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hosted by Chess Queen™ & 12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk

 

Friday, July 23, 2010

Tatev Abrahamyan Wins 2010 US Women's Fighting Chess Spirit Award


Tatev Abrahamyan creating "fighting chess"

Hi Everybody!

I want to give my heartfelt congratulations to Tatev Abrahamyan for her extreme fighting spirit at the 2010 U.S. Women's Championship!

Jennifer Shahade sent me the original link to her article where you can find a great fighting game she won against Alisa Melekhina.

Tatev Abrahamyan

Here is the text of the article:

At the 2010 US Women’s Chess Championship, Tatev Abrahamyan, 22, was awarded this year’s $1,000 Fighting Spirit Award.

The prize, co-sponsored by 9queens and goddesschess was judged by Women’s World Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk.

Kosteniuk, who updated results of the US Women's on her blog, said “Congratulations to all the winners! The tournament was excellent an lots of "fighting chess" throughout!”

Kosteniuk singled out Tatev for her decisive results (she drew only one game in the event, to Anna Zatonskih), and her aggressive play. Kosteniuk’s favorite Abrahamyan game was her round three win against Alisa Melekhina.

You can copy and paste the pgn moves below in the pgnplayer.

US Women's Championship, Saint Louis 2010
White: WFM Tatev Abrahamyan
Black: WIM Alisa Melekhina

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.c3 Kh8 8.Nbd2 Nd7 9.d4 Bf6 10.Nf1 Nb6 11.Bb3 Bg4 12.d5 Ne7 13.h3 Bc8 14.c4 a5 15.Qe2 g6 16.Bc2 Bg7 17.b3 h6 18.a3 f5 19.Bb2 Nd7 20.b4 Nf6 21.N3d2 f4 22.c5 g5 23.Nh2 h5 24.f3 Rf7 25.Nc4 Ng6 26.Qf2 Bf8 27.cxd6 Bxd6 28.Nxa5 Rh7 29.Bd1 Qf8 30.Nc4 Qh6 31.Nxd6 cxd6 32.Qb6 Qf8 33.Rc1 g4 34.fxg4 hxg4 35.Nxg4 Bxg4 36.hxg4 Qh6 37.Qxd6 Qh2+ 38.Kf1 Qh1+ 39.Kf2 Qh4+ 40.Ke2 Qxg4+ 41.Kd3 Qg5 42.Bf3 Rd7 43.Rh1+ Kg7 44.Rc7 Rad8 45.Rh5 Nxh5 46.Rxd7+ Rxd7 47.Qxd7+ Kh6 48.Qh3 Nh4 49.Qe6+ Kh7 50.Qxe5 Nxf3 51.gxf3 Qh4 52.Qh8+ Kg6 53.Qg8+ Kh6 54.Bg7+ Nxg7 55.Qh8+ Kg5 56.Qxg7+ 1-0

Tatev is no stranger to fighting chess. In 2008 Tatev also won the goddesschess award at the US Women's Championship, held that year in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2009, all of Tatev's games were decisive! For a survey of Tatev Abrahamyan's career since she moved to the Los Angeles area from her native Armenia, see the goddesschess blog.

In Irina Krush’s winner’s speech, she singled out her nearest competitors Tatev and Anna for motivating her to play her best chess. Abrahamyan scored 7.5/9, a score that is usually enough for at least a tie for first in a 10-player round robin. In this amazing event, Tatev actually only tied for second with last year’s Champion and goddesschess prize winner, Anna Zatonskih. Tatev had a 2621 USCF performance rating and raised her rating almost 60 points to 2430.

Although Tatev is more focused on earning IM and GM norms, it should also be noted that she picked up her final WGM norm. She also earned the 9queens scholarship prize (for a student under the age of 25) of $400 for a total bonus prize of $1400, which in combination with her 2nd-3rd place finish, gave her a takehome of $11,900.

9 Queens is a non-profit organization devoted to bringing chess to those most in need of its benefit, especially girls and at-risk youth. Goddesschess has been sponsoring Fighting Spirit Awards since 2007. See goddesschess.com for articles, links and much more with a special emphasis on the women of chess.

9 Queens co-founder and executive director Jean Hoffman presented the award at the US Women's Championship closing ceremony and she said,"If we want to encourage more women and girls to play chess, we need more prizes like the Fighting Chess Award. Not only does the award bring well-deserved recognition to Tatev and other professional female chess players, it also sends the message that competitive, confident and intelligent women should be celebrated."

Find out more about the US Women’s Chess Championship including games and photos on uschesschamps.com.

Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk
Women's World Chess Champion


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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Irina Krush is U.S. Women's National Chess Champion


IM Irina Krush

Hello Everyone!

IM Irina Krush's struggle paid off in the ninth round when she beat WFM Abby Marshall to win the 2010 U.S. Women's Chess Championship title with a score of 8/9. She was tied with IM Anna Zatonskih with 7 points each at the end of the eighth round. Zatonskih could only manage a draw against against WGM Sabina Foisor allowing Krush to win the title.

Krush has won the title for the third time this year. She had won it in 2007 and 2008. Anna Zatonskih was the defending champion this year.

Krush told the media that "I tried to be aggressive with Black and kind of principled with White. So no one was just going to get any easy points.”

In round nine, Krush had White against Marshall. The latter has had a disappointing tournament - this being her first U.S. Women's Championship - as she managed to score just 0.5/9. Ironically, Krush said her game against Marshall was the worst in the tournament.

Zatonskih, on her part, said she missed a lot of opportunities in this tournament. She tied with WFM Tatev Abrahamyan with 7.5/9 points.

Results of Round 9
-------------------------
1. IM Anna Zatonskih-WGM Sabina Foisor ½-½
2. WGM Katerina Rohonyan-WFM Tatev Abrahamyan 0-1
3. WGM Camilla Baginskaite-WIM Beatriz Marinello 1-0
4. IM Irina Krush-WFM Abby Marshall 1-0
5. WIM Alisa Melekhina-WIM Iryna Zenyuk 0-1

Final Standings
---------------------

1. IM Irina Krush 8.0
2. IM Anna Zatonskih 7.5
3. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan 7.5
4. WIM Alisa Melekhina 4.5
5. WGM Katerina Rohonyan 4.5
6. WGM Camilla Baginskaite 4.0
7. WIM Iryna Zenyuk 4.0
8. WGM Sabina Foisor 3.0
9. WIM Beatriz Marinello 1.5
10. WFM Abby Marshall 0.5

You can check the official website for videos, photos and other statistics. Meanwhile, here is the nice Krush-Marshall game that you can run through our pgnplayer or watch in flash below.

PGN: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 a6 7. e4 Bg4 8. d5 Ne5 9. Bg3 Nfd7 10. Be2 Bxf3 11. gxf3 g5 12. f4 Ng6 13. fxg5 hxg5 14. Qd4 b5 15. a4 Rg8 16. axb5 axb5 17. Rxa8 Qxa8 18. Nxb5 Qa5+ 19. Nc3 Bg7 20. Qxc4 Nf4 21. Bd1 Kf8 22. O-O Be5 23. Qa4 Bxc3 24. Qxd7 Bf6 25. Kh1 Qd2 26. Qxc7 Qd3 27. Re1 Qd2 28. Rg1 Nd3 29. Qc2 Qxc2 30. Bxc2 Ne5 31. b4 Nf3 32. Rc1 Kg7 33. Bd1 Ne5 34. b5 Nd3 35. Rb1 Bd4 36. b6 Nxf2+ 37. Bxf2 Bxf2 38. b7 Rb8 39. Bg4 Bd4 40. Bc8 Be5 41. h3 Bd6 42. Kg2 Kf6 43. Kf3 Ke5 44. Ke3 Kf6 45. Kd4 Be5+ 46. Kc5 Bd6+ 47. Kb6 Ke5 48. Re1 f6 49. Bf5 Rh8 50. Rc1 Rh4 51. Rc6 Rxe4 52. Bxe4 1-0


From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at


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Monday, July 19, 2010

U.S. Women's Chess Championship: Krush, Zatonskih tied at top spot with one round to go


WIM Iryna Zenyuk lost a tough game against
her friend IM Irina Krush in the eight round.

Hello Everyone!

The U.S. Women's Championship is poised for an exciting finish with the top seeds IM Irina Krush and defending champions IM Anna Zatonskhi both tied at 7.0 points each after eight rounds. There is one round to go.

Interestingly, the eighth round saw four wins by black and just one draw. Krush won her game to draw level with Zatonskih who had the only draw of the round against Abrahamyan. The latter is on the third spot.

Krush WFM Abby Marshallmeets a relatively easier opponent in in the ninth round while Zatonskih will play WGM Sabina Foisor.

Results of Round 8
-----------------------

1. WGM Sabina Foisor-WIM Alisa Melekhina 0-1
2. WIM Iryna Zenyuk-IM Irina Krush 0-1
3. WFM Abby Marshall-WGM Camilla Baginskaite 0-1
4. WIM Beatriz Marinello-WGM Katerina Rohonyan 0-1
5. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan-IM Anna Zatonskih ½-½

Standings after Round 8
------------------------------

1. IM Anna Zatonskih 7.0
2. IM Irina Krush 7.0
3. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan 6.5
4. WIM Alisa Melekhina 4.5
5. WGM Katerina Rohonyan 4.5
6. WIM Iryna Zenyuk 3.0
7. WGM Sabina Foisor 2.5
8. WGM Camilla Baginskaite 3.0
9. WIM Beatriz Marinello 1.5
10. WFM Abby Marshall 0.5

Here is the nice game between WIM Iryna Zenyuk and IM Irina Krush which you can run in the pgnplayer or watch in flash below. Also check the official website for videos, photos and articles.


PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 b5 5. dxe6 fxe6 6. cxb5 a6 7. bxa6 Bxa6 8. g3 Nc6 9. Bh3 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Nc3 Qb6 12. b3 Nd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Na4 Qa7 15. Bb2 e5 16. Bg2 d5 17. Kh1 Kh8 18. Bc1 Ne4 19. f3 d3 20. exd3 Nf2+ 21. Rxf2 Qxf2 22. Nc3 Rac8 23. Nxd5 Qd4 0-1



From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


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Sunday, July 18, 2010

U.S. Women's Chess Championship: Zatonskih leads with Krush, Abrahamyan just half point behind


Katerina Rohonyan who won against
Abby Marshall in round seven.


Hi Everybody!

The top seeds - IM Anna Zatonskih and IM Irina Krush - at the U.S. Women's Championship being held in St. Louis are matching each other step to step. Krush is barely half a point behind tournament leader Zatonskih after seven rounds. Both won their Round 7 game to stay ahead of the rest of the field with 6.5/7 and 6.0/7 points respectively. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan is also in joint second place with 6.0/7. She faces Zatonskih in the eighth round and it could be a crucial game for the tournament.

Hello Everyone!

Results of Rround 7
--------------------------
1. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan-WGM Sabina Foisor 1-0
2. IM Anna Zatonskih-WIM Beatriz Marinello 1-0
3. WGM Katerina Rohonyan-WFM Abby Marshall 1-0
4. WGM Camilla Baginskaite-WIM Iryna Zenyuk 0-1
5. IM Irina Krush-WIM Alisa Melekhina 1-0

Standings after Round 7
------------------------------

1. IM Anna Zatonskih 6.5
2. IM Irina Krush 6.0
3. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan 6.0
4. WIM Alisa Melekhina 3.5
5. WGM Katerina Rohonyan 3.5
6. WIM Iryna Zenyuk 3.0
7. WGM Sabina Foisor 2.5
8. WGM Camilla Baginskaite 2.0
9. WIM Beatriz Marinello 1.5
10. WFM Abby Marshall 0.5

You can check the official website for videos, photos and reports. Meanwhile, here are the games of the day for you to run through our pgnplayer or watch in flash below.

PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. Be3 f5 11. f3 f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. Rc1 Ng6 14. Nb5 Nf6 15. c5 g4 16. cxd6 cxd6 17. Nc7 g3 18. Nxa8 Nh5 19. Kh1 Qh4 20. Bg1 gxh2 21. Bf2 Ng3+ 22. Bxg3 fxg3 23. Nc7 Nf4 24. Ne6 Re8 25. Rc7 Bf8 26. Nxf4 exf4 27. Qc2 Bh3 28. gxh3 Qxh3 29. Ng2 Qh6 30. Rxb7 a5 31. Rc1 Re5 32. Qc8 Qf6 33. Qg4+ Rg5 34. Qe6+ 1-0


PGN: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 a6 7. Qc2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 b5 9. Bd3 Bb7 10. a4 Nc6 11. Qe2 Nb4 12. Bb1 bxa4 13. O-O a5 14. Rd1 Nfd5 15. Bg3 Ba6 16. Qd2 Bc4 17. Nxa4 Nb6 18. Rc1 Rc8 19. Nc5 Ra8 20. e4 Ra7 21. Qc3 Qa8 22. Ne5 Bb5 23. Qe3 Rd8 24. Bf4 c6 25. Qh3 Bxc5 26. dxc5 Nd7 27. Nxd7 Raxd7 28. Bd6 e5 29. Ra3 Rxd6 30. cxd6 Rxd6 31. Qc3 Qd8 32. h3 Rd1+ 33. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 34. Kh2 Qxb1 35. Rxa5 h6 36. Qxb4 Qc1 37. Ra8+ Kh7 38. Qc3 Qf4+ 39. Qg3 Qxe4 40. Re8 f6 41. Re7 Qg6 42. Qxg6+ Kxg6 43. b4 h5 44. Kg3 Kh6 45. h4 g5 46. hxg5+ Kxg5 47. Rg7+ Kh6 48. Rg8 Bc4 49. Rc8 Bd5 50. Rd8 1-0





From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at

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Friday, July 16, 2010

U.S. Women's Chess Championship: Zatonskih leads by half a point after 5 rounds

WFM Tatev Abrahamyan in
a second-place tie with IM Irina Krush

Hello Everyone!

IM Anna Zatonskih pulled away from the rest of the field with a half-point lead after five rounds at the U.S. Women's Championship being played at St. Louis. She beat WIM Iryna Zenyuk with a nice Trompowski. Incidentally, Zatonskih has used a different opening in each of her games so far.

Meanwhile, Irina Krush drew her game with WGM Camilla Baginskaite to stay in joint second position with WFM Tatev Abrahamyan. The latter won her game against WFM Abby Marshall.


Results of Round 5
----------------------

1. WIM Beatriz Marinello-WGM Sabina Foisor 0-1
2. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan-WFM Abby Marshall 1-0
3. IM Anna Zatonskih-WIM Iryna Zenyuk 1-0
4. WGM Katerina Rohonyan-WIM Alisa Melekhina ½-½
5. WGM Camilla Baginskaite-IM Irina Krush ½-½

Standings after Round 5
----------------------------
1. IM Anna Zatonskih 4.5
2. IM Irina Krush 4.0
3. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan 4.0
4. WGM Sabina Foisor 2.5
5. WIM Alisa Melekhina 2.5
6. WGM Camilla Baginskaite 2.0
7. WIM Iryna Zenyuk 2.0
8. WGM Katerina Rohonyan 1.5
9. WIM Beatriz Marinello 1.5
10. WFM Abby Marshall 0.5

Here is the nice game by IM Anna Zatonskih. You can run it in our pgnplayer or watch it in flash below. There are some nice videos, photos and reports also on the official website.

PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. e3 g6 4. Bxf6 exf6 5. c4 c6 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Bd6 8. Nge2 f5 9. Qd2 Nd7 10. Bb3 Nf6 11. h3 Qe7 12. O-O-O Be6 13. Bxe6 Qxe6 14. Qc2 O-O 15. Kb1 b5 16. Nc1 a5 17. Rhe1 Rfe8 18. f3 Bb4 19. Nd3 Ra7 20. Re2 Bxc3 21. Qxc3 Nd5 22. Qc5 Ra6 23. Rc1 f6 24. e4 fxe4 25. fxe4 Nb4 26. Nxb4 axb4 27. b3 f5 28. e5 f4 29. Qc2 Rf8 30. Qe4 f3 31. gxf3 Qxh3 32. e6 Qf5 33. Qxf5 gxf5 34. Rg1+ Kh8 35. e7 Re8 36. Reg2 Raa8 37. Rg7 f4 38. R1g4 h6 39. R4g6 Rac8 40. Rf7 Rc7 41. Rgg7 1-0




From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at

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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

U.S. Women's Chess Championship: Zatonskih, Krush draw to keep joint lead

IM Anna Zatonskih at the
U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Hello Everyone!

IM Anna Zatonskih and IM Irina Krush drew their game on the top board in the third round of the U.S. Women's Chess Championship. Both are jointly leading with 2.5/3 each. The Championship is being held in St. Louis along with the U.S. Junior Closed Championship.

Krush came prepared with a Benoni particularly to surprise her opponent. Krush has played the Benoni only two times five years ago! However, Zatonskih was up to the challenge and the game ended with a three-fold repetition. All the other four games were decisive. You can check the official website for the full news report here.


Round 3 results
-------------------

1. WFM Abby Marshall-WGM Sabina Foisor 0-1
2. WIM Beatriz Marinello- WIM Iryna Zenyuk 1-0
3. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan-WIM Alisa Melekhina 1-0
4. IM Anna Zatonskih-IM Irina Krush ½-½
5. WGM Katerina Rohonyan-WGM Camilla Baginskaite 0-1

Standings after Round 3
-----------------------------
1. IM Irina Krush 2.5
2. IM Anna Zatonskih 2.5
3. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan 2.0
4. WIM Alisa Melekhina 2.0
5. WIM Iryna Zenyuk 2.0
6. WGM Camilla Baginskaite 1.0
7. WGM Sabina Foisor 1.0
8. WGM Katerina Rohonyan 1.0
9. WIM Beatriz Marinello 1.0
10. WFM Abby Marshall 0.0

Here are two nice games from the third round. You can run them in our pgnplayer or watch them in flash below.

PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. Bf4 Bg7 8. Qa4+ Bd7 9. Qb3 Qc7 10. h3 b5 11. Nxb5 Bxb5 12. Qxb5+ Nbd7 13. Qc6 Qd8 14. Nd2 O-O 15. e3 Rc8 16. Qxd6 Qa5 17. Qa6 Qb4 18. Qb5 Nxd5 19. a3 Qxb2 20. Qxb2 Bxb2 21. Ra2 Bc3 22. Bh6 Rfd8 23. Bc4 Ne5 24. Bxd5 Rxd5 25. Ke2 Rxd2+ 26. Rxd2 Bxd2 27. Kxd2 Nc4+ 28. Kc3 Nxa3 29. Bf4 Nb5+ 30. Kc4 Na3+ 31. Kb3 Nb5 32. Kc4 Na3+ 33. Kb3 Nb5 1/2-1/2



PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd2 a6 8. a3 Be7 9. Qc2 b6 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Bd3 Bb7 12. Ne5 h6 13. f4 Nxe5 14. fxe5 Ne8 15. O-O c5 16. Rf2 Nc7 17. Raf1 Ne6 18. Qd1 Bg5 19. Qg4 cxd4 20. exd4 Bxd2 21. Rxd2 Qg5 22. Qxg5 hxg5 23. Bf5 Bc6 24. Rf3 Nf4 25. g3 Ne6 26. Kf2 Rae8 27. Ke3 f6 28. Rdf2 Nxd4 29. e6 Nxf3 30. Kxf3 d4+ 31. Ne4 g6 32. Bxg6 f5 0-1



From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at


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Monday, July 12, 2010

U.S. Women's Chess Championship off to an exciting start


Defending chess champion IM Anna Zatonskih

Hello Everyone,

The U.S. Women's Chess Championship first and second rounds saw five decisive games each at the St. Louis Chess Club. The defending champion IM Anna Zatonskih won her games without much trouble even as IM Irina Krush earned two points as well. Here are the Round 1 and 2 results. Zatonskih takes on Krush in the third round.

Round 1 results

1. WIM Iryna Zenyuk-WGM Sabina Foisor 1-0
2. WFM Abby Marshall-WIM Alisa Melekhina 0-1
3. WIM Beatriz Marinello-IM Irina Krush 0-1
4. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan-WGM Camilla Baginskaite 1-0
5. IM Anna Zatonskih-WGM Katerina Rohonyan 1-0

Round 2 results

1. WGM Sabina Foisor-WGM Katerina Rohonyan 0-1
2. WGM Camilla Baginskaite-IM Anna Zatonskih 0-1
3. IM Irina Krush-WFM Tatev Abrahamyan 1-0
4. WIM Alisa Melekhina-WIM Beatriz Marinello 1-0
5. WIM Iryna Zenyuk-WFM Abby Marshall 1-0

Standings after Round 2

1. IM Irina Krush 2.0
2. IM Anna Zatonskih 2.0
3. WIM Alisa Melekhina 2.0
4. WIM Iryna Zenyuk 2.0
5. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan 1.0
6. WGM Katerina Rohonyan 1.0
7. WGM Camilla Baginskaite 0.0
8. WGM Sabina Foisor 0.0
9. WFM Abby Marshall 0.0
10. WIM Beatriz Marinello 0.0

Here is defending champion Anna Zatonskih's game from Round 1. You can run it in our pgnplayer or watch it in flash below.

PGN: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bd3 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 e6 10. Rd1 Nbd7 11. Rb1 a6 12. e4 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Qe2 d4 15. Bc2 Nfd7 16. f4 dxc3 17. fxe5 Qe7 18. bxc3 Nxe5 19. Be3 Rad8 20. c5 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Nd7 22. Qc4 Be5 23. Bb3 Bb8 24. Qd4 Ne5 25. Bh6 Re8 26. Rf1 Rf8 27. Bxf8 Qxf8 28. Rd1 Bc7 29. a4 Qe7 30. Ba2 a5 31. Kh1 h5 32. Rf1 Bb8 33. Qf2 Kg7 34. Rb1 Qc7 35. Qd4 Qe7 36. Rd1 Bc7 37. Rf1 Kg8 38. Qe3 Kg7 39. Qf2 Bb8 40. Rb1 Qc7 41. Qd4 Qe7 42. Bc4 Kg8 43. Ba6 Bc7 44. Rxb7 Kh7 45. Be2 Kg8 46. Qe3 Kg7 47. Rb1 Nd7 48. Rf1 Nxc5 49. Qd4+ Be5 50. Qc4 Bf6 51. Bf3 Be5 52. Rd1 Kh7 53. Rf1 Kg7 54. Bd1 Bf6 55. Bc2 h4 56. Rf3 Qe5 57. Bb1 Qe7 58. Bc2 Qe5 59. Qf1 Ne6 60. Qd3 Be7 61. g4 hxg3 62. Rxg3 c5 63. Qe3 Bd6 64. Rg2 Nf4 65. Rf2 Qg5 66. Bb3 Qh4 67. e5 c4 68. Rxf4 Qxf4 69. Qxf4 cxb3 1-0


From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at

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Saturday, June 26, 2010

US Women's Chess Championship starts on July 9


US Women's Defending
Chess Champion Anna Zatonskih

Hello Everyone!

Saint Louis will host the 2010 US Women's Chess Championship and the 2010 US Junior Closed Championship from July 9-20. The 2010 US Championship took place in Saint Louis last month.

Both the championships will include 10 players who will fight for the crown through nine rounds of tournament play. Reigning US Women's Champion Anna Zatonskih and current US Junior Champ Ray Robson will also be defending their title.

Grandmaster commentary will be provided by GM Ben Finegold and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Saint Louis resident and #1-ranked U.S. player GM Hikaru Nakamura will also provide special commentary for two days yet to be determined.

The field for the 2010 U.S. Women's Championship is as follows:

  • IM Anna Zatonskih: Defending Champion
  • IM Irina Krush: Rating
  • WGM Camilla Baginskaite: Rating
  • WGM Sabina Foisor: Rating
  • WGM Katerina Rohonyan: Wildcard
  • WIM Alisa Melekhina: Rating
  • WFM Iryna Zenyuk: U.S. Women's Open Champion
  • WFM Abby Marshall: Rating
  • WFM Tatev Abrahamyan: Rating
  • WIM Beatriz Marinello: Rating
The field for the 2010 US Junior Closed Championship is as follows:

  • GM Ray Robson: Defending Champion
  • IM Sam Shankland: Rating
  • FM John Bryant: Rating
  • FM Darwin Yang: Rating
  • FM Stephen Zierk: Rating
  • FM Conrad Holt: Rating
  • Parker Zhao: Rating
  • Warren Harper: Rating
  • Tyler Hughes: Rating
  • Eric Rosen: U.S. Junior Open Champion
The 2010 US Women's Championship will feature a $65,000 prize fund, the largest prize fund in the history of the tournament. The breakdown is as follows with the winner taking $16,000.

The 2010 US Junior Championship will also feature a record-breaking prize fund. The ten participants will fight for $10,300 in prizes and will also receive a laptop computer as a part of their prize. The winner will receive $3,000.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also visit my personal blog at

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