sophie	1980	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	x	0	1	3.0
9	WFM Matus, Nastassja	1960	0	0	0	0	½	0	1	1	x	½	3.0
10	WFM Vittal, Sanjana	1947	0	0	0	0	0	½	½	0	½	x	1.5

The Players

Additional Info

Mika Brattain

Invitational Rating: 2519

Awonder Liang

Invitational Rating: 2653

Akshat Chandra

Invitational Rating: 2593

Advait Patel

Invitational Rating: 2592

Annie Wang

Invitational Rating: 2372

John Burke

Invitational Rating: 2608

Praveen Balakrishnan

Invitational Rating: 2502

Ruifeng Li

Invitational Rating: 2686

Andrew Tang

Invitational Rating: 2620

Alex Bian

Invitational Rating: 2411

Sophie Morris-Suzuki

Invitational Rating: 2155

Maggie Feng

Invitational Rating: 2355

Martha Samadashvili

Invitational Rating: 2196

Rochelle Wu

Invitational Rating: 2217

Carissa Yip

Invitational Rating: 2344

Emily Nguyen

Invitational Rating: 2285

Thalia Cervantes

Invitational Rating: 2259

Jennifer Yu

Invitational Rating: 2423

Sanjana Vittal

Invitational Rating: 2161

Nastassja Matus

Invitational Rating: 2183

Live Broadcast Commentators

WGM Tatev Abrahamyan

2453 (USCF) | 2364 (FIDE)
2004 and 2011 U.S. Women’s Championship Runner-Up

Tatev Abrahamyan started playing chess at 8 after her father took her to the Chess Olympiad games in 1996. She was soon playing competitively among the top players her age in Europe and has played in the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship eight times. Tatev is a formidable competitor. At the 2010 U.S. Women’s Championship she played her heart out to a fantastic 7/9 score, which would usually be enough to net first place, but actually put her in a tie for second place, half a point behind Irina Krush. Tatev’s strong play and fighting qualities in 2010 earned her the 9 Queens/goddess chess fighting spirit award, which was selected by former Women’s World Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk. At the 2011 U.S. Women’s Championship, Tatev turned in a remarkable performance, falling just short to Anna Zatonskih in the playoff finals to finish in second place. That same year, Abrahamyan graduated from California State University Long Beach with a double-major in psychology and political science. Tatev was once again a force to be reckoned with at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Championship while also teaching chess and working as a journalist for the Grand Chess Tour. This will be Tatev’s second time doing live commentary for the U.S. Junior Championships at the Saint Louis Chess Club.

GM Robert Hess

2660 (USCF) | 2574 (FIDE)
Former U.S. Junior Champion

Robert Hess is a former U.S. Junior Champion, the 2010 Samford Award winner, the runner-up at the 2009 U.S. Championship, and a three-time member of the U.S. National team. After graduating with a degree in History from Yale University in 2015, he has continued to be involved with chess. He is a known chess analyst and commentator and was the coach of the U.S. Women’s team at the 2016 Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan. Outside of chess, Hess serves as Chief Operating Officer of The Sports Quotient, a statistically-based sports site he co-founded.

Regulations

Format Summary

The 2018 U.S. Junior Championship shall each be a 10-player tournament paired as a Round Robin.

Prompt Arrival: Players are expected to arrive promptly for their games. Players not at their board at the beginning of each round may receive a fine of $500 to be deducted from their prize for each occurrence. Players more than 30 (thirty) minutes late for a round shall forfeit that round. Players who withdraw or forfeit a game may not receive any prize money.
No Draws: A 30-move draw rule will be in effect throughout the Event, including any playoff games. Player may not mutually agree to a draw in less than 30 moves.
No Cell Phones: No cell phones or other electronic devices shall be allowed in the tournament area. Any violation of this policy will result in a fine of $500 to be deducted from Player’s prize for each occurrence. In addition to the fine, a violation involving a cell phone or other electronic device that emits any noise during a game shall result in forfeiture of that game. If a violation occurs in subsequent games, the same penalties shall apply.
Time Control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds (increment) per move starting from move one.
Notation: Due to the 30-second increment, Players are required to maintain an accurate and legible score sheet at all times during all games, and are required to keep their notation up-to-date.
Chief Arbiter Discretion: In the event of an unexpected occurrence, the Chief Arbiter reserves the right to make all decisions in conjunction with or on behalf of the CHESS CLUB.
Playoff Procedures: The following tie-breaks will be used for the purposes of the crosstable and any special prizes or trophies: 1. Direct Encounter (if applicable), 2. Most Blacks, 3. Koya System, 4. Sonneborn-Berger, 5. Won Games. If two or more Players are tied for first, a playoff will be held to determine final standings among all tied players.

An Armageddon Game is defined as follows: White shall start with 5 minutes with a two-second increment and black shall start with 4 minutes with a two-second increment. Black shall be declared the winner if the game ends in a draw.

Two Players: The tie will be broken with a two-game rapid match (G/10 +2 delay). If the contest is still undecided, the match will be decided by an Armageddon Game.
Three or Four Players: If there are three or four Players tied for first, the Players shall contest a rapid round robin (G/10 +2 delay). If no clear winner is produced, the remaining tied players shall contest a blitz (G/3 +2 delay) a) round robin (if three or four players remain tied) or b) 2-game match (if two players remain tied). If the contest is still undecided, the match will be decided by a series of Armageddon Games.
More Than Four Players: If more than four players are tied for first place, a combination of math tie-breaks and playoffs will be used to determine the winner. The format if more than four players are tied for first will be determined by the Arbiter and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.