[imagefield_assist|fid=15380|preset=fullsize|lightbox=true|title=Life Master Kevin Cao will take on 15 of the nation's best at the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=700|height=467]
SAINT LOUIS, July 9, 2012 -- Kevin Cao, 15, will compete against 15 of the top chess players in the country under the age of 21 for the title of U.S. Junior Closed Champion. The event will be held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis in the Central West End July 10-15 and features an overall prize fund of $18,000.
Click here for more information about the event!
The winner also will receive a highly coveted invitation to the 2013 U.S. Chess Championship, which will be held in Saint Louis for the fifth consecutive time next year.
Cao, who will begin his sophomore year at Parkway Central High School in the fall, is currently ranked 9th in the U.S. for 15-year-olds and just last year received the title of Life Master at age 14. The United States Chess Federation named Cao to the All-American team in 2011 and 2010, which recognizes the best players in the country under the age of 18.
In June, Cao was one of seven students from across the country selected to attend a special intensive training camp with legendary Grandmaster Garry Kasparov in Saint Louis.
The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship is an invitation-only tournament for the top chess players in the country under the age of 21. Previous winners of the U.S. Junior Closed Championship include Bobby Fischer and Saint Louis resident and reigning U.S. Chess Champion Hikaru Nakamura.
