Brilliant Hulachess Video

Hi everyone!

Jennifer Shahade just sent me this email with link to the embedded YouTube video above, I loved it!! It's simply brilliant! If chess players could do that they would be in perfect harmony with their bodies, a guaranteed way to be fit!

I'm happy to announce that Hulachess has been shortlisted for the 1st Guggenheim YouTube Play biennial! 125 videos made the cut out of over 23,000 entries from 91 countries. We are very excited and appreciative that hulachess caught the eyes of the Guggenheim curators. You can watch our video on YouTube Play in the "Non-Narrative" category or watch it here. I also encourage you to browse YouTube.com/Play to watch many other interesting videos.

For a summary of the contest, see this article from Reuters.

Thanks to many of you BCCed on this email for your help and congrats also to Daniel Meirom (co-creator & editor), Gabrielle Revlock (choreographer, dancer and my hula-hoop instructor/chess student) and Blake Eichenseer (Director of Photography).

About 20 of the shortlisted videos will be selected by a jury that includes performance artist & musician Laurie Anderson, artist Takashi Murakami and film-maker Darren Aronofsky. Those videos will be unveiled in a special celebration at the Guggenheim museum in New York on October 21 and also installed at the Guggenheim museums in Bilbao, Venice and Berlin. The odds are about five to one.

We are crossing our fingers but also happy to get this far.

Happy autumn, Jennifer

Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion

www.chessblog.com

Shahade wins unusual chess blitz game

Hello everyone!

You don't want to miss this unusual chess blitz game, between Jennifer and Greg Shahade.

It's a unique US Chess Championship warmup battle. The action spans from May 13-25 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Follow it at uschesschamps.com!

It will be an awesome event you'll want to follow!

The 24 invited players include:

The defending U.S. Champion - GM Hikaru Nakamura

The winner of the 2009 U.S. Senior Open Championship - GM Larry Christiansen

The winner of the 2009 U.S. Junior Championship - GM Ray Robson

The top five qualifiers from the 2009 U.S. Open Championship - GM Alex Lenderman, GMs Sergey Kudrin, Alex Yermolinsky, Dmitry Gurevich, and Jesse Kraai

The winner of the 2010 ICC State Champion of Champions - IM Levon Altounian

The top 11 U.S. players by rating of the United States Chess Federation:

GM Gata Kamsky

GM Alexander Onischuk

GM Varuzhan Akobian

GM Yury Shulman

GM Jaan Ehlvest

GM Alexander Shabalov

GM Gregory Kaidanov

GM Robert Hess

GM Melikset Khachiyan

GM Joel Benjamin

GM Ben Finegold

Four wildcard spots:

GM Alexander Stripunsky

GM Vinay Bhat

IM Sam Shankland

IM Irina Krush

2010 U.S. Championship

Calendar of Events

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Thursday, May 13, 2010 – Arrival Day

3:00pm – All Players, Arbiters and Commentators need to be checked into the Chase Park Plaza or Choice Hotel

4:00pm – Players’ Meeting, Signing and Photo Shoot

6:00pm – Opening Ceremony, Chess at the Plaza Park

Opening Remarks and Program

Drawing of the Colors

Announce all the Rounds Pairing

Hors d'oeuvres and Cocktails

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Friday, May 14, 2010 – Public

2:00pm – 8:00pm – Round 1

Saturday, May 15, 2010 - Public

2:00pm – 8:00pm – Round 2

Sunday, May 16, 2010 – Public

2:00pm – 8:00pm – Round 3

Monday, May 17, 2010 – Public

2:00pm – 8:00pm – Round 4

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 - Public

2:00pm – 8:00pm – Round 5

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 – Public

2:00pm – 8:00pm – Round 6

Thursday, May 20, 2010 – Public

2:00 – 8:00pm, Round 7

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Friday, May 21, 2010

Players’ Rest Day

12:00pm - Human Chess Event on Maryland Avenue

2:00pm - Possible 4th Place Playoff

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Saturday, May 22, 2010 – Public

2:00pm – 8:00pm, Round 8 of Swiss

Round 1 of Quad Finals

Sunday, May 23, 2010 - Public

2:00pm – 8:00pm, Round 9 of Swiss

Round 2 of Quad Finals

Monday, May 24, 2010 – Public

2:00pm – 8:00pm – Round 3 of Quad Finals

8:00pm - Open Blitz Tournament – Chase Park Plaza Hotel, Khorassan Ballroom

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Tuesday, May 25, 2010 – Public

10:00am – 12:00pm – Possible Tie Breaker

12:00pm – 5:00pm – Community Day, Saint Louis Science Center

7:00pm – 9:00pm – Closing Ceremony and Reception, Chase Park Plaza Hotel

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Departure and Travel Day

Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion

www.chessblog.com