US Women’s Chess Championships 2009

Live Games covering on this link: http://www.saintlouischessclub.org/US-Womens-Championship-2009/Live-Coverage

Strong Field Set for 2009 US Women’s Chess Championship
Wed, 09/02/2009 – 13:49 — CCSCSL Info
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 2, 2009 – The 10-player field for the 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship was set on Wednesday, and it’s one of the strongest in championship history.

The tournament, which takes place Oct. 3-13 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis , has 10 of the top 12 ranked women players in the country, including the top 6. The group includes four previous winners. This is the second major chess championship held at the Chess Club in 2009, with a third scheduled for next year.

“We think we have assembled the finest collection of players ever for the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship,” said Tony Rich, executive director of the Chess Club. “I can’t wait to get the championship started. I’m sure we’re all going to witness some memorable, high-caliber chess matches.”

Topping the list at the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship are defending champion and No. 1 ranked Anna Zatonskih, of Long Island, N.Y., and her chief rival, No. 2 ranked Irina Krush, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Both are two-time champions.
Please click HERE to read more on the site of St Louis Chess Club.
On THIS LINK you can view the schedule for the tournament.
Please click HERE for the Media Kit,- which is a PDF and it will open in a new link- to view the other 6 players’ details and information about tournaments champions of the past.
Cleveland Library is the library in the US with the largest chess collection. Looking for anything about female players? Contact my chess player friend -Dan – at the library. I’m sure he’ll find everything and anything for you.[hehe] You will see a link on the left saying “know it now” and he never wants to tell me when it’s his turn to be on duty on “know it now” as he knows I would want to ask him a question he wouldn’t know the answer of…lol…

History of Women’s Chess in the U.S.
While chess was not immune to historic gender barriers, women players have long refused to concede the game to men. In fact, the history of chess in the U.S. dates back to the start of the 19th century for both sexes. For the first few decades women were tacitly banned from traditional chess clubs and tournaments. So passionate female players established their own venues, with some success. An 1897 article in The American Chess Magazine stated: “Ladies’ chess clubs are quite the fashion now.” Despite that observation, another 40 years would pass before the first U.S. Women’s Chess Championship would be held in 1937. This was 80 years after the first official U.S. men’s champion was crowned and 40 years after the first-ever international ladies tournament took place in London (where the U.S. had three representatives). The first U.S. Women’s Championship was held at the Rockefeller Center in New York City, organized by Caroline Marshall, the wife of U.S. Chess Champion Frank Marshall.

Since then the event has become a tradition with its own proud history. Gisela Gresser, a 1992 Chess Hall of Fame inductee and one of the first
American women to become a ratedmaster, has captured the title an unmatched nine times. Grandmaster Susan Polgar, also a repeat title-holder, crossed the boundary and became the first woman to qualify for the Men’s World Championship in 1986. Also competing with the men was last year’s U.S. women’s chess champ, Anna Zatonskih. She participated in the male-dominated U.S. Championship back in May, also held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. She was joined by Irina Krush, who she faced in the finals of the 2008 Women’s Championship. Clearly women’s chess has come a long way in the United States. Indeed, 2009 undoubtedly will offer an inspiring new chapter in the history and development of women’s chess in America and around the world.

Women’s Chess in the U.S. Facts
• The first unofficial U.S. women’s champion was crowned in 1857. Though her name was never listed, a description of the chess queen secured
her legacy: “This lady is believed to be the strongest amateur of her sex in the country, and would certainly be ranked as a first-rate in any club.”
• The first published game by an U.S. woman player appeared in an 8-page brochure in 1830.
• A Texas man in 1885 publicly offered a $100 bet that his wife could beat any man in chess.
• Mona May Karff won seven titles, topped only by Gisela Kahn Gresser’s nine wins.
• Irina Krush holds the record as the youngest player to win the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship. She won it in 1998 at age 14.
• In 1909 Eliza Foot “placed on the market a series of chess puzzles”, making her the first U.S. female chess author.

Image: St Louis Chessclub
Anna Zatonskih (left) and Irina Krush, No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the United States. Photo credit Betsy Dynako

Click on the image for a clearer view – standings after round 5

Round 6 pairings:

Saturday, October 10, 2009, 12:00 pm

•Sabina-Francesca Foisor vs Rusudan Goletiani
•Anna Zatonskih vs Alisa Melekhina
•Yun Fan vs Tatev Abrahamyan
•Iryna Zenyuk vs Camilla Baginskaite
•Battsetseg Tsagaan vs Irina Krush

Can you do this? [hehe]

Melekhina vs Goletiana round 5

Round 5 – click on the image for a clear view

Image: Official site…the US Women Chess players