‘AMERICAN IDOL’ FINALIST ALOHA MISCHEAUX PERFORMS AT OPENING OF U.S. CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP IN ST. LOUIS
Newswire Services
May 09, 2009
ST. LOUIS – Aloha Mischeaux, a finalist in the fourth season of the popular American Idol TV show, kicked off the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship in rousing fashion with a stirring rendition of the national anthem at the opening ceremonies for the tournament at the Saint Louis University Museum of Art on Thursday, May 7.
Mischeaux’s performance officially began the opening ceremony, “drawing of the colors” and reception for the national 2009 tournament, which is being hosted by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis in Mischeaux’ home town of Saint Louis. The Chess Club, which opened in July 2008 in the city’s historic Central West End, is a showpiece, $1 million facility that features numerous TV monitors placed throughout its three stories for closed-circuit coverage of the event.
The U.S. Chess Championship will be held May 8 through 17. Tournament times are 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. each day from Friday, May 8 through Thursday, May 14 at the Chess Club, 4657 Maryland Avenue; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 16; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 17. Friday, May 15 is an open day.
Mischeaux began performing at age 3 with her church choir as well as local talent shows. She later studied singing, dancing and theater in the University City school district, participating in her school choir and winning several choral competitions, and further honed her talent at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.
“Aloha’s magnificent performance is a glorious way to get this exciting tournament started,” said Rex Sinquefield, a retired investment fund manager who is the founder and a member of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. “We are delighted to have this prestigious and intensely competitive tournament in our beautiful new facility.”
The 2009 U.S. Chess Championship is offering $200,000 in prize money, including $64,000 to any of the 24 entrants who can ‘run the table,’ winning all of his or her matches, something only the late Bobby Fischer has accomplished in U.S. Chess Championship competition.
In conjunction with the U.S. Chess Championship, an exhibit titled Marcel Duchamp: Chess Master, is being displayed at the Saint Louis University Museum of Art, 3663 Lindell Blvd., from May 6 through August 16, 2009. Duchamp was a 20th century French surrealist painter who abandoned his artistic career to pursue chess full time.
Tickets for the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship are $12 for adults and $5 for students for full-time students. Admission will cover the entire tournament. Tickets are free for club members. For more information about the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship, please visit www.saintlouischessclub.org or call 314-361-2437.
Source: http://www.losangeleschronicle.com
This is quite a contrast from the US Championships in Oklahoma. These people are professionals and not a bunch of amateurs.