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

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Chess History

I’ve come across this site with some really interesting bits of information about the game…. questions children always tend to ask you or facts which you want to share with them about the game.

Another link about Chess History …

1. What is the origin of the game of chess?	Chess is a game of war that was created in India in the 700’s. It may have been used to train warriors or as a civilized way for kingdoms to settle their differences since chess is a battle between two armies. Chess was brought to Europe by crusaders and the Moorish and Persian traders who dealt in silk, spices, from the east.
2. Why does the white player move first?	In medieval times black was thought to be a lucky colour. The white player was allowed to go first since the black player already had the advantage of the lucky colour.
3. Who are some famous chess masters?	Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Paul Morphy
4. What changes were made to moves by the queen and bishop?	In medieval chess the queen moved only one square diagonally. The medieval chess bishop could leap over pieces like a knight, and like the knight moved exactly two steps; but unlike the knight, it moved its two steps diagonally. In the late 15th century, the queen and bishop were given the powers they now have. This probably happened in Italy, France, or Spain, around 1475-1485. Modern chess was created in the same historical period that produced the printing press and the discovery of America.
5. How does a chess game represent life in medieval times?	The chess pieces represent people and places  of medieval times. Ceremonies and wars are represented by the chess game. Medieval Europeans modernized the chess game of the Persians to reflect their lives. They used the pieces to describe the lives of the ordinary and wealthy people.

 

 

image: gamesmuseum

1. When is the earliest mention of chess being played?	0531 – Chess was introduced into Persia.
2. Where did Chess originate?	India.
3. What was the earliest precursor of chess?	Chaturanga was the earliest chess precursor. It was created in the Punjab. Decimal chess used a 10 x 10 board.
4. When were the earliest chess pieces identified?	0610
5. What were some other versions of chess pieces used?	Chess was played with dice in China.
6. When was the first mention of women playing chess?	0770
7. When was chess first played in  Egypt? Spain? China? Italy? France? Russia? Greece? England? Poland	Egypt – 0620, Spain – 0780, China – 0795, Italy – 0800, France – 0801, Russia – 0820, Greece – 0895, England – 1013,  Poland – 1100

Please click on THIS LINK to read more…and it is a good link for children-in-learning-more-about-the-game…

Click on the image for a larger view

Source: http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/countrytournament.html

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