The Official List of Participants for the 2010 Denker Tournament is in!

July 22, 2010 by Chess Press
Filed under News, Tournaments/Events, featured

Tournament information:

The Denker Tournament of High School Champions (July 31, 2010 to August 3, 2010)

The U.S. Chess Trust is a Proud Sponsor of this tournament!!

The 2009 Denker Tournament held in August 2009 was a huge success!

CLICK HERE to find out more about last year’s winner!

We look forward to this years tournament!

Below are the complete details for the 2010 Denker Tournament.

The 2010 Denker Tournament of High School Champions

General Information

The tournament shall be played during the 2010 U.S. Open in Irvine, California from July 31, 2010 to August 3, 2010. The Denker Tournament of High School Champions fields High School State Champions from across the United States.

The “Denker” is considered a prestigious event held in memory of Grandmaster Arnold Denker who helped found it and who helped support it financially for over 20 years. Scholarships totaling $2,200 are now awarded to the top five finishers, through the generosity of GM Denker’s son, Mitchell, the U.S. Chess Trust and the National Scholastic Chess Foundation.

Eligibility

Each state shall be allowed one Representative as determined by the USCF State Affiliate. Alternates may be substituted as the official Representative. If there are an uneven number of entrants in the tournament, the Chairman of the Denker Committee will allow the host state to enter an additional qualified player. The additional player may not receive any prize monies, but is eligible for expense monies and the UTD Scholarship. Should the USCF state affiliate fail to respond to the notice for this tournament by June 15, the Denker Chairman may determine the candidate from that state. Representatives must be residents of the state they are representing. Only first Denker state qualifier will be used.

All players including home schooled students must be under the age of 20 on September 1 of the year in which the tournament is held. They must have been enrolled in high school courses, during the previous spring using the 9th through 12th grade curriculum. The Representative may not be listed as a full-time student at any college. Proof of eligibility shall be the responsibility of the players and the USCF state official certifying the Representative or Alternate.

It is the goal of the Denker Committee to have all fifty states and the District of Columbia represented. Consequently, we strongly encourage each USCF state affiliate and the District of Columbia to hold a High School Championship tournament to determine its champion. Failing this, rating or some other criteria may be acceptable.

Playing Schedule

The Opening Ceremony and 6-round Swiss will consist of the following dates and times:

Opening Ceremony-4 PM Saturday, July 31, 2010 (REQUIRED ATTENDANCE AND CHECK-IN). All participants are required to attend for awarding of Medallions, introduction of dignitaries and photo session.

Round 1-Saturday, July 31, 2010. Same time as evening round of the US Open.
Round 2-Sunday, August 1, 2010- 11AM,
Round 3-Same starting time as evening round of the US Open.
Round 4-Monday, August 2, 2010- 11 AM.
Round 5-Same starting time as evening round of the US Open.
Round 6-Tuesday, August 3, 2010- 11 AM, Denker Awards Ceremony- 4 PM.

This playing schedule is especially convenient, because it allows players an opportunity to participate in the US Open. This is possible because you can now enter the US Open upon completion of the Denker. Please note that the USCF Delegates voted to provide a 50% entry fee for all Denker participants who choose to enter the US Open after the Denker is concluded.

Rules

Players shall be required to play all six rounds of the tournament. Failure to do so, without notifying the TD personally, will result in a forfeiture of expense monies.
Player shall be required to furnish the TD with a legible and complete score sheet at the conclusion of each round.
The time control will be 90 minutes per player with 30 second increment added per move. This is the approved FIDE time control.

Scholarship Details

The Denker Tournament of High School Champions is proud to announce that a 4 year Academic Distinction Scholarship will be awarded by the University of Texas, Dallas. The scholarship is valued at $68,000 for an out-of-state student. UTD has been a leader in the promotion of Scholastic Chess for many years. You can see their campus and chess program at the following locations: www.utdallas.edu and www.chess.utdallas.edu.

In addition, the “new” video of the UTD chess team has been uploaded to YouTube.

Note: Find it on the U.S. Chess Trust’s video sidebar.

It is about UTD (University of Texas at Dallas) which is the sponsor of the scholarship that will be given at the 2010 Denker Tournament of High School Champions. This will give you a look into what UTD is all about and what players can expect when they attend UTD. Eligible winners must meet UTD entry requirements and have been in grades 9-11 during the previous spring.

The U.S. Chess Trust, Mitchell Denker and the National Scholastic Chess Foundation will award $2200 in Scholarships (1st place: $800, 2nd place $500, 3rd place $300, 4th place $300 and 5th place $300). Scholarships are designated for college expenses and will be sent to winners only upon proof of college enrollment (copies of paid bills, or official letters, etc.) by the Chess Trust. In some cases, prizes will be held in escrow pending receipt of paper documentation.

There will also be a $500 Ursula Foster scholarship awarded by the Chess Trust to the highest finisher who is under the age of 16 on the first day of the tournament. If less than two participants are under 16, then the scholarship will go to the top participant under 17. Two or more players must be in the lowest age qualified group.

The winner of the tournament shall receive the title of Denker High School Champion of Champions. In case of ties, co-champions shall be recognized.

Expense money: Through the generosity of Mitchell Denker, each participant will receive a minimum of $100 to help defray travel expenses, plus a share of the remaining funds after tournament expenses. Expense money will be paid in check or cash at the conclusion of the event. A proportion of a player’s expense money will be withheld for each forfeited game. Players expelled from the tournament, or who withdraw without contacting the Tournament Director forfeit all expense money.

Travel & Accommodations: Players are responsible for their own travel and accommodations. Players sharing rooms should make their arrangements carefully, as neither the USCF nor the tournament are responsible for any consequences arising from such arrangements. Please note that registration in a hotel room will require a person 18 years of age or older to be present.

Contact Information: Each player must provide the Denker Chairman with a phone number of a parent or other responsible adult in case of an emergency.

Denker Chairman: Dewain Barber, 524 S. Avenida Faro, Anaheim CA 92807 (714) 998-5508. FAX (714) 998-1160 E-Mail: AmChessEq@aol.com .

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“Krush Crowned; Three-Way Tie Atop Junior Leaderboard” By Mike Wilmering (PRESS RELEASE)

July 19, 2010 by Chess Press
Filed under News, Tournaments/Events, featured

This Work, Victory for Irina Krush!!, by jstrand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Krush crowned; three-way tie atop Junior leaderboard

By Mike Wilmering

For more information, please contact:
Mike Wilmering
Communications Specialist
Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis
314.361.CHESS (2437)
mwilmering@saintlouischessclub.org

PHOTOS CAN BE OBTAINED AT WWW.SAINTLOUISCHESSCLUB.ORG/GALLERIES

ST. LOUIS, July 19, 2010 — After an IM Anna Zatonskih draw in round nine, IM Irina Krush won a wild one against WFM Abby Marshall to clinch the 2010 U.S. Women’s Championship title with a score of 8/9. This is her third U.S. Women’s Championship title, and her first since 2007.

FM Warren Harper bounced back from five straight losses to upset GM Ray Robson, which seemingly dashed his hopes at a repeat, but a late draw by Parker Zhao and a victory by IM Sam Shankland created a three-way tie atop the Junior Closed leaderboard at 6/9. An Armageddon showdown will be used to determine the Junior Closed Championship.

The playoff, which will take place at 10 a.m CDT, on Tuesday, will feature a unique set of rules. Robson, by virtue of being first on tiebreaks, has elected to receive a bye in the first round of the playoff. Zhao and Shankland will play a game to determine who will play Robson for the championship.

In this game, both players will bid on how much time they are willing to start with, between 1 minute and 45 minutes. Whoever bids the lesser amount of time has the option to choose his color, with the black pieces getting draw odds (meaning that in the case of a draw, black is declared the winner). Whoever loses the bid will receive a full 45 minutes, with both players receiving a five-second increment for each move.

The winner of that game will have his choice of color in the championship game, with black again having draw odds. This means that Robson will almost certainly have to play for a win with White. In the championship game, each player will have 45 minutes with a five-second increment for each move.

At the start of round nine play, tournament announcers GM Ben Finegold and WGM Jennifer Shahade said each thought the women’s event was more likely to go to Armageddon playoff than the Junior Closed Championship. As both of the top seeds in the Women’s Championship event had White in the final rounds, a rematch of the controversial 2008 Armageddon playoff between Krush and Zatonskih seemed imminent.

But tough opposition from WGM Sabina Foisor stymied Zatonskih’s chances at a three-peat, and Krush’s dynamic yet solid play helped her capture the crown.

After a disappointing 2009 U.S. Women’s Championship, Krush brought an upbeat, positive and focused mentality to this year’s event.

“I tried to be aggressive Black and kind of principled with White,” Krush said. “So no one was just going to get any easy points.”

In round nine, Krush got the benefit of playing with White against Marshall, who had a disappointing tournament going just 0.5/9. Initially, it appeared as though Krush would simply steamroll her opponent.

Krush pulled the aggressive 14.Qd4, stopping Marshall’s ability to fianchetto her bishop on g7. The book move, according to Krush, is to play Rg8 to prep Bg7, which attacks the queen and controls the long diagonal, but Marshall instead opted for 14…b5.

“After Qd4, she apparently didn’t know the position anymore,” Krush said. “You have to give up this pawn [on c4]. Trying to defend it with b5 just means the queenside will collapse.”

But Marshall defended well, as she attempted to play the spoiler and salvage a win in her first U.S. Women’s Championship.

“After [22...]Be5, I realize she has a very good plan to consolidate,” Krush said. “My bishop on g3 is out of the game, she has all this good dark-square control, and its not even really clear what I’m doing. I suddenly realized that the whole position I was aiming for is not so good.”

Krush said after 23…Bc3, she was able to capture Marshall’s knight on d7 and a pawn on c7, which ultimately broke open the position to give her a winning advantage.

Although Krush called her game against Marshall her worst game of the tournament, she was able to convert the full point to clinch the victory, a victory she said she badly wanted.

Krush said an impromptu vacation may be in the works before she begins preparing for the Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Although they will be teammates in Russia, Krush’s main rival in this tournament, Zatonskih, never got the opening advantage she needed to overwhelm a tough opponent in Foisor. Although she said she prepared for the a6 Slav, Zatonskih differed from the main line of 6.Bg5 with 6.g3. Foisor responded with 6…c5, a response that took Zatonskih by surprise.

Following a queen trade, each established a solid position, but Foisor did not allow Zatonskih to once again work her endgame magic. Numerous times throughout the tournament, Zatonskih demonstrated her uncanny ability to grind opponents down in a long, grueling endgame, often turning the slightest of advantages into winning positions.

Zatonskih, who found herself in time pressure frequently this tournament, went at least 50 moves deep in five of her nine games, including a grueling round four win against WIM Alisa Melekhina that lasted 82 moves.

“Of course, I got tired,” she said. “I’m not a robot … 58 moves is like a miniature for me.”

Zatonskih said she missed a lot of opportunities in this tournament.

“I’m in pretty bad shape, so I’m quite happy with the result,” Zatonskih said. “Even if in bad shape I was able to fight for first place, I think it’s pretty good.”

Her 7.5/9 performance was good enough to tie for second place with WFM Tatev Abrahamyan, who had another stellar tournament performance.

In the Junior Closed Championship, Robson needed only to draw with Black against Harper to ensure at least a playoff for the title, if not the outright victory. He began the day just a half point ahead of Zhao, and his opponent, Harper, was in the midst of a five-game losing streak.

Robson once again tried to surprise his opponent by pulling out the King’s Indian, but Harper said he looked over those lines in preparation after seeing Robson use it earlier in the tournament.

First, Robson tried to break open the position with 16…Bxh3, sacrificing his bishop to maneuver his Knight to f3, which forked Harper’s king on g1 and rook on d2. After trading the two pieces for the rook, the pivotal move, 23…b5, allowed Harper a passer on the a-file. Robson countered by marching his c- and h-pawns down to the second rank, but Harper had too many pieces, ultimately queening his a-pawn (39.a8=Q) and forcing Robson’s resignation.

A dejected Robson appeared resigned to the fact that his hopes of repeating as the tournament champion were all but finished.

“Probably not a good position out of the opening,” Robson said. “I tried to create some chances, but I think he played pretty well throughout the game.”

Harper said this was the most difficult round-robin tournament he had ever played.

“In open tournaments, you lose a couple games, you play a weak player and then you can boost your confidence back up,” Harper said. “But in this tournament, you lose five games in a row, and you play Ray Robson.”

“Nobody beats you six in a row,” joked Finegold.

After Robson’s loss Zhao needed a full point to claim the 2010 Junior Closed title. After an 0/3 start, FM John Bryant had scored 4/5 and continued his solid play this round to prove to he is a formidable opponent. Although Zhao appeared to have the advantage for most of the game, Bryant managed to successfully defend with just his king and knight against Zhao’s king, bishop and two pawns.

As the seconds ticked down Robson and Shankland, who pulled off a brilliant round-nine victory, were crowding around the board to see if Bryant could stave off Zhao’s attack. Finally, with time pressure too great, Zhao acquiesced to a draw.

A draw by Shankland in round eight seemed to shut the door on his chances at the title. After losing his first two games, a despondent Shankland, who announced he will soon be retiring from chess, seemed like he had all but given up on his final major tournament. After a remarkable turnaround, however, Shankland managed to score six points in his final seven games to qualify for the Armageddon playoff.

In round nine, Shankland blew his opponent, FM Conrad Holt, off the board in a game that truly demonstrated his elite ability.

With Shankland’s bishop sitting on f7, the move 15.Qb3 threatened mate in one and further blew apart Holt’s defenses. Shankland said he wanted to “go out in style.”

“This [15.Qb3] was an over the board inspiration,” he said. “I decided to have some fun with this one.”

Zhao and Shankland will have to bid on how much time each is willing to start with in order to win the ability to play with Black and draw odds in the first round of the Armageddon playoff. Then, the winner will have to take on the tournament’s only grandmaster for the title.

FM Darwin Yang drew tournament surprise Eric Rosen in a hard-fought game. If Yang could have pulled off the victory, the Junior Closed would have had a four-way tie for the lead.

The playoff begins tomorrow at 10 a.m. CDT. To follow the action live or for more details, visit www.uschesschamps.com.

Katie Baldetti contributed to this report.

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“Nana Dzagnidze Wins Jermuk Women Grand Prix”

July 5, 2010 by Chess Press
Filed under News, Tournaments/Events, featured

From FIDE.com

The FIDE Women Grand Prix series continued with Jermuk tournament which took place on 23rd June – 5th July 2010 in Jermuk, Armenia. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov opened the fourth leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in the presence of the President of Armenia and the Armenian Chess Federation the Hon. Serge Sargissian.

GM Tatiana Kosintseva (Russia), second in Jermuk

This series is featuring the strongest women tournaments of all times and it is important to point out that there are three ex-world Champions, Maia Chiburdanidze, Antoaneta Stefanova and Xu Yuhua, taking part, as well as the highest ranked women players in the world. Three events were completed previously, when Humpy Koneru won in Istanbul, Xu Yuhua won in Nanjing and Tatiana Kosintseva dominated in Nalchik.

Georgian Grandmaster Nana Dzagnidze convincingly won the tournament by collecting impressive 9 points from eleven games. GM Tatiana Kosintseva suffered a defeat in the final round and remained point and a half behind the winner. Further point bellow are former World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova and Armenian representatives Lilit Mkrtchian and Elina Danielan.

Closing Ceremony

Final Ranking:
1. GM Dzagnidze Nana 2478 GEO – 9.0
2. GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2534 RUS – 7½
3. IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2477 ARM – 6½
4. GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2560 BUL – 6½
5. IM Danielian Elina 2473 ARM – 6½
6. GM Hou Yifan 2589 CHN – 6.0
7. GM Cramling Pia 2536 SWE – 5½
8. WGM Shen Yang 2452 CHN – 5½
9. GM Chiburdanidze Maia 2514 GEO – 4½
10. GM Xu Yuhua 2484 CHN – 4.0
11. WGM Kovanova Baira 2366 RUS – 3.0
12. IM Fierro Baquero Martha L 2363 ECU – 1½

The tournament was dedicated to the memory of Henrik Kasparian, one of the greatest chess composers of all time. Jermuk also hosted one of the men’s Grand Prix tournaments, which was won by Vassily Ivanchuk.

Visit the Official website

After Jermuk, the last two tournaments will be held in Ulanbaatar, Mongolia, on 29 July – 12 August 2010, and Santiago, Chile, on 27th October- 9th November 2010. The overall winner of the Grand Prix series will challenge the 2010 Women World Champion to a match for the title in 2011.

Standings of FIDE Women Grand Prix after the fourth leg of the series.

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The Official List of Participants for the 2010 Denker Tournament is in!

Tournament information:

“Krush Crowned; Three-Way Tie Atop Junior Leaderboard” By Mike Wilmering (PRESS RELEASE)

This Work, Victory for Irina Krush!!, by jstrand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.

Krush crowned; three-way tie atop Junior leaderboard

“Nana Dzagnidze Wins Jermuk Women Grand Prix”

From FIDE.com

2010 U.S. Women's and Junior Closed Championship

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Site Registration

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The Official List of Participants for the 2010 Denker Tournament is in!

Tournament information:

“Krush Crowned; Three-Way Tie Atop Junior Leaderboard” By Mike Wilmering (PRESS RELEASE)

This Work, Victory for Irina Krush!!, by jstrand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.

Krush crowned; three-way tie atop Junior leaderboard

“Nana Dzagnidze Wins Jermuk Women Grand Prix”

From FIDE.com

2010 U.S. Women's and Junior Closed Championship

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Recent Posts

Site Registration

Categories

Chess Community

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